WIWT

[hornsup84]

My shoes fit fine and I'm satisfied with the look and function of the lacing I use.

I simply prefer criss-crossed laces, period. I have tried bar lacing before and don't like how it feels or how annoying it is to try to tighten and loosen them. I don't have any problems with keeping laces tight once they have been tightened, only in getting them uniformly tight in the first place - something I found almost impossible with bar lacing. I personally don't think either form of lacing looks markedly better than the other. Crossed lacing certainly does not look as ugly or messy as some bar lacing advocates assert.

Re: foot width, my feet are dead-on D width. I actually confirmed as much with a Brannock device just a couple weeks ago. But I have a very high arch and instep. Thus my feet take up more vertical volume in a shoe than someone with the same length x width but flatter feet. That is likely the cause of the "substantial gap" in the lacing.

This on all accounts. I think that's a pretty normal look for shoes (all my AEs look like this) and, for what its worth, I find it much preferable to having Bals (or any shoe really) that are tied 'shut' so to speak.

I also find bar lacing a PITA and also personally think it looks stuffy. To each his own.

[Fred G. Unn]

Re: foot width, my feet are dead-on D width. I actually confirmed as much with a Brannock device just a couple weeks ago. But I have a very high arch and instep. Thus my feet take up more vertical volume in a shoe than someone with the same length x width but flatter feet. That is likely the cause of the "substantial gap" in the lacing.

You sort of hit on the point I was trying to make. Brannock sizing is really a starting point. I'm a dead on D too, but Brannock doesn't measure volume and my foot must have much more volume than AE lasts generally account for, so I wear a 10E in AE. (10D in loafers) With other makers such as C&J a US10D (UK9E) fits me fine. Looking through the AE last chart (http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline...d=-1&storeId=1) it's easy to see different lasts will fit different feet with varying degrees of comfort. Since yours was gapping a bit at the laces (they will stretch out some over time and be less noticeable) I was just curious if you tried an E, and if so did it fit better? Maybe not, but I'd give one a try, particularly in the 5 last and see if you like it.

[LesserBlackDog]

I don't really see much reason to experiment with wide sizes when I'm already very happy with the way these regulars fit. The "gap" does not bother me.

[zmac]

BenR mad

[LesserBlackDog]

Nah... I've been on the internet since I was 12 years old. Cyberspace has lost its ability to make me mad. I'm just bemused at receiving so much unsolicited advice.

[Vicious49]

Re: foot width, my feet are dead-on D width. I actually confirmed as much with a Brannock device just a couple weeks ago. But I have a very high arch and instep. Thus my feet take up more vertical volume in a shoe than someone with the same length x width but flatter feet. That is likely the cause of the "substantial gap" in the lacing.

I'm a C width but have the same gap as yours because of my high arch and instep. Although due to that, I don't get the 'bowing' issue that others have complained about.

I am not a fan of bar lacing either. The only shoes I have laced that way are my black Park Aves. All my other shoes use standard lacing.

[Fred G. Unn]

I'm just bemused at receiving so much unsolicited advice.

Isn't that the whole point of posting in WIWT?!?!

[zmac]

BenR bemused


FWIW, my strands are a D and fit pretty snug with the same gap BenR has. My Fifth's are an E and the fit is looser than I would like, but I can close the lacing. I have a similar issue Ben has in that my foot is taller. The E is loose in the toe box and the D is very snug across the top and a little to snug in the toe box. I am probably going to take my Strands to get stretched at the AE store. Maybe that will split the difference.

[hornsup84]

Mods: please rename WIWT thread to "BenR shoe lacing and width choice critique".

TYIA

[AngusM]

Hahaha. I was beginning to think the Threads community had decided to troll BenR, inspired by the recent post on the main site about the web and hypercriticism.

Mods: please rename WIWT thread to "BenR shoe lacing and width choice critique".

TYIA

[alan]

Re: foot width, my feet are dead-on D width. I actually confirmed as much with a Brannock device just a couple weeks ago. But I have a very high arch and instep. Thus my feet take up more vertical volume in a shoe than someone with the same length x width but flatter feet. That is likely the cause of the "substantial gap" in the lacing.

Ditto.

[hornsup84]

BenR, I noticed that you cross-lace left over right--which I believe is the incorrect manner. Please remedy this fashion faux pas.

[LesserBlackDog]

NO! LEFT-OVER-RIGHT FOREVER!

[Idle_Hands]

Isn't that the whole point of posting in WIWT?!?!

In theory, the point of posting in WIWT is to show people what you wore today. In practice, if you post in WIWT you should expect unsolicited advice.

FWIW, the kind of unsolicited advice that, even as a lurker, annoys me is where someone critiques something unalterable and the critique is likely to make the original poster feel bad or self-conscious about the garment.

Ie: "Poster A: Taking my new navy blazer on its maiden voyage. Poster B: I would never wear a jacket that chopped." Or: "Poster A: Trying out these new red chinos. Poster B: If you're going to wear red chinos, they should be dusty-colored so as not to be too garish." Whether or not the critiques are phrased more diplomatically than I've written them here, they're poorly conceived, if not obnoxious, because not only are they unsolicited but there's nothing much the wearer can do w/ that info, other than not wear the garment any more, but a brand new (and slightly more ideal) version of a garment he just bought, or feel bad every time he wears it in future.

Much better, imo: "Poster A: First time wearing my new navy bucks. Poster B: Love the shoes, but I'm not crazy about navy pants/navy shoes combos. Maybe try them w/ x, y, and z." Or: "Poster A: New to the world of knit ties, critiques welcome. Poster B: Knits are a little less formal, especially in that color, so try wearing them w/ a, b, or c."

I don't think Fred's comment was intended as malicious, but it is, to me at least, a useful occasion for thinking about how and in what register it's most useful to critique WIWT contributions.

[Sigtweed Corduroy]

Casual friday....

Title: Dots on Dots
Shirt: JCP
Shorts: Billabong
Shoes: Vans
Watch: Oris