Dress shoes and boots come in four classic shapes, dictated by the last they are made on. It’s important to consider the toe shape as although the saying is “best foot forward”, it’s usually the toe of your shoe or boot that everyone sees first! If you imagine putting your best toe forward, you may want to consider an almond toe.
For this journal article, we are going to focus on the almond toe as identified as one of the 17 best shoes for men you’ll always want on your rotation by GQ magazine. While GQ suggested almond-toed footwear features an extra piece of leather, it is more about the shape this extra piece of leather covers.
An almond toe has a narrower end than a rounded toe. This does not mean your toes are all scrunched up, of course. We would never recommend that! The narrow part of an almond toe is elongated so gives your footwear a sleeker look without being too extreme. For comfort, the shoe widens where the ball of the foot is, so no pinching at all, just endless elegance.
To emphasise an almond toe, some shoemakers do add an extra layer of leather or decorate the toe area. Barker’s Lerwick semi brogue is a good example of this, but I think an almond toe almost looks sleeker if it is unadorned.
Our Chaucer wholecut is the most unadorned of all shoes and it really stands out as a result while the Carroll has the Derby-style lacing system but is as sleek as they come from the facing through the vamp to the tip of its almond toe.
If you like some decoration, then our Dunkeld (below) and Roche monk shoes are among the most elegant in our range featuring delicate brogue detail or check out our classic Henley spectator shoes.
Loafers have not escaped the almond toe treatment either. Our perennially popular Dillon, plus the James style, have also been made on the appropriately-shaped last.
For boots, the Wilson Chelsea or Orwell double-monk styles will give you the elongated toe you might be craving.
Any of these styles will give you modern elegance and a dress shoe that GQ approves of! These are ideal for formal office attire, business meetings, and special events and occasions. An almond toe is where sleek meets chic.