Newbie in need of advice.

[michael_alan_nelson]

Being new to style, I have only now discovered that the only thing worse than wearing a pair of flat-toed shoes would be to wear a pair of field-dressed house cats instead. And, as you might guess, most of my shoes are flat-toed. The only exceptions are a some casual sneakers and a pair of cowboy boots.


With the holidays coming up, I'll have to attend several dinner parties, family gatherings, and the occasional end-of-the-year business meeting (though I use the word "business" very loosely--hoodies and tennies are the norm at the office), all events that require a bit more than sweatpants and a favorite t-shirt. Unfortunately, I won't be in a financial position to invest in a proper pair of shoes until after the holidays. So my question to the Dappered community is this:


Do I go ahead and wear the square-toed shoes and suffer the scorn and derision of my sartorial superiors, or would it be better to dress down to something I can wear with casual shoes?

[glen_delossantos]

Hard to answer without pictures. How square are the dress shoes? How "casual" are the casual shoes? If your casual sneakers are simple and classic, they might work with "dressier" items. Especially if the event your attending does not expect you to be dressed up.


What's your budget and how do you feel about buying used shoes? I regularly find used, high quality shoes at good prices at thrift stores, ebay, and etsy.

[jason_carreira]

Yes, get thee to a thrift.

[LesserBlackDog]

I third the thrifting suggestion.


I come from Montana (and wear no bandanna) so I'm slightly intrigued by the idea of you wearing cowboy boots. That depends a lot on your location, personality, and style, of course. Some folks will look awfully pretentious and awkward in a pair of cowboy boots, but some people can pull it off really well.

[austinrue]

I am curious about the disdain for flat-toed shoes. I don't like the look myself, and don't own any, but I wouldn't think they were that terrible. I think a pair of flat-toed dress shoes would be better than tennis shoes.


Whats the beef with flat-toed?

[LesserBlackDog]

The problem with square-toed shoes is primarily that they look clunky and inelegant. They make your foot looked chopped-off and weird. The squarer the toe, the moreso this is true. The way your foot looks can change the way your legs and your whole body look - if your feet look slightly elongated, as they do with a pair of well-shaped shoes, your legs will look longer and you will look taller as a result. When you wear a truncated shoe like a square-toe, your legs look like they end too soon and you will look shorter and stumpier.


Plus it's a look that is simply dated. Square-toed shoes came into fashion sometime in the early '90s and have not been fashionable since. I don't think the top-of-the-line shoemakers have EVER manufactured square-toed shoes. I think this is more the issue in why it would possibly be preferable to wear casual shoes. Think of square-toe shoes like a crushed velvet suit. When you go to someone's wedding and your choice is between a not-as-dressy blazer and trousers and a "dressier" but extremely outdated, crushed velvet suit, you may very well be better off with the blazer even though it's technically less formal.


The lines get a little blurry with what is sometimes referred to as a chisel toe shoe - that is, a very mildly squared-off shoe that still has a very tapered shape, like these: http://www.florsheim.com/shop/style/12082.html


Some people think that shape is still too square and some people think it's fine. That seems to be more of a matter of taste, while I think it's pretty well-established that genuine square toes are to be avoided.

[MaxMan]

add to BenR's point, most of the time, they come in tacky corrected grain that makes the shoe look like its patent leather. There is nothing wrong with slightly square (with rounded edges) like a pair of norwegian splits, but i think we are all referring to these:





as opposed to these Norwegians:


http://cdn.styleforum.net/a/a7/a7c06...1012_5161.jpeg


too big to put in here.

[Cannon]

@MaxMan


I had no idea such a horrible thing existed. Thank you for burning my brain.

[austinrue]

Haha @MaxMan those are really bad. I guess I never knew such shoes existed. I was thinking of something with less of a square-toe that might be preferable to tennies. I just cant stand grown men wearing nike shox all the time!

[austinrue]

Haha @MaxMan those are really bad. I guess I never knew such shoes existed. I was thinking of something with less of a square-toe that might be preferable to tennies. I just cant stand grown men wearing nike shox all the time!

[MaxMan]

@austin and cannon, lol, i know everytime i see people wearing those i just think they're wearing those bucks they used to wear in the 1800s. But yea Austin, def agree on the shox thing, they could at least rock some purcells or chucks, Tarjay sells some nice chucks for dirt cheap.

[jason_carreira]

@Cannon, yes they exist. I see them every day. Seems to be part of the uniform around here.

[LesserBlackDog]

I've seen them a lot as well, especially in retail or office environments where employees are expected not to wear jeans and sneakers. For some reason, Best Buy comes to mind immediately - guys wearing square-toed shoes, pleated khakis, and their blue polo shirts tucked in.

[greg_s]

@michael, Glen and BenR have everything covered here. What are your casual shoes like? What are the square toed ones (pics)? And if you can get a new pair, what's the budget?

[michael_alan_nelson]

Wow, first let me say thank you for all the wonderful responses. I really do appreciate it.


Below are two pics (if my coding works, that is). The first is of my "dress" shoes while the other is of my more casual shoes (I didn't include my running shoes because, well they're running shoes and bright, bright red). I'm more concerned about the feasibility of the black pair more so than the brown (square-toed AND douche-tastic tribal markings? No, I don't know what I was thinking).


The other pic is of my casual shoes. I wear the gray converse most often and the black chucks are really too uncomfortable for me to wear for long periods of time. Basically, this is what I'm working with. I have to thank all of you for suggesting a thrift store since that would have never occurred to me. Even with funds tight this season, that is definitely a viable option.