What is it with guys and their shoes?

[Aristus]

I've seen guys who are otherwise exceptional dressers absolutely fail hard when it comes to pairing their shoes.

When I was in PA School, there were events for which the students would need to appear in business dress. The guys would all wear these natty suits. One could always tell who among the guys were military veterans, because we were the only ones who polished our shoes. Most of the other guys wore ratty-looking, unshined leather slip-ons even with the nicest of suits.

I was at the opera a few weeks back, and saw a guy wearing a very nice, well-fitted tuxedo; guy really knew how to accessorize, too; studs, cufflinks, the works. And he was wearing a pair of the above-mentioned ratty black slip-ons.

Dude? Seriously!

I admit I go a little over on the other side of the issue. I own probably sixty pairs of shoes. One doesn't have to go that far.

But put some effort into it!

[stopbush]

1. Yawn!

[DetlefK]

2. Actually, my mother always warned me: "First thing girls look at is a guy's shoes."

[sl8]

50. Did she happen to mention the last thing that they look at? n/t

[Aristus]

52. Do tell...

I am all attention...

[sl8]

57. Sorry, I don't know. But, for you, l'll list every thing I DO know about women:

[madaboutharry]

3. Agree.

Though the men around me all wear nice shoes. My codename: Shoe Cop!

[hlthe2b]

4. Well, look at it this way... can anyone even recall what Trump's shoes look like, given everything

else?

Perhaps they think others are likewise distracted by what comes between the head and the knees.

But, yeah, I have seen what you describe. For me, though, as long as they aren't wearing Birkenstocks with that suit, I likely will not take too much note.

[gratuitous]

13. Why should I look at Trump's feet when hasn't seen them for years?

Yeah, it's a cheap shot. You're welcome.

[Aristus]

17. Yeah, I thought the same thing.

[Sanity Claws]

5. I'm just grateful when the guy is not wearing socks with sandals

Standards have definitely been lowered.

[hunter]

6. I used to wear red or pink Chuck Taylor high tops with suits or tuxes.

Sometimes black for less formal occasions.

[Aristus]

8. I make an exception for Tux With Chux.

My brother was my best man at my wedding, and he wore a nice tailcoat with a pair of red chucks. It was cool.

[Arthur_Frain]

16. I still wear these. Of course they've been made in China for some time now.

I probably wore them during that transition. God, no cushioning whatsoever.

I wear a pair 0f 14s on the outside of my neoprene chest waders. Never were any good for my jump shot, but just the thing for that slippery rock on the edge of the stream.

[AJT]

7. A man after my own heart.....60 pairs of shoes.

[Aristus]

9. Every time I get another pair, I say to myself:

"Yep. That's it. I've got all the shoes I could possibly need."

Then:

"Oooh! NICE! I'm gettin' 'em!"

[Major Nikon]

48. I don't have a count, but I own more shoes than my wife

[Ohiogal]

10. AJT beat me to it!

I don't own 60 pairs of shoes any more, but I probably did when I was working. I

An aside ..... hey men, if you're going to wear sandals, make sure your feet look acceptable and that your toenails aren't disgusting looking! I see so much of this in the summer months!

[Aristus]

11. I don't wear sandals for that exact reason.

I keep my feet looking pretty good. And I'm lucky they're not this crabbed, twisted morass of hairy toes one sees peeking out of ugly sandals. But still, I don't pretend that anyone wants to see my feet...

[lunasun]

12. All I could think of was Imelda Marcos . Just me but the only place for 60 pairs of shoes is a shoe

store but each to his own and effort on foot wear is optional in life for many

?w=600

[Aristus]

14. I used to think so, too.

Then I realized what a great way they have of punching up a wardrobe.

My 'tee-shirt-and-jeans' days are behind me...

[Thyla]

15. I own two pair

Black Vans for going out and driving and blue steel caps for the rest.
Three if you count flip flops in the summer.

[OriginalGeek]

18. I don't have 60 pair

but I do have way more than my wife has. I love new shoes more than my budget allows but I have some pretty nice ones. Including the Lucchese ostrich-skin boots I'm wearing to work today. Those and my Allen Edmonds McAlisters are my favorite pairs.

If I ever hit it big in the lottery one of the highest "wants" in my list is a pair of bespoke John Lobb shoes.

[Major Nikon]

49. I own several pair of Allen Edmonds

Those and Alden are my favorites.

[OriginalGeek]

59. It's hard to describe but

I just feel sportier when I stroll by a full length mirror and see those AEs classing up the end of my legs.

I'll have to look up Alden now.

[Major Nikon]

60. Almost all my shoes and boots are made in the US

AE makes almost all of their footwear domestically, but there's a few exceptions. I think Alden's are made exclusively in the US, but their choices are smaller and tend to be more expensive.

Alden Indy boots are outrageously expensive, but they are incredibly well made, have a classic style, and are the most comfortable footwear I own. The only thing about them is some of their lasts tend to fit a half size too large (at least in my case). At some point I will probably buy a 2nd pair of these. The closest AE has to it is the Higgins Mill. I own a pair of those which have very similar leather from the same tannery. They are quite good, but not as good as the Indy boot.

As far as AE goes, Hopkinson is my favorite. It's almost as if the last is custom made for my feet. I couldn't imagine even a bespoke pair of shoes fitting better. I have two pair in black and burgundy. It's almost all I ever wear with a suit. The quality of the leather is considerably better than AEs normal lines, which are already quite good.

[customerserviceguy]

19. Men buy shoes for comfort, women buy them for style

Not always, of course, but that's generally what's going on here. Bunions come from bad shoes, women have ten times more bunions than men:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/what-to-do-about-bunions

And with sixty pairs of shoes? That's borderline Imelda Marcos territory, there.

[Aristus]

23. She had, like, 7,000 pairs or so.

I'm not there (yet).

I like it when my shoes get positive attention. I wore my brown-and-white spectators to a Kentucky Derby party last year; real 1940's kind of shoes. Everybody kept complimenting me on them. It was nice.

[customerserviceguy]

24. I was just kidding, of course

I've never had more than ten pairs of shoes at any one time in my life, and most of my life, I've never had more than five. Shoes to work in (white collar job), shoes for dress-up, and sneakers for everyday life. I usually just wear slippers around the house. Oh, and a pair of winter Arctic boots that I bought at Jerry's Surplus in Everett, Washington in 1981. I doubt that I'm going to need them in SC!

[GeorgeGist]

20. Meow

[Aristus]

21. I know, right?

Some guys!...

[KY_EnviroGuy]

22. Aristus, there's an old saying that takes it one step further...

"Any man that doesn't shine the backs of his shoes probably never wipes his ass"......

I guess we're old-fashioned and a dying breed. I wear hand-polished lace-up Rockports when going out and suede L. L. Bean slip-ons around the house, and tennis shoes on casual outings.

Still have the shoe box full of cans of polish and brushes. We learned spit shine in ROTC in college!

More stuff for the kids to pitch out after I'm gone.....

[Aristus]

25. HA!

[left-of-center2012]

28. "there's an old saying"

"Any man that doesn't shine the backs of his shoes probably never wipes his ass"

I'm old and never I heard that.

[left-of-center2012]

26. Generalizations are often wrong

IMHO

[dameatball]

27. I'm just happy I can still look down and see my feet....:)

[TruckFump]

29. When I was still practicing law:

Stilling in the courtroom behind counsel at the bench -- about a 75% YUCK to all shoes that were seen and not just on the male attorneys. The heels and the scuff marks on the back of the shoes were awful. So, don't just look at your toes...check out the rear view. Seeing that a few times got me into the habit of keeping a pair of driving shoes in the car and putting on my court shoes after I parked.

Edit for typo

[Aristus]

31. Similar to what we did in the Army. I was a tank crewman, so we did lots of maintenance.

We kept a pair of ratty old boots down at the motor pool to change into after morning formation.

At the end of the day, we'd change back into our highly-polished boots for evening formation and dismissal.

Saved a lot of polishing work.

[Soph0571]

30. Exactly

[LakeArenal]

32. At job interviews as well. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Aristus]

54. One of the reasons I started building my wardrobe is I started applying for positions

that required more than one interview. You have to have more than one suit and one pair of dress shoes for that kind of thing.

I started liking the way I looked all snazzed up. I win no prizes in looks contests, but dressing well helps. I just kept building until I had a pretty nice wardrobe.

I joked to my wife the other night as we watched TV roll of Trump waddling around in one of his baggy, ill-fitting suits. I told her: "I can dress better than Trump with three things chosen at random from my closet with my eyes closed!"

[captain queeg]

33. I have absolutely no fashion sense

My son buys me fancy Nike shoes, sort of cutting edge looks at the time I guess at least for athletic shoes. I wear them to work and always getting people on the elevator complimenting them. I always admit my kid picked them out for me. I guess at least it wasn’t my mom.

[Hoyt]

34. Don't have a lot of shoes because once I like a pair, I wear them out. But, always polish my shoes.

Nowadays, I mostly wear trail running shoes and avoid most events that require something else.

[Harker]

35. What was the opera? n/t

[Aristus]

36. Carmen.

Excellent.

[Harker]

38. Nice.

I've seen only "Fidelio" live.

Graz Oper, 1992. Fine music and singing, but ghastly set design and costuming.

[Aristus]

39. That's one I've never seen before.

Beethoven's one and only opera. I know his symphonic music inside and out. It would be great to hear what he brought to opera.

[Harker]

45. You'll be well rewarded, I think.

It's origins lie with Mozart's pal Schikaneder, and its development was convoluted.

At heart, I'm a Puccini man.

[Aristus]

51. More breathtakingly lovely music.

My sister, who is a classically-trained coloratura soprano, sang "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schichi at my wedding. My favorite aria ever.

I'm a Wagner man, myself. But I actually loathe the wedding march from Lohengrin, the hackneyed "Here Comes The Bride" thing. My wife and I had our processional accompanied by Pachelbel's Canon in D.

[Harker]

55. I love that aria.

I think I've yet to hear your sister, but Renata Tebaldi and Victoria de los Angeles have especially touched me with that one. Might I hear her voice?

There's not a work by Puccini that doesn't feature at least one throat clencher for me. I drive around crying much of the time.

Love Der Ring des Nibelungens, but am otherwise not well acquainted with Wagner.

[Aristus]

58. My sister never got the recording career she wanted.

She auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera a number of years ago, but was not chosen.

[Harker]

63. I'm sure many very fine singers find paths elsewhere. n/t

[pansypoo53219]

37. meh. i gave up on shoes 2001. been barefoot mostly since. shoes getting uglier. my feet enjoying it

[Harker]

46. I should have long ago.

As a very young child, an exasperated shoe salesman told my mom, "lady... your kid - he's got feet like a duck!"

At sixty, I see the damage done by not having worn appropriate footwear for much of my life.

[pansypoo53219]

62. i guess bunions run in the family. 1 foot had 1 forever and the good foot all of a sudden,

BUNION, but no biggie barefoot. winter in wi is an issue tho. socks or slippers. or i bear the cold. easier than hot.

[MLAA]

40. Funny timing

I just ordered my husband another pair of very handsome (yet comfortable) shoes. He use to bring home shoes that were ‘reasonably’ priced but never comfortable and certainly not long lasting. I upgraded him a few notches, well maybe more than a few. They look great, feel great and last longer. Finally I convinced him with the ‘you only need about 4 pairs of shoes, so why not make the investment, look good and most importantly be comfortable?’ It might have helped when I said if he has sharp shoes he can wear dark blue jeans almost anywhere 😉

[underpants]

41. REM "Good Advices" when you meet a stranger look at her hands...

When you meet a stranger look at his shoes.

I own a lot of shoes. My family makes fun of me about it. Not 60 though, that’s weird. 😉😆

I agree guys skimp on their shoes a lot.

Funny just yesterday I had an interview for a new position and I realized my “interview shoes” were still in one of the boxes from the move. Nothing super fancy (not actual leather) but they shine and they are black slipons. I also realized all my ties were in another box - I grabbed three yellow ones (good luck) and found one that was okay.

I tend to buy two pairs of shoes just after Christmas. 3 years ago it was some Adidas and one pair are still in the box. This year it was work ok cowboy boots.

[Shrike47]

42. I remember the year I stopped wearing good-looking shoes: I had developed gout. Very painful.

I also remember the year I decided I would never wear pantyhose again (I am short and had to wear tight underpants over them to keep them up).

It’s comfort for me, not style.

[Aristus]

43. When one looks the way I do, any effort to look better helps.

I've done comfort. It's nice. But no one who ever said to me: "You look comfortable!" has meant it as a compliment.

[hibbing]

44. Interesting post Imelda

Last edited Thu Jul 11, 2019, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Guess I should have read the thread before my lame joke.

What's your favorite pair?

Peace

[Harker]

47. Ooh. Here you go.

https://m.

[Aristus]

61. Probably a simple, but natty, pair of tobacco-brown Joseph Aboud desert boots.

They go with everything.

[Iggo]

53. I have six pairs of shoes.

Two pairs of black tennies (one pair comfy, one pair presentable) and two pairs of white ones (same...comfy and presentable.)

I have a black pair of Timbos and a brown pair.

That's it.

I can't imagine my ever needing anything more than that.

[zanana1]

56. Pictures! We need pictures! nt