A MAN’S GUIDE TO SHOES

Shoes have always been the woman’s domain. Men are generally clueless when it comes to selecting and wearing the right kind of shoes. In this short guide, we give you four quick tips to bring up your shoe knowledge up to speed, and become well versed with what to wear and what not to wear.

Men, here’s the deal: shoes are important.

No, before you go up in arms and say that they’re functional, that their purpose is to dress and protect the feet, not to act as fashion statements, you need to accept facts. Shoes are important. They change your entire outfit, and regardless of what your friends tell you, everyone – yes, everyone – notices them.

So if you wear bad shoes, you will not be committing social suicide – you’re not women, after all – but let’s just say that people will say things behind your back. And why would you take that risk, when you have this quick guide to help you stay in their good books?

1. Buy Organic

If you wish to buy a good quality shoe, the material should be organic, nothing synthetic. The soles should be stitched onto the shoe, never glued on. The stitching should be through the sole of the shoe and around the entirety of the shoe. The more superficial the stitching, the more likely the shoe is to not last the year.

2. Maintain your shoes well

Shoes are not meant to be bought, worn and forgotten. Buy a polishing kit, take your shoes to have them resoled, and in general, be good to them. If you’re too lazy to polish your shoes every now and then, give them a dry scrub. That will help too.

3. Keep an eye on what’s trending

Everything goes in and out of fashion in cycles. For instance, double monk strap and wingtip are styles that are ‘in’ today, and there are a lot of suede, and two-toned shoes that people are wearing. But that doesn’t mean the same things will be worn in ten years, or even five years. If you want to wear good shoes, you must keep a working knowledge of what is in and what is out.

4. Believe in brown

If you’re clueless about the various styles and shapes of shoes, believe in brown and you will never go wrong. Brown shoes match almost every colour suit except for black, and they look great on jeans too. Just make sure you don’t wear them on something black, and you will be fine.