The Groom's Shoes

In our world of decreasing conformity it still baffles me that when men have the opportunity to be themselves, on what may be the most important day of their life, the large majority continue to wear the 'uniform' that has been created by social standards. Now don't be mistaken, there is nothing wrong with wearing the 'black suit look' with a pair of tux shoes when you are getting married but when you are wearing it because you think that that is what you are supposed to wear, it then becomes a misrepresentation of what should be. And that is: you should wear the what you feel like so long as you are respecting the elegance of the ceremony. You will see what I mean with the picture below. Respecting the elegance of the ceremony does not mean that you can't have a beach wedding where everyone is in sandals and linens, but rather the idea of not wearing a suit or tux with a pair of stupid-ass sneakers like the d-bag below. It's like when 50% of my friends wore their Nike Jordan's to Prom our Senior year. Granted they were high schoolers so it was not so bad but when you are a grown man doing that on your wedding day, PLEASE, spare yourself the embarrassment.

What inspired me to write about this topic was the fact that I will be getting married in one week and when my fiancee and I started to plan our wedding, the first thing that we talked about was how we did not want to look like every other Jack and Jane who wears the standard wedding attire. While I have a good idea of what I think that I am going to wear it is not yet completely finalized and am still having trouble picking out which of my 20+ dress shoes I will use to liven up my outfit. Can you guess what color I will wear?? I have everything but orange and pink shoes and don't have my blue shoes on me so that leaves a lot of options. Who can nail it?

Let's take a look at some people who decided to go against conformity and create something unique on their big day.













Left Picture: Can't say that I am fond of the lady's shoes but I like the fact that she is wearing a red dress, something that is at least different. The man's shoes on the other hand are great!! And his matching of shirt and suit to the color of the shoes is promising.

Right Picture: Red shoes by the lady is always pleasant. Something about red shoes, I just love, especially on a woman!! The man is taking baby steps to pushing the envelope which I can appreciate. Looks like he has the 'black suit look' but at least the shoes are not just black or black patent.












Left Picture: I love the lady's shoes, they remind me of a pair that I bought for my fiancee. The man, while I try not to pair navy and black, is close to the norm but far enough off to be appreciated. While the shoes have patent and are black, what I like is the fact that they are half velour. The socks speak for themselves.

Right Picture: Yellow is another color I love to see on a woman's feet, it just jumps out at you and says, "Notice me!!" This guy is totally breaking all of the rules, which I love. Gray suit, colorful striped socks and tan shoes. What a combination!


I never thought about this idea until I saw this picture but I find it to be intriguing. Not really pushing the extreme with the suit or shoes but I very much appreciate the bright, bold yellow sock that matches the bride's shoes. The only thing that is discouraging is the fact that not many people may have been able to notice his socks unless he was wearing a suit that was hemmed a little higher which I am hoping that he did considering they coordinated that on purpose. I hope not to offend people regarding their 'big day' but more invite them to be more thoughtful, innovative and really to just be themselves and not some picture that someone else has planted in their mind. I will post pics of my outfit next week, be on the look out!!!!

Shoe Of The Day

I totally forgot to add this on the burgundy shoe post so I thought that I would give this Sutor Mantellassi shoe some love on the Shoe of the Day section. Not only do you see a burgundy suede, which is extremely rare, but then they went and paired it with a green sole and laces. AMAZING!!! I love the idea of this shoe and the thought of all the different color combinations this shoe could produce. What about a blue suede with a yellow sole and laces? How crazy would that be! Go Sutor!!

Burgundy Shoes - Where The Hell Are They??

Why is it so hard to find nice burgundy colored shoes? They used be everywhere. Now you have to scrounge to find them and 80% of the ones you find are some ugly-ass Bass Wejun styled loafer that your grandfather would have worn. For such an elegant color that is extremely versatile, you would think that it would be more readily available by many shoe brands. I guess with this new 'brown being the new black' surge, there hasn't been much thought put into burgundy. Most shoe companies must be worrying about the 97 different colored browns that they are making their shoes in. Not to say that this brown emergence is not good, but I feel like it is now becoming a little bit redundant and the shift needs to take a change towards other colors.
























Shoes (Top of page): Gaziano & Girling
Shoes Above (From top left, clockwise): Dimitri Bottier; Marc Guyot; Saion; Santoni

Out of all of the colors that suits come in (black, navy, gray, khaki & olive) the only suit color that I would hesitate to pair with burgundy would be black. Not saying that I would not ever put a burgundy colored shoe with a black suit (because I think that it could be nice with the right pieces) but it definitely would be my last resort considering how much more burgundy compliments a nice blue/navy or gray suit. It is not a 'racy' color or something that is unacceptable in the work place and the fact that it happens to go so well with all of these suit colors, it seems strange to me that you don't see them very often in the stores. Who fault is this? The shoe companies or the buyers? Either way someone needs to take a risk and bring these beautiful shoes back into the stores so that average Joe's like me and you, who may not be able to afford these beautiful $1000+ shoes that I always display, can actually find a nice pair!






















Shoes Above (Top Left): Gaziano & Girling
All of the Rest: Corthay, pictures provided by Leffot

Let's try to do something here!!! If you agree with me and love burgundy shoes yet have a hard time finding one's that you like then the next time that you go to the place that you shop the most, tell the salesmen to tell their buyers to BUY MORE BURGUNDY!!! If enough of us do this, things will change. Let's re-create the Hush Puppy effect!

Shoe Of The Day

These shoes, by St. Crispins, represent the same ideas I have for when I start my own line. This idea of taking relatively classic styles and giving them a twist with multiple fabrics, colors and other little details has always captured my interest. For me it really just sets the shoe apart, especially a black pair. Without the extra detailing, black shoes are relatively boring. Adding the smallest detail, such as a giving the brogueing a different color, really enhances the shoes' appeal. If you took out the red in these shoes, they would be just like a million other models by a bunch of other makers. I wish that more makers did this but until the becomes acceptable in a working society, I feel that it might continue to be the few who create shoes to this appeal.

Shoe Of The Day

Shoes like this give me inspiration!! Knowing that they exist and people are wearing them only makes me feel better about wanting to start my own shoe line. When I searched for this shoe (Florsheim by Duckie Brown) online I saw that at most of the sites that sold it over the net were close to sold out, with the exception of Zappos that has an inventory so big it must be hard to sell all their sizes. The color combination is exciting, I would not have imagined it myself but it certainly pleases me to see that other designers are taking classic styles and putting modern twists on them to create something unique but not far fetched. If I did not have such other big expense right now I would be on these like white on rice!

Adidas 'Samba': Return of the King

Introduced to the world in 1950, as a way for football (soccer) players to train on icy ground, the Adidas Samba has been one of the most popular athletic shoes of all-time. For Adidas, it is their second best selling shoe of all-time, right behind the Stan Smith, having sold over 35 million pairs worldwide. Over the years many other shoe brands have taken the design and shape from the Samba and incorporated it into the styles of their own models. That classic toe piece at the front of the shoe, with the suede part coming from the sides of the shoe up to the top toe part and then going down towards the laces, must have been ripped off at by at least 100 other styles of sneakers, if not way more, since their introduction. A legend in itself, it has come back stronger than ever. After having been only worn on the soccer fields for years or casually by the die hard fans, Adidas has finally seen the true potential to the style and re-released it an array of other color ways as well as material combinations. And thank God they did because the design of the shoe has always allowed for great potential in it's ability to be a staple shoe.




















Having always been a soccer player myself and wearing Adidas as my soccer shoes, I was never a fan of the Samba due to the long tongue that it used to have before it's re-release. I never liked that. I thought that it looked horrible and that it would be uncomfortable. I was not a die hard fan but when they came out again last year, I quickly jumped on the band wagon and bought a pair when I saw that they had shortened the tongue. When I purchased them, they had only re-released the classic black with white and white with black options and so I went with the all white with black stripes and the gum sole. I went to Vegas shortly after and saw how many other color options they were starting to come out with being somewhat bummed out that I just bought the boring white with black one's. Now they are everywhere in a million different color options and to be honest, I want all of them!!!


















It's hard to find a sneaker inspired shoe that goes good with not only jeans but flat front casual trousers and yet the Samba does and that's what I love about them. They are a win/win situation. They are low cost ($65-$90) and they are versatile as well as relatively comfortable. Not much more that you could ask for! I am excited to see what new designs Adidas can come up for the Samba's as well as seeing regular joe's and jane's sporting them and how they do so!

Shoe Of The Day

Not a lot to say but the fact I think that these brown patent chukka boots by Opening Ceremony are the shit!! I wish that more brands offered something different like these.

Boots - A Man's Necessity

Whether it's one of those disgusting Mark Nason boots, a simple chukka boot or a nice dress boot I feel like every man in his right mind wants or needs to own at least one pair of boots to solidify his manhood. "Boot: The man's shoe!" Maybe it is just me but ever since ads have created something showing what a man's man looks like and the fact that in the ad, this man is almost always wearing a pair of boots, I feel like this idea of having a boot in the wardrobe has become eminent to one's sartorial completion. And I think that it is great because I am a big fan of boots, certain one's that is!! Earlier I did an article on the perfect boot (here) in which I stated that the proper dress chukka could go a long way in versatility and function but of course I also think that there are many other styles that are essential to the completion of many looks and a balanced wardrobe.

Let's go through the different types of boots:

Lace Up's

Balmoral (Closed Lacing):









Left Boots: Stefano Bemer
Right Boots: Gaziano & Girling










Left Boots: Koronya
Right Boots: Rider Boot Co. (Picture provided by Leffot)

Derby (Open Lacing):










Boots Above: Edward Green (Pictures provided by Leffot)











Left Boots: Alden (Picture provided by Leather Soul)
Right Boots: Alden (Picture provided by Leffot)    


Slip On's

Chelsea's (2 Gore Boots):










Left Boots: To Boot New York
Right Boots: Gaziano & Girling (Picture provided by Leffot)













Left Boots: Gaziano & Girling
Right Boots: Edward Green (Picture provided by Leffot)


Zip Up's:

Boot Above: To Boot New York


Chukka's -Go to 'The Perfect Boot' to see many different styles

I particularly like the Edward Green boots under the lace up derby section. The pairing between the calfskin and a pebble grain gives it a great balance between casual and dress. It has the cap toe design creating more of a dress feeling while at the same time has the nice thick sole and the copper eyelets that lends it the casual look. Although I would not pair it with a suit you could dress it up with a nice set of trousers and a button up shirt and look very presentable but could also throw on a blazer with a nice pair of jeans over the boots and also come out with a great look. It's hard to find that perfect boot that can go so many ways with different styles/occasions/looks and be affordable at the same time. I have yet to make a boot for myself but it is definitely in my line up for what I need to do next so that I can truly complete my wardrobe!

But for all those guys who buy boots such as Mark Nason, Jo Ghost, Robert Wayne etc. (Look here for examples) and wear them with your tight T-shirts and True Religion jeans that are so baggy you could probably fit my entire torso inside the pant leg of a size 30......PLEASE spare yourself the embarrassment!!! You are not cool and you look like a joke. Buy yourself some grown up boots and become a real man!!