The last time PRAKTICALA featured a pair of black oxfords was when we reviewed Beckett Simonon’s Caine oxfords. That was a long time ago.

Beckett Simonon recently sent me their latest update on the black dress shoe, the Dean oxfords, for review. Check out PRAKTICALA’s Beckett Simonon Dean Oxford dress shoe review below!

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What’s in the box

The Dean oxfords come with two individual dust bags for carrying your shoes, as well as two sets of foam inserts and two sets of laces.

The last time I got a pair of Beckett Simonon shoes, the inserts had gold logos printed on them (and there was only one pair). Not sure why they changed to these plain black ones.

I didn’t get a shoe horn either this time, which did come with my last pair (as well as my first pair). The shoe horn seems to be the most erratic accessory for Beckett Simonon. They should always include them!

For some unexplained reason, out of the four shoelaces in the box, three of them were different lengths! There was only one pair of matching laces, the other two were totally different lengths.

As usual, I dig the dust bags. Nice material.

Beckett Simonon Dean Oxford dress shoe review

The first thing I noticed about the shoes themselves was their similarity to the Durant brogues. They appear to be formed from the same last, as their shapes are basically identical.

While the Dean oxfords are also extremely close in appearance to my original Caine oxfords, the shape is noticeably slimmer. Can you tell the difference?

Other than the slightly narrower shape, there is also a minor difference in the stitching line near the eyelets. Interesting.

The construction and finish on the Dean oxfords are clean and consistent. The uppers are full-grain leather, which is critical to consider when buying shoes that don’t completely suck.

The outsoles and lining are leather as well. The soles are blake-stitched, which can be resoled.

How do they fit?

The Dean oxfords fit much like the Durant brogues, as can be expected due to their identical shape. And, like the Durant brogues, they definitely require a break-in period to soften them up.

Oddly, while this particular pair was a size 9 US, they were noticeably smaller than the Durant brogues in size 9. I normally wear a size 10 or 10.5 in sneakers (43-44 EUR), and drop down to 9 for dress shoes, but this time they were too small. I recommend sizing down only a half-size for the Dean oxfords. (For all other Beckett Simonon shoes, I’ve sized down one full size without any issues.)

In terms of comfort, when comparing Beckett Simonon’s past offerings, still nothing beats the premium brogues or my Goodyear welted Caine oxfords, neither of which are produced anymore. But order these a half-size down from your normal size and take some time to break them in, and you’ll be fine.

Conclusion

PROS: As always with Beckett Simonon – great-looking shoes, good quality, high value, and reasonable prices, especially for full-grain leather, stitched shoes. The new narrower shape here is modern and sharp. Free shipping and returns.

CONS: Sizing and accessories are inconsistent from one package to another.

After a lot of product variation, Beckett Simonon is finally locking down their products to be of consistent quality and style. (I said this already in my last Beckett Simonon review, because it was true.) Their products all feel like they belong to the same established brand. This is a good place for them to be.

The next step for them would be to solidify their entire package game: nail down the sizing and then keep it that way, and include the exact same accessories in every single box. I recommend the dust bags, extra laces (all the same length please), and a shoe horn (duh!) as their core package.

While the variation here isn’t a deal-breaker, it does elicit an unwanted “I wonder what I’ll get this time” feeling when opening a new package. The goal should be to give customers a consistent, predictable experience in quality and service. They’ve already done that with the shoes themselves; now they just have to do it with the whole package.

As for these black oxfords, get them for a formal event, like a wedding or a funeral. For the workplace, or more casual settings, I suggest opting for other colors, and maybe some broguing, like on the Durant brogues.

You can get the black Dean oxford dress shoes here. It also comes in other colors, like tan and bordeaux.

Beckett Simonon has several other shoes and related products too, which you can view here.

EDIT: Now, take 20% off your order with our exclusive promo code PRAKTICALA20!

What do you think about the Dean oxford dress shoes? Where would you wear them? Let us know in the comments!