Do these shoes need refurbishing?

[matt2]

Hey guys - Here's a couple of photos of my go-to (actually only) pair of brown casual shoes that I occasionally wear to the office. I'm primarily a jeans and sneakers guy (my workplace is VERY casual, to the point that these shoes are semi-formal compared to the footwear that most guys in my office wear) but like to wear these once or twice a week when I want to dress up just a tad bit more than I usually do. I plan to eventually add to my casual-but-nice footwear by getting a pair of Clark's desert boots (probably brown suede) when the fall rolls around. Again, suits, ties, blazers...NONE of those items are EVER worn in my line of work (wildlife biologist for environmental consulting firm) so dressing up for me is tucking in a nice sport shirt with a dark blue pair of jeans (still need to get some Levi 501s), putting on a black belt, and wearing brown "casual" shoes like these.


Anyway, back to the topic at hand. As you can see, these have been scuffed up quite a bit since I first bought them in 2002 at REI (they're Born but I can't recall what they're called), especially on the outer collar (is that what it's called) of the left shoe (see bottom photo). Given that these will remain casual for the most part, should I bother trying to find a shoe repair shop that can polish these with the right color, or should I just let 'em go and occasionally clean them with a clear polish (which I just had done a few weeks ago)? Any other suggestions for improving these? I've thought about trying different laces but I don't want to go too flashy. Or, do any of you not like them at all for casual office wear? I kind of like the fact that they look like bowling shoes, gives them kind of a retro look. They are indeed really comfortable and I've walked a lot in them (when I bought them they were marketed as walking shoes). Any thoughts or advice are much welcomed.

[shad0w4life]

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY F$#KING EYES!


Buy some shoe cream(I'd recommend Meltonian) that matches the shoe colour, apply it, it will dye the leather a bit, I've done it on friends beat to hell black shoes that had grey wear marks all over them and they went back to pure black.


Also apply a leather conditioner, lexol is a popular one it seems.


I'm going to recommend you buy some new shoes though, thems is ugry.

[AnonymousJay]

KILL IT WITH FIRE!

[mixto]

That one got to go in the extinct list.

[nicholascrawford]

You've come to the right place. Everything's going to be okay. But you're gonna have to put those shoes down and back away slowly. That style has come and gone.


Clarks, chukkas, boat shoes like Sperry Top Siders should be on your list.


Also consider nicer shoes like Allen Edmonds with their Elgin and Neumoks.

[greg_s]

What Nicholas said. Those need to go my man. A casual office allows for a cheap upgrade to a variety of shoes. Also, those socks are awful black looking for those brown shoes...

[shad0w4life]

There's a few decent brands you can find on ebay.

Magnanni

Mezlan

Salvatore Fergammo

Allen Edmonds

Johnston and Murphy(lowest of the 5 but still not bad)

[johnnyappleseed]

Also, I gotta add that it is more customary to wear brown belts and brown shoes and then black with black

[matt2]

Thanks for the tough love, guys. ;-) As you can see, I'm pretty new to this men's style thing. Looks like I'll have to be buying those Clark's (or similar) sooner rather than later.

[greg_s]

As NC said you've come to the right place because people here will tell you what you need to hear, but they aren't assholes. If you look under the "shoes" tag and read through some of the previous threads, there is some good info. The search function on the forum isn't great so it can get tedious, but it's worth it, IMO.


Also, if you are new to this, I'd wait on the eBay thing. Try shoes on in person to start.

[LosRockets]

I'd say suede bucks might be a good to toe the line between casual and still looking dressed up. A nice gray, tan/sand, or brown color would be nice. I'm partial to gray myself. Some good cheap choices are the Florsheim No String Wing (wingtip suede brogue bucks, and they do come w/ strings) and on the very cheap end Bass and Bostonian make bucks for around $35-65 that seem nice and light. I've tried on some Bass bucks at Marshalls and they were really nice, and only around $30! I second waiting on the eBay thing!

[matt2]

@greg - Those socks are actually dark navy. I've been following the "socks should match your pants" rule, although I guess that's not so much a hard and fast rule anymore. Not that I'll wear these shoes much more, but what color socks would you wear with brown shoes and jeans? Gray? Plain brown? Argyle? Again, still trying to get a feel for this stuff. Unfortunately my sock drawer is now filled to the brim with navy socks since I wear jeans to work pretty much every day (when I'm not in the field, that is).

[shad0w4life]

I thought it was socks match shoes rule heh.


Anyways it depends, if you're wearing a walnut/tan colour shoe I personally think solid vibrant colours look very very nice.


Just don't do something like yellow shoes, green socks.

[bruschetta]

Matt, I agree with previous posters in that the shoes should be tossed, or kept only as hiking or house shoes. They are truly hideous.


That being said, I recommend starting slow. It's easy to spend a lot of money to improve your wardrobe before you've developed a sense of your own style. I recommend refraining from a purchase until you have a clear image of your ideal self in mind.


Also, from what I've picked up I gather that you're happily married with a wonderful job. You seem to be doing something right! Don't stress out over your appearance.

[nicholascrawford]

That's good advice, bruschetta. And you know how much it hurts for me to agree with you so often.


I would marinate in the $1500 wardrobe series: http://dappered.com/tag/1500-wardrobe/


And watch the WIWT thread to see a variety of looks you like and can draw from.