Perhaps you are a parent looking to help your teenage son out with some fashion tips, or maybe you are that teenage son getting nervous prior to a big date! Either way, it does not make much of a difference if the information you rely on is not correct. Thankfully, there is sufficient information available online which can indeed help a man dress better.
Unfortunately, there is an even greater amount of misinformation out there that can and often does lead young men to commit fashion disasters. Since younger men are most prone to making mistakes while buying, wearing, or pairing shoes, let’s focus on three suggestions that will help avoid those mistakes.
Don’t Clash Leathers
If you are wearing a formal attire, there will be at least two, if not three leather pieces on you. These would be your:
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Shoes (Oxford, Derby, or Brogue)
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Belt
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Watch strap
The rule is that all two or three (if you are wearing a leather strapped watch) pieces of leather should be of the same prime colour. There are only a few prime colours, mostly black, brown, and oxblood when it comes to leather shoes, belts, and watch straps, so this is an easy rule to follow. In fact, you can even get away with mixing deeper shades of brown with shades of oxblood at times. They do not need to be of the exact same shade or texture by any means either, but they should be close to each other on the colour wheel and within the same spectrum of the prime colour.
However, clashing leathers by wearing brown and black within the same attire is ill-advised. If you are against leather usage, know that the same rules also apply to faux leather. If your collection is lacking any of the three pieces in the right shade or tint, you will find everything you need at burrowsandhare.co.uk. There are fashion advocates of breaking this simple rule as well but take that risk only if you feel confident enough to do so.
Square Toes are Outdated
Barring special cases where some men are advised to wear square toe shoes due to a wider than expected toe spread, square toe shoes are to be avoided. This one is applicable for formal and informal shoes alike. Even wide round toed boots are acceptable, but boxy square toes are just too outdated to pull off successfully. However, comfort does take precedence over everything else, and the final decision should always be based on that.
Tight Fits are Ill-Advised
Despite what some “guides” might be telling you, you should never wear a shoe that feels too tight, especially if you are buying boots or sneakers for trekking/camping. Although it is not ideal if the shoe is loose either, you can wear two pair of socks to make up for the gap. However, if you buy shoes that are too tight, it will lead to your feet getting blisters and even minor or major pressure damage over a long period of time. Other than that, it never creates a good impression when you walk with a slight limp just because your shoes are too painful to walk in!
There is an old adage about men getting assessed first by the quality of their shoes, while the rest comes later. That is neither completely true, nor is it 100% wrong. People do not usually stare at a man’s shoes first, because that would be quite unusual to say the least! However, both men and women will eventually take notice of your footwear and that can have an impact on your first impression. Hopefully, you will be able to avoid most of the common mistakes now and pull together a gentleman’s attire in no time.
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