If you Google “What Shoes Say About a Man” You will be able to spend hours reading the results. Shoes are the single most important accessory a gentlemen wears. You can have a perfectly tailored suit, with the perfect tie, shirt, cufflink, and pocket square combo ever seen and then put on just a god awful shoe and you will look like an idiot! Just look at the clowns who walk in the city with sneakers on, they look stupid!
With the right shoe on you can look good even if you are not wearing a tie, cufflinks, or a pocket square. Without the right shoe you look a mess.
So what is the right shoe to wear? It depends on were you are going and what you are doing to determine what to wear (Please Note Color should match what you are wearing):
- Business Suit – Dress Oxford/Lace-up – Wing Tip or Cap Toe
- Sports Coat/Slacks – Dress Oxford/Lace-up – Wing Tip or Cap Toe or Dress Loafers
- Casual – Anything you like, it is casual so make yourself happy
- Summer wear – for the summer I love to wear my two-toned Wing Tips or Cap Toe shoes
- Formal Wear (Tuxedo) – Opera Pumps or Patten Leather Lace-up
So where to I get my shoes? For me it’s simple “Allen Edmonds”, whether you going business formal, sport jacket, or just plain ole casual (not for formal) Allen Edmond is the place to go (No they are not paying me to say this. Not yet anyway). The shoes are excellently constructed, comfortable, great styles and reasonable priced. The Park Avenue Cap Toe goes for $345. In addition they carry wide sizes, which is what I need. Other good reasonably priced dress shoes are;
- Bostonian
- Johnston & Murphy
- Florsheim
Some Tips For You Newbies:
- We are not women we do not need 40 pairs of shoes, so get quality over quantity.
- When you find a shoe you like, but multiple pairs (you won’t find them again). I bought 6 pairs of Allen Edmond shoes 5 years ago in both black and brown (3 pairs of each) and people still stop me on the street to compliment them.
- Start with Black & Brown and build from there
- Keep your shoes Shined, you can never do this enough
- Stay away from big name fashion designers, the shoes are expensive, too trendy (so you can’t wear them for very long) and I find them uncomfortable and way too narrow
- Avoid Box Toe Shoes, yes they may be more comfortable, but they are god awful ugly