I bought a relatively cheap pair of work shoes about 18 months ago now.
They weren't cheap cheap, rather cheap for what seamed to be pretty good quality at the time....
Soft black leather, very comfortable, a nice bit of stitching on the sole - and only £65 - with a bit of a reduction in a sale.
My previous go-to option for generic black work shoes had been DMs but the last pair I bought must have been back in 2016...
I might be misremembering but I'm sure they cost around the £65 back then? For the basic shoes that is.
But when I looked online a couple of years ago I couldn't believe the price!!! £140! Granted some other colours are half price in the sale, but I've NEVER seen black DMs on sale.
Hence why I shopped around for the cheaper option...
Worth it...?
The thing liked about DM shoes was that a pair would last you a couple of years with no need to repair them.
Eventually in my experience the leather would split somewhere and they'd be done. his may actually have been because I'd been wearing half a size too small, on reflection, my current shoes are a half size larger.
The DM soles lasted longer than the uppers. I guess that's what you're paying for. T
Compared to my current shoes..
I was initially disappointed that the heals wore down after about only 4 months, WTF! I had to get them re-healed, £20.
But at the same time I bought some cheap plastic blakies and nailed these on, I've since got through two sets of these over another year of wear and they and the second set of heals are just fine.
The main soles have also lasted out well, no sign of wearing, and no sign of the uppers cracking.
Oh the sole did peal away from the main body: superglue sorted this out no problem.
Final thoughts...
Well 18 months in and i have to add about £10 to my purchase cost - the unnecessary re-heal was a mistake I won't repeat so I'm discounting that... the £10 covers the glue (which can be used elsewhere) and the cheap heal things.
So that's £70 for 18 months worth of shoes.
Come to think of it I remember it taking DMs about a month to break in, the backs especially are really hard to start with and they rub the back of your ankle raw, no such problem with my softer, budget, but probably going to be as long lasting shoes!