Ya man, same problem dude.
If you want to buy locally, nothing is softer than Hush Puppies, but they aren't the best quality and not that expensive either. They are available in Bata.
The best brand available easily in the 7-9k price range is Rockport. If you don't mind importing, nothing beats Allen Edmonds which usually cost around $300 retail but can be had for sub $150 during sales (which is like much of the year) plus Aramex etc fees. So easily within the 10k budget.
And they will easily beat most of the brands you would buy in India at 20k+ including Hugo Boss, Armani etc.
MY EXPERIENCE WITH JOHN BROTHERS!!!
I went to them today.
1. They couldn't make something lighter than Rockport, and perhaps not even as light. And even if they make a light shoe from their standards, my Rockport would remain softer and more comfortable according to them because they would have to make do without the cushion.
2. If they do add a cushion, which some shoes did have, then they were sure that they couldn't make anything near as light as my Rockport shoes.
3. I tried 2 shoes or something, and they weren't anything near as comfortable as my Rockport shoes.
So basically I felt I would be better off buying a brown shoe from Rockport rather experimenting with them with a less than 10% chance of success.
The rate wasn't expensive, wasn't cheap, from Indian standards that is. It was Rs.6800 starting and around Rs.8000 or so for expensive designs, so like $150-175 depending on the design etc.
And Rockport too costs like Rs.8000 or $175 or so. And both my current Rockports are comfortable, and acceptably soft and very light. And their shoes even in their opinion couldn't match all three things together at the same time.
So I gave up the idea of buying from John Brothers.
I will probably stick to Rockport. Btw, does anybody have any idea how much Hugo Boss shoes cost in India, I for one know that their shirts start around $230 or so, Rs.10400. So I am scared to ask about their shoes
