March 11, 2019

Black oxford shoes

The black oxford is probably the ultimate business shoe.

With their closed lacings, oxfords are smart, formal, dress shoes. And black is the classic colour.

From the City of London to Wall Street, to business hubs worldwide, if you want to look the part, the black oxford is the shoe of choice. While wingtip brogues, derbys and monks all have their place, in business and formal circles, the oxford continues to open doors and reigns supreme.

But which one? There are a number of options.

It depends on your workplace, your personal style, and how much you want to fit in.

Thomas Bird currently offers three different black oxfords - Benson, Ellington and Harrow, and we have recently introduced three new black oxfords - Soho, Camden and Mayfair.

Like all our shoes, these oxfords are expertly made in Italy, hand crafted from premium calf leather, with a full leather lining and stitched soles.

The first, shown in the photo below is Benson, a black wholecut oxford. Sleek and stylish, the wholecut conforms to formal style guidelines - but has an extra simplicity and class that shoe aficionado's will recognise and approve of. The Thomas Bird Benson wholecut has a typically European look with a slightly longer and elegant shape.

Style: Black Wholecut Oxford Black

If you like the wholecut look, but also like a little extra detail, the style shown below, Ellington, may be right for you. Similar to Benson, it features a punch medallion toe design.

Style: Ellington Wholecut Brogue Black

Next is Harrow, a cap toe black. This is probably the most traditional and formal of the three original styles. Harrow also features a line of punched holes and stitching. It also has a smart, European/Italian look.

Style: Harrow Cap Toe Oxford Black

Of course, black oxfords are not just for business. They will cover many formal/dress style occassions, from weddings to black tie events.

There was a time when the black oxford was the domain style in many men's wardrobes. Times change, and it's good to have a choice of colours and styles for different moods and occassions. But every stylish man, we believe, should own at least one good pair of black oxfords.

Here are our original three black oxfords shown together:

From left, black wholecut Oxford (Benson), variation with medallion toe (Ellington), and punch cap toe Oxford (Harrow).

Now introducing some new styles

Dress shoes and rubber soles don't always go together. But being practical, some of our super stylish customers like to wear wholecuts most days for work, and the daily commute to the city, pavements and subway escalators can be hard on a leather sole.

Here's our new Camden Wholecut Oxford with a vibram rubber sole. We wanted to take our most popular styles and add a new thick vibram rubber sole with studs, to improve the versatility of wearing them in any weather.

Style: Camden Whlolecut Oxford Black

Soho is a take on our Ellligton Brogue Oxford Wholeucts, but again with the added vibram rubber sole for added grip and traction on wet and slippery streets.

Style: Soho Wholecut Oxford Brogue Black

Finally, we have the Mayfair Oxford Wholecut in Black Patent leather, a classic black evening shoe that helps finish off any outfit for special occasions.