Bear with us on this one. We know that for many of you, slapping a shiny gold tone metal plate onto a perfectly good pair of Marc Jacobs oxford shoes is the kind of shoe sacrilege that makes you want to throw your George Cleverleys at the screen. In many ways it is wrong. The strongest case being that yes, these are indeed a perfectly good pair of oxfords. In fact, they are a great pair, sitting on the right side of slim and substantial whilst keeping detail (heel aside) to a minimum.

The fact is though, sometimes you feel like putting snobbery aside. We stare at endless pairs of shoes, good, bad and ugly, in order to bring you the latest. Whilst our hearts skip a little when we see those bespoke classics, in all their rigid, conformist beauty – we can’t help but fall for the sheer defiance and bloody mindedness of this slightly silly shoe.

Click for images.

Japan’s Second Stage model these center seam oxfords with their usual class. There’s nothing to dislike with these. Crepe sole, suede uppers, heavy stitching and that distinctive ridge all come together in the ever reliable oxford. Argentinian brand El Resero are old hands in riding, polo, climbing and trekking footwear with 70 years experience of creating custom made shoes. While this pair are certainly all about the looks, it’s good to know they’ve been built with a bit of expert care and knowledge.

Never not returning to Church’s. It’s hard to imagine a time when this stalwart of fine Northampton footwear won’t be churning out some of the most pleasingly understated shoes on the market. If you’re still finding the world of quality shoes a confusing one – so many styles, so many different soles, more lasts then you can shake a stick at…find refuge in the humble Oxford. This offering with its calf leather upper, cap toe and simple dainite sole is the straightforward answer to any shoe questions playing on your mind. Find them at Tres Bien.

Click for more

These wallabee inspire SeaVees ‘2 eye oxfords’ are one of the stand out items on their stock list for RHD. Thick SeaVulc Natural rubber sole, leather laces, the body of the shoe is hand sewn welt stitch with heavy waxed thread. Find them at RHD.

Click for more

Our friends at Tres Bien share a good look at the forthcoming Spring/Summer 2012 footwear collection from Hiroshi Tsubouchi. Vibrant takes on the classic shoe silhouette uppers as well as unique mid sole work continue to foster imagination and style from one of Japan’s hotter shoe makers. The wing tips and saddle shoes are catching on with this writer.

More looks after the click.

Generic Surplus unveil their Hillhurst Holiday 2011 collection. Five new stitch down models that offer a lighter take on some classics. Inspired by duck boots, work shoes, dress boots and oxfords, Hillhurst puts a more casual spin on them all employing suedes, felt and herringbone alongside the usual leathers. The brand has reached out to L.A DJs such as Franki Chan, Paul Devro, Zane Landreth and Kid Lightning as part of their own going relationship with the area’s mucic scene, all of whom will feature in the collections’s campaign.

Click for more

Those purveyors of elegance and excellence E. Tautz have collaborated with another elegance specialist in John Lobb. Made for Wallpaper’s ‘Handmade’ issue, it’s one of those collaborations we’re surprised hasn’t been made earlier. Costing £795, they’re available from the John Lobb store on 88 Jermyn Street. They also come with specially made shoe trees – and considering the price, they bloody well should do.

We’ve always got room for a tan oxford in our lives, especially when they call it the far classier ‘cognac’ instead. With a shoe like this, we can imagine the wearer sitting somewhere sipping on an old-fashioned, much like Don Draper used to (series four Don Draper has lost his some of his mojo). It’ll also go equally well with chinos, indigo and even grey denim – a nice plus for those who like to get their money’s worth from their footwear. (End)

Yep, so these are a little crazy. There’s nothing wrong with that – we all need a little crazy sometimes – but these are strictly for the most adventurous of you. Yasuhiro has made a few, shall we say, adjustments to classic shoe styles before, but this time he’s kicked it up a notch with these oxfords-cum-sandals. Not to get all Larry David, but these are the good kind of crazy. (Mindtrive)

Take a leap to see these in all their half-cut glory.

Despite our expensive tastes, we’ll always love an affordable pair of well made shoes (and so will our bank balances). There’s no shortage of stores making poorly made versions of popular shoe styles *cough*TopmanforOliverSpencer*cough*, but it’s always worth searching out a realer deal – and G.H. Bass are realer than real deal Holyfield. Black suede isn’t the most popular summer shoe, but it’ll look good on a spring day. (Studio Homme)