The first pair of shoes I remember getting excited about takes me back in 8th grade, when I had a pair of the Kobe 2 basketball shoes—recognizable as gaudy silver shoes that looked more out of place on a basketball court than Charles Barkley does in a spin class. They fit great, and I was of the opinion that they looked even better. Looking back, I can now smile knowing that they might have been the ugliest shoes I’ve owned to date, and unless I was shooting hoops every day after school (I wasn’t), they simply weren’t practical. As I grew older, I realized the importance of not just comfort, but style and versatility. So now with every pair of dress shoes I buy, I look for whether they can be worn out and about and in the workplace as well. And that’s what led me to choose the Allen Edmonds Verona II Italian Loafer when I was given the opportunity to review a pair of Allen Edmonds shoes.

While they don’t have the “really?” factor that the Kobe 2s brought with them, they are a beautiful pair of shoes, and certainly draw attention—but subtly enough to not distract from the rest of the outfit. Now, full disclosure: I have two other pairs of AE shoes, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I have a pair of brown Firenze Italian Loafers with a rubber sole and the Park Avenue Cap Toe Oxfords in Bourbon. While the initial two look and fit great, they fit in my wardrobe as business casual staples. I wear a suit to work, so the Verona II has been a welcome addition to my wardrobe. My only qualm is that the Verona II has a leather sole as a dress shoe—fortunately, adding a rubber sole is an easy fix with the AE legendary recrafting service (as I’m a New England guy and the weather in Boston is notoriously unpredictable, it might be in my best interest to get them resoled simply to slow down the wear and tear of walking up and down the streets of Beacon Hill).

Other than that minor preference, little to nothing needs to be changed with these shoes. They are dressy enough to not only be worn every day in the office, but out on Saturday afternoon, or an evening on the town. As an added bonus, they have a bit (no pun intended) of a jingle when you walk around with them—for me, it seems like I’m walking in cowboy boots, but with the style, comfort, and heritage of Allen Edmonds. In short, the Verona IIs fit as good as they look, and unlike most shoes—took very little time to break in.

In a time where brown shoes seem to be the work wardrobe of every guy under 30, having a pair of smart, sharp, black loafers becomes a distinguisher. If you were to walk through the Financial District 15 years ago, the Allen Edmonds that you’d see would be overloaded with tassels, with the thought that a flash of silver might be viewed as too flashy—thankfully, that’s changed. These days, Italian bit loafers are in—and these are the only ones worth getting.