In this hands-on review, we take a look at Wolf and Shepherd to help you decide if their shoes are worth buying.
If you’re like me, two types of shoes take up the majority of your closet: dress shoes and athletic shoes. Round things out with some slippers and hiking boots, and you’re ready for pretty much anything.
But Wolf and Shepherd has a different vision for your footwear choices — a shoe that combines the classic details of dress shoes with the performance of athletic shoes and the comfort of memory foam insoles.
I’ve been wearing a few pairs from Wolf and Shepherd to test them out, and now I’m here to share my honest opinions with you.
I’ll answer all your questions in this guide and give my final verdict on whether Wolf and Shepherd’s shoes are really worth buying.
Quick Take
So for this review, I tried both the SwiftKnit Derby shoes and the Monaco Loafers. Between these two pairs of shoes, I got a top-level view of the brand’s dressier details and their claims to make extremely comfortable shoes.
My experiences with these two pairs of shoes were really mixed. I’ll get into that in more detail in the following sections.
Overall, the quality of the shoes here is really nice. But the price just doesn’t seem to justify what is essentially a sneaker.
I wouldn’t necessarily want to wear the hybrid shoes to the office. I’m not convinced that hybrid shoes will ever really catch on for professional wear, but your mileage may vary.
However, if you’re deadset on wearing this type of crossover shoe, I’d definitely check out Cole Haan first for a comfortable pair of everyday, professional-looking “hybrid” shoes.
Pros
- Very comfortable shoes
- Lightweight and easy to slip on and off
- High-quality materials
- Long, narrow fit can be a flattering silhouette
Cons
- Don’t always have half sizes
- Don’t always have wide widths (and they run very narrow)
- Might be hard to find a perfect fit
- Doesn’t always live up to looking like a professional dress shoe
That said, if the Wolf and Shepherd’s offerings resonate with you and you have the budget for them, I think they might be worth trying out. Wolf and Shepherd seems like a good choice as far as comfort goes.
About Wolf and Shepherd
Wolf and Shepherd’s unique brand of athletic/dressy shoes directly results from their founders’ formative experiences.
As former Division 1 track and field athletes, the founders of this brand developed a deep appreciation for well-crafted shoes that could offer both comfort and performance.
After graduating and entering the world of professional office work, they wanted shoes that were dressy enough for the office but as comfortable as the sports shoes they had become accustomed to.
Flash forward a few years, and voila! With a combination of quality, hand-crafted leather and a cleanly designed, sporty sole that delivers serious comfort, Wolf and Shepherd was born.
I’ve tested both their Derby (sport dress shoe) and Monaco (loafer). I’ll go ahead and break things down by the shoe and then give my overall impression of the brand.
The Review
Now, let’s get into the review.
The SwiftKnit Derby
The SwiftKnit Derby shoe is probably Wolf and Shepherd’s most accessible shoe. It has a long, narrow fit that I think looks great — it kind of gives a tall and lean sort of look and feel. The materials are excellent, and the overall craftsmanship is on point.
As far as comfort goes, the Derby’s stretchy knit upper is comfortable and breathable. And the sole is soft and bouncy, kind of like the Nike Pegasus running shoe. Taken together, they make for a super lightweight and comfy shoe.
The Monaco Loafer
Wolf and Shepherd’s take on a loafer, the Monaco, really does look like a professional dress shoe. You’ll definitely have no problem with wearing this to a business casual office.
It has that same long and narrow look that I like out of the Derby too. Really, it’s a stylish shoe.
For a loafer, this shoe has a really nice soft and unstructured feel that will form to your foot and give a custom fit. This makes it a comfortable dress shoe after you take a few weeks to break it in. And since it has a collapsible heel, you can fold it down and wear it like a slip-on for a more casual look too.
So overall, I would definitely wear this to the office, or maybe to a summer wedding. The water-repellent suede is nice too, so you don’t have to worry about ruining them as you would with a standard suede loafer.
The Brand Overall
If I had to say just one thing about Wolf and Shepherd’s shoes, it’s this — if comfort is your top priority, it’s worth checking out.
If you really can’t find a comfortable dress shoe elsewhere, just about anything from Wolf and Shepherd will work (but that comes with a caveat that I’ll discuss in the next section).
Overall it’s a cool, modern brand. If it resonates with you and you have the budget, try it out.
What I Don’t Like
And just like the section above, I’ll break the “cons” down by the shoe here before giving my overall impression of what I’d like the brand to improve on.
The SwiftKnit Derby
Unfortunately, I don’t love the Derby. There are a couple of reasons why.
First, I couldn’t find a perfect fit. A half-size or wide size would have helped a lot. And in my opinion, the white sole just doesn’t look great with all the available colors.
Some of them just don’t really live up to looking like dress shoes that you’d wear to an office.
And since you’ll be wearing them as a sneaker, they’re probably a little too expensive for what you get (compared to similar offerings from Nike or Adidas).
Monaco Loafer
Honestly, I don’t really have much negative to say about the Monaco — it really hit all of the points I expect out of a loafer. And it’s available in half sizes too (unlike the Derby), so you can really find the perfect fit for your foot.
My one gripe with this loafer is the width. It’s an extremely narrow shoe. According to the Brannock device, I don’t have a wide foot, but it’s still a squeeze to get into these loafers.
The Brand Overall
I don’t really think hybrid shoes are ever going to catch on for wearing to the office. For professional settings, Wolf and Shepherd’s hybrid shoes just don’t cut it for me.
In my opinion, the hybrid shoe isn’t the best of both worlds (dress shoes and
It’s sort of a weird mix that doesn’t fit comfortably in any environment, except for maybe a tech start-up office, where it would fit among the sea of hoodies worn over button-up shirts.
FAQs About Wolf and Shepherd
And to wrap things up, I’ll answer the questions that I hear guys asking most often about Wolf and Shepherd.
Are Wolf and Shepherd Shoes Resoleable?
They are, as Wolf and Shepherd points out on their shoe care page: “Wolf & Shepherd shoes & boots feature PhoenixTECH and are resoleable in the forefoot and heel. The only exception is our Gunner Driver style.”
Where Are Wolf and Shepherd Shoes Made?
Wolf and Shepherd’s shoes are sewn by hand in Porto, Portugal.
Are Wolf and Shepherd Shoes Expensive?
Compared to other shoes with a similar style and materials, yes — Wolf and Shepherd’s shoes are pretty expensive.
Are Wolf and Shepherd Shoes Waterproof?
Some of Wolf and Shepherd’s shoes (like the Monaco) are water-resistant, but none are completely waterproof.
Final Verdict: They’re Not a Standard Brand
While I really enjoyed the Monaco loafer, the SwiftKnit Derby wasn’t the shoe for me.
Overall, the brand is expensive for what amounts to a high-class sneaker. If you look around, there are other brands that offer comfortable dress shoe fits for a lower price.
So if the “cool factor” is essential to you and you have the budget, go for it — but if you’re looking for a well-priced, traditional, comfortable dress shoe, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Questions? Comments? Leave them below!
My recent experience with Wolf and Shepherd is one of the worst shopping experiences ever. No one should do business with this company. The experience has been awful at every step of the way. I decided to try the Closer because people in the media I like — Colin Cowherd and Rob Gronkowski — promoted the shoes and the company in a very personal way. The first challenge was figuring out the right size. I studied the online guide provided by W&S, which proved completely inaccurate. But not trusting its own site, I emailed customer support using the address provided but never got a response. Still, I stupidly trusted the company’s own guidance online, including the part about “true to fit” and even going up a size. I ordered true to fit based on literally every other pair of shoes in my wardrobe, only to get my size 11 — which was about an ocean too large. But it gets worse. I initially paid extra for second-day shipping — only to get an email from W&S the next day telling me my two-day shipping would be at least three, which turned out to be four. So I paid extra for shipping and got the same crappy standard shipping. When the shoes arrived, they were laced in some stupid fashion that forced me to unlace an entire shoe and lace normally. That took ten minutes. I put the shoe on, and it was, as I had mentioned, absurdly large. The shoes also weigh a ton. I can’t imagine any normal-sized guy wearing such boat anchors. Gronkowski, yes. Regular guys no. I didn’t bother putting on the other shoe, of course. When I then began the return process, I saw that the company had no intention of refunding my extra charge, and charged me an additional $10 “restocking fee” despite the fact that the incorrect size choice was made based on the company’s failure to respond to a message and to its own information online. Added bonus — I have to wait at least 10 days for the refund. It has only been five business days so we’ll see if the refund even shows up, minus my extra shipping charge and plus the bogus restocking fee. And on top of all that, the shoes are not even that attractive. There is NOTHING about the shoes to justify the absurdly high cost. They’re just boring black dress shoes that are no better than what you can get anywhere for half the cost or less. There was no way I was going to exchange them and go back forth by mail three more times trying to get the size right, and the company provides no live support. Terrible service, overhyped, uncomfortable, clunky shoes, and I end up losing money — and I’ve still got to go buy new dress shoes.