I vote Stacy Adams classic shoes. All the other brands will look out of style next year. The Madison's will always be in style.
http://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/fghyi/a_newbies_shoe_primer/ a must read for anyone looking for dress shoes.
$400 is a nice price point; you can get quality shoes for that amount. I would return the shoes you bought and put that money toward a better pair of shoes that would last you decades (with the right care) instead of a couple years. +1 to all these posts Endless.com has some shoes mentioned here within your price point that can be had under 300, but I would head over to ebay and amazon.com and go search there for bargains. Allen Edmonds and Romano Martegani is the best you can do for quality AND affordability. Stay away from those square toes! Quality Shoe List.
I'd like to point out that the Johnson and Murphy shoes you get at Marshall's or at Dillards are NOT the same as the high end J&M you get from their boutique stores. If the J&Ms are not made in Italy, don't get them. They DO have some very nice high end stuff though. That being said, Allen Edmonds, Brunos, Ferragamo, etc are all very nice. I own pairs of all of them. Surprisingly enough, my favorite pair of shoes right now are a pair of "laceless" Prada Wingtips that you can lace up or take the laces out for a more casual look. Really comfy too. Another brand to consider is Bally. Very nice shoes that last forever. The great thing about all of these brands is that you can keep wearing them for 30 years if you replace the soles regularly. In fact, the mark of a great dress shoe is that they look better with age.
Salvatore Ferragamo. http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/mens-sh...ability=false&lastfilter=brand&sizeFinderId=9
You can also find Ferragamo shoes at their outlets. I have several pairs that are now over 10 years old. I've only had to re-sole them (every few years) and have them cleaned/polished every few months.
Careful with Ferragamos. They trick people with their different lines; if you are gonna buy the cheaper to mid-priced Ferragamos, you will be disappointed. With that said, +1 for Allen Edmonds. Wing tips and cap toes are what you should be wearing with suits. If you are trying to wear a "modern" pointy toe shoes with a suit, you will look like a tool.
The classic wing toe have been back in style for the past few years. Those square ended "modern" dress shoes were cool like 10 years ago.
i will go by the allen edmonds store tomm (have to go see MI:4 today haha). what do yall think of something like that from allen?
http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=47287&vid=1&pid=514469&scid=514469002 Been having this shoe since H.S. which is 10 years ago. Quality and style for a reasonable price
Classic Pinch Air Penny http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productId=196171&productGroup=196173
