Men's Shoes

If clothes make the man, the adage holds especially true for shoes. A great pair of shoes fashionably completes a look, while a bad choice can ruin the entire effect.

Offerings for men overwhelmingly dominate the athletic shoe market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all purchases, but men's kicks by the likes of Nike and Reebok are only part of the picture. Even with all the attention that is focused on women's shoes, men's footwear quietly accounts for a surprisingly large share of shoe purchases, and growth in footwear pieces for gentlemen is outpacing that of the ladies' segment, spelling good news for designer brands both current and vintage.

As in the world of menswear, Italian craftsmanship rules the universe of feet, with everything from ready-to-wear shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo to the creations of bespoke shoemakers like Berluti and Silvano Lattanzi highly sought after in the retail and auction markets. From oxfords to loafers, there is an increasing abundance of eye-catching men's styles trickling from runways to auction blocks each season.

Quick Facts

• In the early '90s, British cobblers J.G. Cleverley custom made shoes from a cache of Russian reindeer hides recovered from the hull of a sunken cargo ship that was at the bottom of the ocean for more than 200 years
• A pair of pop star Justin Bieber's childhood shoes sold for $62,000 in an online charity auction benefiting a Canadian food bank
• In a 2015 SCP auction, signed Nike sneakers worn by Michael Jordan in his rookie season sold for $71,533, becoming the second-highest price paid for his shoes after a pair worn during the 1997 NBA Finals sold in 2013 for $104,765