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You know, this is not a democracy. This is me running threads because I feel like it. I've been doing it for more than a year, and I've been taking feedback about what kind of threads to do, and I've discovered some good stuff. But I've gotten pretty busy in the past few weeks, for reasons I've touched on elsewhere, and for now, I feel like I'm going to skip the voting, do a bunch of the threads I want done, and then maybe find somebody else to pass the torch along to. When I have some free time, I plan to write such guides as "how to talk about neckties" and "a complete (visual) list of every god-damn dress shoe style I can think of," so look forward to those.

It's a good amount of work, but it's worth doing. You get a bunch of great recommendations, including for things you never really knew you wanted, and you get a chance to research something new every month and learn something new. You also get a chance to write something ridiculous and make tens of thousands of people read it every week.

I think I'll do briefcases and messenger bags, redo dress shirts and suits, do one on shaving (we'll see how I feel like organizing that), and then see if there's anything else I want to do, and then pass it along to whoever wants to take over. Put in your resumes now.

Anyway, Oxfords are the quintessential dress shoe. While bluchers and derbies and loafers and chelsea boots might all be more flexible, nothing complements a business suit quite like an oxford. You can also dress them down a tad ifneedsbe, but it'd be hard to make them look right with denim. Whether you're looking for a sleek, uninterrupted vamp or a shoe that will impress the type of asshole to say "no brown in town" in 2019, an Oxford is what you want. But beware! Bluchers are more forgiving size-wise: you can loosen the laces at the bottom and give your feet some more space in the instep, but oxfords offer no such luxury -- the laces only loosen near the top, and you usually want to close the shoe fully if you can.

Price Bins:

• Below $100.

• $100 to $300.

• $300 to $600.

• Above $600.

Inspiration

Guidelines for posting here:

• I'll post price bins as top level comments. Post recommendations in response to a price bin, as a second level comment. You can also use top level comments for general info, inspo albums, and general questions.

• Recommendations can be a brand ("I like Kiton suits!") or a strategy ("I go thrifting for suits!").

• Try to stick to one brand/strategy per second-level comment. If you want to recommend both Alden and Carmina, post them separately so people can vote and discuss separately.

• Include a link in your second-level comment if you can -- if not to a purchase page, at least to images.

• Try to use prices you might realistically pay. That might be MSRP, or it might not -- it depends. If you're in a cheap bin, maybe the best buying strategy is to thrift, or wait for a big sale. If you're buying from a store like Banana Republic, paying full price is simply incorrect -- the only question is whether you'll get 40% off or 50% off. So factor that in.

• The bins are in USD, so either use a US price, or convert a non-US price to USD to pick the bin.

• There is no time limit on this thread, until Reddit stops you from posting and voting. This thread will sit in the sidebar for a long time, and serve as a guide for lots of people, so help them out!