Dress shoe burnout — it is bound to happen to all of us at one point or another. Man can only alternate between black and dark brown cap-toe oxfords for so long. The occasional pair of Chuck Taylors might add some much needed relief, but that’s more of a style Aspirin than a cure for [...]
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Cobalt blue shoes aren’t easy for anyone to pull off. Hamish Bowles (Vogue Editor) manages to tie the look together with his matching sweater and shirt, but it’s actually not necessary to be all matchy-matchy. One way to spunk up a look and show off some sartorial style is to throw in a random element. In this case it was the shoes, but it could be anything from a brightly colored sweater to patterned plaid pants. Just make sure to keep the other elements of your outfit simple so that there’s not too much going on. Cheap Dress Shoes a la Kenneth Cole (black, big square toe, and rubber sole): I don’t think it’s necessary for guys to spend extravagantly on nice dress shoes. I do, however, have a problem with those of you out there still wearing Kenneth Cole shoes circa early 2000. Maybe it’s because I am getting older, but it seriously reminds me of guys just out of college, purchasing their first pair of semi-dress shoes. You are sorta forgiven if you are 22, fresh out of school, and don’t know any better, but even still…. it just seems so dated, and sooo bridge-and-tunnel. The Rule: Match ‘Em According to the tenets of man-law, thine belt shalt match thine shoes, and this violation is just the kind of thing that tends to get noticed. The black-black or brown-brown pairing is always appropriate and should be the default setting for any sensible getup. This is an attention-to-detail test, underpinned by a recognition that a dress belt isn’t really for holding up one’s pants, but for adding an element of connectivity to an ensemble. Keep the shades and patterns close, and keep that style reputation intact. Male, 29, Los Angeles, Engineering Men are lucky, I think, in that we don’t necessarily need extensive wardrobes to be well dressed, and the less we give in to contemporary fashion trends, the better off we are. A few staple items are really all it takes to be able to dress for almost any occasion. If clothes fit well and meet or exceed expectations of appropriateness (wearing a polo when a t-shirt would be acceptable), the rest comes down to details and individual style. Using essential elements as the wardrobe foundation, building good individual style is as simple as mixing, matching, and adding in some elements of freshness. |
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