clothing

clothing / lifestyle / Operation Twenty12 / shoes — 2 Comments
4
Jan 12

baby steps

Last fall, I posted a short piece about shoes, and how I was mortified when I took an honest look at the condition of my shoes. I din’t mention that I also worked with a guy, Rod, who always had his shoe game together — nice shoes with a good polish. Well, since that time, I have been slowly sifting through my shoe collection. I now have a laundry basket full of shoes I no longer like. From them, any undesirable shoes that are not significantly worn will be donated to charity. The rest will be pitched. I figured the only way to stop wearing busted shoes is to not own them. To that end, I used the occasion of initiating Operation Twenty12 as an opportunity to pick up a new pair of shoes. They are pair of plain black Soho Oxford shoes by Robert Wayne. I spotted them at DSW about a month ago, but didn’t purchase them. Subsequently, I haven’t been able to find the shoe at two different DSW locations. I rolled the dice yesterday and went to the DSW at Wheaton Mall (Maryland) and was disheartened to discover the shoes were not displayed. On a whim, I went to the clearance rack. (Well…that’s really not a whim, because I usually start at the clearance rack at DSW (or any store for that matter) and work my way back to the main area of the store.) Voila! There were my shoes. There were actually two pairs of them. I debated whether I should just get both so that I could alternate and not wear one pair down. I decided not to get the second pair at the time, but I will likely go back today to pick them up. (Fingers crossed, hoping they’re still there.) It doesn’t hurt that the shoes are marked down from the DSW-discount price of $80 to $54. Both prices are well below the suggested retail of $119.

So, thus I make my start with the clothing section of my project. It’s a baby step (pun intended), but it’s a step. Here are a few pictures of the shoes, juxtaposed with the shoes I was wearing yesterday. Ironically, the shoes I had on yesterday are the shoes that I referenced in my post in October. Those old shoes are just sad. Business casual shouldn’t be an excuse for wearing busted gear.

 

clothing / culture / shoes — 1 Comment
26
Oct 11

sound advice on shoes

Tamara Mellon, Chief Creative Officer for Jimmy Choo, offers some sound advice on mens’ shoes.


 
Here is the back story on why I posted this video.

For a good number of years, when I worked on Capitol Hill and downtown DC as a lobbyist, I was very much into suits, shirts, cufflinks, ties, braces (suspenders) and shoes. When I left DC for a job in New York, the dress code moved from a rather conservative, suit-every-day affair, to one that was truly business casual. Think: nice slacks and open shirts or merino sweaters. I got back into suits, somewhat, when I returned to DC and landed another legislative job. The job was in a federal government agency, so the dress was probably even more conservative (and a little less polished) than what you might see on the Hill or downtown. Nevertheless, it was still shirt and tie, and occasionally suites. Three years ago, I moved to a less visible part of the agency, where the dress is … how shall I say this … comfortable. There are extremes in my office, but for the most part, it’s loosely business casual. In the three years that I’ve been in my current office, I would say that my dress has made a noticeable turn toward the casual.

I am okay with the shift, for the most part. However, I do periodically struggle with the lack of “nice” clothes that I own and wear. I’m not necessarily caught up on clothes, but I’ve always liked to dress well — even if it’s casually. This video particularly resonated with me because of an experience I had a few weeks ago. I was in New York with my wife. I specifically recall my wife’s manager glancing down at my shoes while we were talking. When she turned away to speak to someone, my eyes immediately dropped to my shoes. Gasp! They looked completely busted! Well, maybe not busted, but just blah. Though not dusty, my shoes looked a bit worn, and the shape of the toe area had fallen a bit. The horror! I felt so self-conscious about my shoes that I stopped in a store and bought a new pair (casual, brown suede wing-tips). Had it not been raining, I would have worn them out of the store like I did when I was a kid.

I am not suggesting that people need to run out and buy a bunch of stuff. (I’ve been doing a lot of reading and soul-searching about minimalism lately.) What I do recommend, though, –  particularly to my male friends — is to taking a good, honest look at your shoes. Keep them clean and polished. Keep in mind, your shoes don’t need to have a mirror shine to be polished, but there is not reason for dusty shoes. Look at the heels, welts, soles, as well as the shape of the toe and vamp.
 


 
If your shoes are worn in these areas, considering getting them repaired or replaced. If you’re not willing to do that, at least following the words of Kenny Rogers, “know when to fold them.” You don’t have to throw away shoes that are starting to show some wear, though. Consider donating them, if they are still wearable, to a local charity or Soles4Souls.