Customer Reviews

Dockers Men's Gordon Cap Toe Oxford,Black,10.5 M US

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As an attorney, I need to dress up a fair bit, and prefer my shoes in black. I am a no-nonsense person who likes clean, functional designs, and feel that these shoes are perfect for me. As long as the manufacturer makes these, I will buy them. It is amazing to me that leather business/dress shoes of this quality are available for a cheaper price than good sneakers.

Pros of this model:
1. High-quality leather. All of my pairs have worn in gracefully, without any strange wrinkling or other earmarks of low-quality leather.
2. Will take a shine if necessary. If you know how to spit-shine a shoe (ex-Army guy here), you can make these take a mirror finish with work. They also look good for court or other important appearances with a minimal brush shine.
3. Looks good without being shined. The semi-gloss finish retains its look for a long time.
4. Single-piece sole. I have been through more expensive pairs of Italian shoes than I care to count, fully half of which developed sole or heel problems walking the cobblestones of Boston (I don't know if I have a peculiar way of walking or what, but a shoe has subpar design if it's even possible for a heel to fall right off).
5. Good traction for a professional-looking shoe. This is because of the semi-hard rubber sole material and tread design.
6. Comfortable (very).
7. Cheap. You don't have to worry about ruining them with winter salt, or anything else; you can keep a knock-about pair. They are so cheap you can have a pair for every use. I have an extra pair just to throw at the cat. Or I would, if I had a cat.

Cons of this model:
1. Laces which fray easily. (Oh, well. You can't have everything.)

These shoes are more comfortable than any other dressy shoe I have ever found. They are almost as comfortable as a gym shoe, are low-maintenance, they last and they are affordable. I wear them for my business-casual work environment where they look great. I am on my third pair and I hope they never stop making this model. These are definitely my favorite and most-worn shoe.

The only quirk is that they come laced with some oddly thick laces that wear out long before the shoe does. Fortunately, that is simple to fix. I find that 27 inch "round casual dress" laces fit correctly, look nice and stay tied much more securely than the slightly thinner, slippery "round dress" laces that are common replacement laces. Just trash the factory lace when you take the shoes out of the box.

I am on my 3rd pair of Black and 2nd pair of Brown. I have worn them pretty much every day for the past 7-8 years. The shoe strings are the only thing that have not held up, but that is easily fixed. The sole is not leather, so you do not have to worry about having to constantly have that replaced, if you do alot of walking. I was pleasantly surprised with the value of the shoe offered compared to the price.

The Good: When you get a good pair these are the most comfortable (once broken in) dress shoes I have ever worn. They almost meet that mythical "as comfortable as your favorite tennis shoes" level. I wore my first pair every day to work for three months and they were fantastic. Insanely comfortable. Very supportive. Showed minimal wear and tear. They actually became my go-to shoes for everything since they were so comfortable. They work with jeans, khakis, dress pants, etc... They where fantastic until they literally failed catastrophically. First the rubber on the sole developed a gash right where the shoe flexes. This wasn't too bad and I continued to wear them until the arch itself gave way and I had gashes in the sides of the shoe as well. I'm accustom to shoes lasting years. Not months. I was admittedly hard on them (on my feet 8+ hours a day walking, standing, bending, pushing, pulling, climbing, kneeling, etc..) and I'm a big guy (250+) so I figured 3 months of bliss for $50 was well worth it.

The Bad: So I ordered 2 new pairs. Another pair of the Black as well as the Cordovan color. Unfortunately the metal eyelet covers on the Black pair literally came off the shoes the very first time I went to lace them up. Thankfully I went to amazon and had no problems whatsoever returning and ultimately replacing the shoes. As for the Cordovan style shoes.... they are OK but they show wear and tear much worse than the Black versions. After only a couple days they looked like I had them for months.

The Ugly: Having the caravan versions working well I really didn't have a "need" for the black pair. So when the replacement arrived I put the shoes to the side (figuring the defect on my last pair was a one time thing) and essentially forgot about them. Then I had a need for black dress shoes so I took them out and went to lace them up. Guess what? The same eyelet problem occurred and several came out on both shoes. Sadly I was 2 days past the allowed time for RETURNS when this happened. I take full responsibility for being lazy so I have been wearing them without the proper eyelet protection for the past week or so. So far the laces haven't sliced through the leather although I fear its only a matter of time before they do. This black pair is also showing MUCH more wear and tear than my original pair did. There's a distinct discoloration and slight imprint on the tips of the new pair.

I gave these a 2 star rating. I would give them 5 stars if they were more reliable but there seems to be some serious quality control issues. I think I will buy them again but only from a retail store where I can literally lace them up and see if this defect is present.

I owned 2 pairs of these shoes previous to my current pair. This pair, like its predecessors is comfortable, once broken in. However, the workmanship seems to have diminished. They colapsed after 3 months use. It turns out that the heels are hollow. I'm sad to change from a shoe that had been working for me, but I expect more than 3 months wear, even from what was a $50 pair of shoes.

I bought these for the price and Dockers name, and sad to say that I should have paid more for another pair of Rockports. My first week w/these almost killed my feet! I got a blister on one heel and had to use band-aids to lessen the pain. B/c one cannot send back used shoes, I had to continue wearing them hoping they would eventually break in. Thankfully, they have. However, I would not advice anyone endure 4-7 days of pain to break in shoes. Maybe it was just me, but I can't remember having such discomfort w/any other shoe I've bought. In defence of these Dockers, I can now say that they are rather comfy and have formed well to my feet, but again, the pain I had to endure will make me not want to buy them again.
Another reason why I have given only 3 stars is due to the quality factor. The leather is really nice, supple and looks classy; however, half of the rivets (I think that's what they are called) that the shoe laces go through to tie up have already fallen out. I've only had these for a month!! I expect all of them will fall out in no time soon. First time I've ever seen such poor quality for shoes at this price range. it doesn't affect my being able to tie the laces, but it looks bad that half the holes are metal and others no.
Overall, I would not recommend these Dockers. They do look professional, but the breaking in process was painful and make quality is questionable. I don't think I'll be buying this brand again, their shoes anyway.

This shoe is formal enough to wear most days to my office, with a sports coat or even a casual suit. I can wear it all day without my feet hurting. It has a roomy toe box, so my fat toes aren't crushed.

I've had the shoe for several weeks and it seems to hold up well- all in all a great purchase. Seems to me the sizing is about 1/2 size too loose for me, but maybe my fee shrunk.

Size 14W is typically a good fit for me. It was a snug fit in this shoe, but not too tight. The insole of the shoe is comfortable and the style is aesthetically pleasing. The stitching that goes across the top of the width of the foot, about an inch above the toes, is extremely uncomfortable for the first few wearings. The stitching and hard leather jab into the top of the foot. This lasted for three full work days. It wasn't so bad as to cause blisters, but was uncomfortable. I understand the reasoning for the stitching/design: in order to prevent creases closer to the tip of the shoe, which are more unsightly. The creases instead form between the stitch line and the laces, and go off to the sides of the shoe.

You may want to use a leather softener for a few days before wearing, or try the damp newspaper trick to help break in the shoes. It may help alleviate some of the problems mentioned above. After those first few days the shoes became comfortable and continue to be. They breathe decently and are comfortable to wear after breaking in.

Very comfortable and very light weight. Excellent shoe and works well with all outfits. They last a very long time. This is my third pair and I think they are great.

I never do on-line ordering for shoes because I often end up exchanging for a larger size or have to go up a 1/2 size at the store. It's a gamble on line and typically easier at the store since you buy what fits on the spot.The other reviews of this shoe suggested it was a perfect and comfortable choice for all day comfort. I needed a good shoe for a family wedding I'd be attending and also photographing it's entirety, meaning I'd be on my feet a lot. I ordered these a 1/2 size larger then normal to accommodate thicker socks if I chose to wear them and in that quite often, the exact size I usually wear is a tad too snug all around. Right out of the box, these shoes felt darn good! They are very well made and yet nicely flexible so they conform to your foot and feel quite good when you walk in them. Nice support inside as well with very adequate cushioning. The bottom line is that these shoes will not only look good, but, also provide all-day comfort, especially for those who are on their feet a lot. They are formal enough to wear to a special event, yet, simple enough in design to wear to work or the office. My hard-to-fit feet feel great in these shoes, even though my right foot has a bunion and these shoes are very forgiving for that with no discomfort or tightness at all! These shoes were "keepers" as soon as I tried them on the same day the pkg arrived. I did put them on and broke them for a few hours the same day of the wedding (just in case), but, honestly, they fit so well, no break-in was really necessary. Another excellent Docker product! I'm 100% delighted with them.