admin Long before sneakers dominated the casual footwear space, humble black derby shoes reigned supreme. Back then, the derby’s open-lace look made it a staple of off-duty style, the hard-bottom you turned to when pulling on a pair of wingtips felt a little too corporate takeover-y. But you’d have to be a peculiar type of menswear enthusiast to consider the derby casual today…right? Not quite.
The Best Black Derby Shoes Shopping Guide
Over the last couple of years, the derby’s reclaimed its rightful place in the hearts and closets of stylish dudes. At a moment when the sneaker’s supremacy is in flux, fashion-wise, the best derbies (along with loafers) have stepped in and stepped up their presence. Even if a lot’s changed since derbies rose to prominence, one thing hasn’t: the shoe is—and always will be—one of the most versatile on the planet. Especially in goes-with-everything, ready-for-anything black.
Don’t believe us? Go ahead and lace up a pair of the best black derby shoes. We bet you’ll quickly find yourself coming back to them day after day (and night after night), awed by their ability to elevate jeans, anchor great trousers, or even sync up with your sharpest suits.
From exquisitely-made designer riffs to cushy, dependable classics that cost less than a boozy night out, there’s a pair (or two) of great black derbies just waiting to be adopted. Already your sneakers are quaking.
The Best Everyday Derbies: Dr. Marten’s 1461
Dr. Martens’ 1461 looks good with everything: baggy denim, slouchy trousers, crisp work pants. Its endless versatility comes down to the brand’s tough-as-hell leather and chunky rubber soles. The O.G. 1461s have that signature yellow thread running around the sole, which adds a punk-adjacent vibe, but we’d go for the blacked-out version for maximal versatility. That said, if you’re thinking about going for the original, just print out this picture of Frank Ocean and go on your merry way.
The Best Suit-Ready Derbies: Allen Edmonds Drake
If you chucked your last pair of dress shoes sometime around March 2020, a no-frills pair of derbies is an easy way to ease your feet back into hard bottoms without too much PTSD. That’s because, even as derbies tilt more and more casual, Allen Edmonds unapologetically argues for a stricter dress code. The pared-down design and modest shape makes them ideal for every job interview, board presentation, and formal-ish wedding on your calendar. Which means they’ll look swell anchoring your trusty navy suit when you knock the cobwebs off that guy, too.
The Best Value Black Derbies: J.Crew Ludlow
You probably don’t think “shoes” when you think about J.Crew, but the mall brand’s in-house footwear lineup is lowkey the best value going in fancy footwear. The Ludlow derby uses Italian leather for the uppers and lining, a cork footbed that molds to your foot with every step, and Goodyear welted construction that allows you (well, your local cobbler) to replace the soles time and time again. Those details alone shoot them to the top of most dress shoe lists. On top of that, they’re around $250—though (leans in)… you can usually find them on sale. But you didn’t hear that from us.
The Best Comfort-First Derbies: Camper Walden
Before sneakers were sneakers, crepe-soled shoes like the military-bred desert boot were the kings of comfort. And while there are plenty of derby-sneaker hybrids on the market right now promising to bless your feet with the best of both world’s, we’re going to…not say anything, since we have nothing nice to say. Instead, we’re going to point you toward Camper’s Walden derby, the rare hybrid footwear that won’t make you look like a weatherman. It’s all business up top, while that crepe sole will keep your dogs happy without undermining the work you put into looking the business.
The Throwback Derbies: Paraboot Chambord
Remember those mysterious, unbranded hard candies you’d only ever find in your grandparent’s side table dish, but never at an actual store? Paraboot was like that for a long time. They were one of those shoes that swaggy septagenerians knew about, but were hard to track down IRL. Paraboot’s charming Chambords derbies are easier than ever to acquire these days—and once you do, you’ll never want to take them off. They’re made with tough, top-notch leather and feature that old-school welt arcing across the front. And they’ll last you until you’re old enough to stockpile your own mysterious candies.
The High-Shine Pick: Solovair 3-Eye Gibson
If you think these look a lot like the Doc Marten’s above, there’s a reason: Solovair’s parent company, NPS, manufacturer Docs up until the 1980’s, when production was shipped out of England. Solovair’s shoes are still made in the U.K. in a generations-old factory, and represent some the best bang for your buck on the planet. They’re built with a Goodyear-welt construction, which means they can easily be resoled by a cobbler several times over before you have to put them out to pasture. (You’re looking at a decade or more of wear, FYI.) The leather’s thicker than on the Docs and the sole is stiffer—but it’s also bouncier, and a synthetic footbed helps make the break-in process bearable. Plus you get that stunning shine. Though keep in mind these are made to be beaten up, not babied—they were originally made for the British army, after all.
The Best Freaky Derbies: Bottega Veneta Strut Grid
Derbies are canonically humble, no-frills, ready-to-work footwear designed to put a period—not an exclamation point—on your fits. And if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re well covered by the this guide. But sometimes Bottega Veneta shows up. The Italian leather gurus swapped out a stacked sole for a surprisingly functional, and toothy, ripple sole. Then it sewed on some quilted lamb’s leather for a bulbous, slightly unhinged piece of footwear that explodes off the floor.
