Thank you. What would you recommend for those genuine leather shoes?
I think there's a misconception here, genuine leather is a very wrongly coined term and, as genuine means "real" and gives the perception that genuine leather is of better grade.
You would want to look for full grain leather when it comes to shoes --> which is of better quality and can take polish much better.
Some brands that I know of within the 200-300 range will be CNES Shoemaker, Ed Et Al, Fugashin. But for Fugashin, you'll have to buy them online I believe, no SG retailer, so only purchase if you're sure of your shoe size. I think the staff at CNES Shoemaker are related to Straits Establishment as I've seen the same face at the old Suntec store and their new Beach road store and they are really nice and will walk you through should you have any doubts. As for Ed Et Al, service can be much better since the last time I've been there, its been quite a long time, so can't really comment much also.
Other brands if you don't mind breaking the 300 range (mainly goodyear welted) will be CNES Shoemaker, Ed Et Al (they appear in both because they offer both blake stitched shoes and goodyear), Jalan Sriwijaya, Carlos Santos, Jonathan Abel, Berwick, Magnanni
And if you feel a little richer (especially if you're eligible for the extra $300 GST Voucher at the end of the year, bringing the budget to around $500 to $600), you can look at many other brands (probably gonna cost you more, but its worth a shot): Carmina, Antonio Meccariello, Septieme Largeur
There's ton to explore out there, I suggest going down to the shops to try them before making a purchase. But do note that although most people would preach about stitched shoes (blake or goodyear), cemented shoes have their plus points too, with the shoes being more flexible and comfortable (due to the construction), whereas blake or goodyear shoes tend to feel abit stiffer, and comfort only comes in after the breaking in.
Hope this helps and have fun exploring!
*Little tip: If you're confident in your restoration skills, you can try carousell for 2nd hand shoes, most of them are just shoes that are sold cheaply due to lack of space or a bad fit. One man's trash is another man's treasure I guess. No luck with this, but my friend managed to get a pair of Alden for like $400 (retail price for Alden is around $900 and above). Or, just send it to a shoe shop like Straits Establishment/Mason & Smith for shoe restoration.