The Importance Of Dress For A Job Interview Part 4 “The Shoes”

Shoes

Every man needs a few pairs of great dress shoes for the unavoidable occasions that will call for them. If you’re a man who knows how important quality dress shoes are, then you probably don’t need to read further. But for everyone else, this may be one of the most important fashion articles you read. If for any other reason, the fact is that women look at a man’s shoe within the first twenty seconds of meeting a man.

What you have on your feet can make or break any look. It doesn’t matter if you have the most amazing suit in the world, if you have bad shoes, you might as well roll around in a puddle of mud.

Shoes can get expensive, but if you’re smart about your choice, you’ll be able to wear them for years. Not only that, but the confidence you get every time you put them on be well worth the price.

Whether for business or for that hot date, nothing will make you look more successful or sexy. Get yourself a pair of high-quality shoes.

How Much Should I Spend on Shoes?

With shoes, you really get what you pay for. The minimum you should be spending is around $200-300.
If that’s too much for you, just remember the rule of “cost per use.” The shoes will last you years, if not decades, and the amount of use you’ll get out of them will exceed the price. If you need dress shoes for work everyday or you go out on the weekends a lot, then a good pair of dress shoes is of monumental importance to your outfit.

What to Look For

With shoes, it’s all about quality, quality, quality. It’s better to have two or three pairs of good shoes that will last a long time than to have fifteen pairs of generic-looking bargain brands.
How do you know what’s quality? High-quality shoes are all about construction, and there are few basic things to look for:
Your shoes should be made of real leather and have leather soles as well. (If you buy quality leather shoes, they can be refurbished a number of times and will last forever, which is ultimately going to be less expensive than having to replace crappy, poorly made shoes every few months.)
The soles of well-made shoes will be stitched, not glued, to the bottom of the shoes.
Also, the lining in better shoes is made of high-quality calfskin or natural leather, not synthetic materials.
Finally, check out the stitching. It should be neat and should be barely noticeable.
Here is a great diagram and rundown of the basic construction of a quality dress shoe from our good friends at Details:

Shoe Basics

1 The Laces It’s an inescapable fact that a lace-up still looks better with a suit than a slip-on.

2 The Color Black will always be dressier than brown. If you’re suiting up for a board meeting or a formal event, go with the former. If necessary, however, you can pair brown lace-ups with suits – especially navy or charcoal – as long as they’re scuff-free.

3 The Material Glossy leather is the fail-safe choice, but you should feel free to experiment with suede – starting with a pair of classic bucks and progressing to exotic materials like alligator and ostrich or the growing number of antiqued leathers.

4 The Toe An elongated toe is unequivocally classier than a square. That doesn’t mean all your lace-ups should be pointy – lots of elegant cap toes have squared-off tips – but unless you’re aiming for mid-nineties nostalgia, no shoes you wear should have a blunt, squared-off toe. I suggest staying away from them.

5 The Welt Well-made lace-ups should have a close welt – the seam where the upper meets the sole and creates the outer edge of the shoe. It should be visible, but it shouldn’t extend so far past the edge of the shoe that it creates a ledge.

6 The Sole A thin sole is the hallmark of a cheap shoe – plus, it not only looks cut-rate, it wears out more quickly. Yours should be at least a quarter-of-an-inch thick and preferably leather, not rubber.

7 The Broguing Traditionalists will tell you that the more broguing – decorative stitching and perforated and serrated edges – a shoe has, the less dressy it is. But while it’s true that heavily embellished bucks look better with sport jackets and tweed than with pinstripe suits, this rule is flexible.

Dress Shoes for Business or Dressy Occasions

Cap-toe oxford

The cap-toe is the dressiest and most popular of all the business shoe styles. It looks best when worn with the more serious suit fabrics and styles. If you get one in brown, wear with navy suit, or an earth-toned suit of olive, brown or tan. Black is fine with all of the serious dark colors of gray and navy but not at all with any of the earth tones. Cordovan is the one color that seems to go with everything except black – and is understood everywhere.

Wing-Tip Oxford
Because of its texture and heft, the wing-tip can be worn successfully with the more textured and heavier fabrics like tweed and flannel. They’re too formal for khakis or jeans, so avoid the mismatch.

Plain-toe Oxford
The plain-toe is less dressy and simpler. It’s appropriate for all business settings.

The Monk Strap

The Monk Strap is a European classic which has a buckle on the side. It is most commonly made of calfskin, but brown suede leather is very popular with the man who would like a touch of uniqueness in his dress footwear. The suede leather version is seen as casual and a very elegant alternative to the loafer.

Of course no matter what price or style shoe you pick out, they will not give you the desired look without proper care. Please, please, please the most important part of wearing your best pair of shoes is to make sure they are clean and polished!!!

Invest in a good shoe care kit, consisting of a soft cloth, bristle brush, and an applicator. Also of most importance is cedar shoe trees, to insert into your shoes when not in use. This helps keep them in the desired shape and eliminate buckling and wrinkle, creased leather.

Final note, don’t forget to purchase a pair of rubbers to use in nasty weather. Nothing reeks havoc on leather then the salt of the road from winter road maintenance or when the rain is coming down. This $20 purchase will ensure long life of your shoes.

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Posted by Eric on Oct 23 2009 Filed under FASHION, SELF HELP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry