How to choose the right dress shoes (for men)
One of the greatest under acknowledged fashion statements for a man is his shoes. Some men know this, and some men are clueless. There is an old saying that you can tell the station of a man by his shoes, and it’s fairly true. If you wear a nice suit and cheap shoes, you are not going to be making it to the boardroom any time soon. So, for the clueless out there or the ones that are not so clueless but never learned, we are going to go over what you need to know for getting a pair of dress shoes and rocking them. Just for a note, women will always notice your shoes. They may never say anything, and you may never see them looking, but trust us, you are being judged by your shoes. If you don’t care? Then fine, why are you reading this article, if you care? Then read on.
How many pairs
If you are going to be wearing dress shoes a lot, you will need to buy 2 pairs. Good shoes need to take a breather day and dry out. Good leather shoes are great for keeping moisture out, but the leather is not so great on the moisture from your feet. So, you should only wear the same shoes every other day.
Where will you wear them
You need to know where you are going to be wearing them. Is it a one-time occasion? Every day for work? Not every day but often? This all makes a difference. If you are going to be wearing them every day, you would buy much better shoes. If it was a one-time occasion, you can buy a pair of nice looking but cheap shoes that you don’t have to worry about.
Upgrade
Get better shoes. Spend the money. Buy $500 shoes rather than $100 shoes. Why? They will look better and last longer, and you will feel more like a king wearing them. Those cheaper shoes generally can’t be repaired, but a good pair of shoes can be repaired for a lifetime.
Color
This is an easy one. Keep it simple, black first, burgundy second, Brown third. Burgundy is a good choice if you have brown suits as well as black. We ourselves prefer straight black, as it can go with almost anything.
There are many styles of dress shoes, but if we were to suggest only one pair for you, we would suggest oxfords. They are about as classic as you can get. You can never go wrong with them and you can wear them with almost anything.
Shoes do a lot more than just protect your feet, they protect your image. They grant you status more than you would expect. You don’t always have to buy an expensive pair of shoes, but whatever you buy, you need to take care of them. You need to air them out, let them dry at least one night before wearing again. Just like your socks, you need to change them every day (dear god, we hope you change your socks every day, or you have a lot more lessons to learn). Keep them clean and make the effort on them. If you are proud of your shoes, it carries over in your attitude. You might not even realize it, but it shows. Take care of them and they will take care of you