The Importance of Good Shoes

As a man I am a little embarrassed to say I love shoes. My wife thinks I have a shoe problem - too many. I think maybe my problem is I have too few. In my opinion no other item of fashion is as important as what you have on your feet. A man is not well dressed or stylish if they are not wearing a decent pair of shoes.

One of my favorite quotes is by Bernhard Roetzel who said “It would be better to go through life barefoot or wearing just socks ... than to lose face by wearing cheap shoes.” It is an involuntary response to check someone's footwear - so a lot of thought should go into the choice. It always surprises me how much people spend on status items like cars and watches, which are hardly seen, and so little on their shoes which are. The shoes are not only an aid in transport, they are physically there with you when you interact with people (unless in bed or swimming) . I was recently skimming through one of my wifes magazines, and I thought a quote by Nina Garcia, the fashion journalist, summed it up well - "A great pair of shoes can make a $20 outfit look like couture, and a poorly constructed pair of shoes can make couture look like a cheap knockoff." Okay, she was talking about women shoes, but it still hold true for men. Oxford shoe "Bal-type" is the most classic of all mens shoes, and should form the backbone of any mans shoe collection. If you want some ornamentation you can have full or part brogues (wingtip, half or quarter). I recommend a well made English shoe manufacturer (preferably made in Northamptonshire). An English made oxford will arguably only start to look good after some wear. France, Italy and the US have some other decent manufacturers. The shoes I am talking about buying are not cheap ($200 upwards), but if well maintained they will last a lifetime. All my best shoes have leather soles, but it pays to have some with rubber for when it gets icy or just too god damn wet. Once you have your oxfords, you can start experimenting with other types of shoes. I recommend at least one classic suede, a monkstraps, and gucci loafers if you are feeling flush. After that you are on your own. Just make sure that it isn’t a fad shoe, but a classic, at least then you then will know it won't go out of style.