7 Modern Shoe Style [0:00:00]
[Music] Let’s start things off by talking about
with what should be a staple in your closet, the classic boot.
Now, I hear you. You’re saying, “Antonio, boots have been around for thousands of years.
This isn’t a modern shoe that every man should own?”
And, you’re right, boots have been around thousands of years. In fact, they start off
as sandals worn with leg coverings up north parts of Siberia over in China. And, eventually,
they stitched it all together. Fast forward over a thousand years, boots
are being used all over the world for various purposes. Right here, we have the classic
western boot. Great thing about this, it’s going to protect not only your ankles, but
your calves. Another great thing about the western boot
is right here, the heel, which is going to keep you in the saddle. And, notice there’s
no lacing because if you were to fall out of your saddle, instead of being dragged to
death by your horse, you’re simply going to lose your boots and then you’ll be able
to walk around barefoot. That being said, laces on a boot can be very
useful especially when you want the boot to fit closer to the foot and to the body overall.
To provide great ankle support, a little bit of support in the lower calves. Boots like
these are great if you’re jumping out of an airplane and you got to hike 20 or 30 miles
to your final destination. And if that’s too much, why not strip it
down both in weight and design by going with a lightweight desert boots. Something that
can deal with the heat, at the same time, provide support in the ankles.
Now, gents, here’s the point, 20 years ago if you were to look at the boot landscape,
you would see tons of functional boots, but not too many dress boots. Boots that you can
wear with jeans and a sports jacket, definitely very few boots that you could wear actually
with a suit. Today, the landscape has totally changed.
When it comes to boots, you have tons of options. Seriously, these brown suede chelseas, absolutely
beautiful. I can wear them with a casual gray suit or I could wear them with dark jeans,
maybe a sports jacket. And let’s get back to that paratrooper army
boot design. This one right here, if it was in solid black, no, I don’t think you could
actually wear it, but because it’s in a dark green with suede and they paid attention
to the eyelets, they’re just really nice. Everything about this just screams attention
to detail. Yeah, I think that you can wear this maybe not with a sports jacket, but you
can definitely wear it with dark jeans, a nice shirt button down, this would be a great
look. And, gents, that’s what I want to stress.
You have so many modern great options when it comes to boots. You want to go with something
casual with a large toe box that’s going to be very comfortable. Well, then look to
a moccasin design. Oh, you want something that’s going to give
you full traction on the ground because you don’t like heels. Well, guess what? They’ve
got those options for you. Or maybe you want the heel because you want to add two inches
to your height. In fact, when you wear boots, you want to
feel and look like a rock star, then look to a jodhpur design or look to something that’s
got a little bit of flash. Tons of options out there, guys.
So, to be ultra specific, the first two shoes I’ve got on this list are going to be the
laced dress shoe and the slip-on dress shoe a.k.a. the chelsea.
Now, when it comes to laced dress boots, they come in a wide variety of styles and formalities.
I will say that the darker the shoe and the simpler the design especially if it’s using
a leather sole, those are usually going to be ones that you could wear with a casual
suit, even a suit in inclement weather if you wanted to wear a dark suit.
But, shoes like these that have a rubber sole and have a little bit of the broguing and
overall a larger heavier design, this is going to work best with either odd trousers like
gray flannels or jeans. Now, the chelsea slip-on boot, this is a boot
I’ve worn with a suit in inclement weather because I just find that it protects the ankles
and it just overall gives a nice sleek design. It’s been around for about 70 years, so
maybe not a modern classic. But, I do feel in the last 15, 10 years, we’ve
seen so many different interpretations of this boot that I’ve got to put it on this
list because I just love it. I think it’s functional and I do think it’s been making
a resurgence. Now, gents, I can talk about boots all day,
but I got to get to the next point. If you want more on boots, stick around for the end
of this video. I’ve got something special for you.
Now, gents, if you want to learn more about shoes, you can definitely go out there and
spend you hard-earned money and buy books on the subject or you can simply download
my latest 2020 version of the Ultimate Guide to Men’s Dress Shoes.
Now, these ebooks are absolutely free, but I do change them out, I do rotate them through,
I do update them every year. So, if you haven’t grab the latest and greatest of the ebooks,
you want to go over to RealMenRealStyle.com and grab them today.
Gents, I’ve got ebooks for how to dress to your body type, how to get the perfect
shape, how to dress casually, how to dress in hot weather. Again, gents, all these books
absolutely free, so go check them out, guys. Use the link down in the description to claim
your free ebooks. Next up on our list, we’ve got the wholecut
dress shoe. The wholecut gets its name because it’s made from a single large piece of unblemished
leather. Now, that is the most expensive part of the hide. It’s actually the rarest the
smallest piece of the hide and therefore, it’s going to command a high price.
That being said, I do think this is going to become a modern classic because of the
simplicity and the overall look of the shoe. This is just one of the most elegant designs
you’re going to see out there. And it was made popular I think in the last 15 years,
although the design overall has been around for over a thousand years. It goes back to
royalty. This basically was a shoe made for kings because
they use, again, the most expensive, the rarest part of the hide and therefore, it was something
that the common man could not wear. So, if you wanted to separate yourself, you’d wear
something like this. [0:04:58]
Nowadays, it comes down to simplicity. When I think of formal looks, I think of a shoe
that is simply going to look good with the suit and not really draw attention to itself,
but at the same time, scream elegance, it is the wholecut that stands out.
Now, when it comes to color, the best one to start with is black. It’s going to be
the most interchangeable, it’s not going to draw attention to itself. You’re going
to be able to wear it with your most formal suits.
A color like this, I think it looks amazing, but understand this shoe is going to stand
out. This shoe is going to get compliments. People are going to notice this especially
right here we’ve got the change in color. It does make the shoe a little bit less formal.
You could still pull this off with a wide variety of different colored suits, but in
my opinion it’s not as interchangeable. That being said if brown is your go-to color,
then just get a solid color like this. You could wear this with most of our sports jacket
odd trouser combination, even possibly with dark-colored jeans and it will look great
with any of your blue suits. Now, let’s switch things up and let’s
about a shoe that you can wear everyday and look good and that shoe is the classic loafer.
Now, a lot of guys out there, they’re turned off by loafers because they associate them
with the Ivy League crowd with the prepster crowd. They’re like, you know what? That’s
not me, I’m a blue-collar guy. Why would I ever wear anything that a 1980’s banker
in New York would wear? Well, here is the thing is that it’s really
outgrown that. These are such a great casual shoe that so many guys can pull off. Case
in point, look at these beautiful olive green loafers right here and notice the vamp, how
it’s moved up. So, basically the top of the foot you’re
going to expose an extra inch to an inch and a half and that can make a big difference
when it’s really hot outside wearing no-show socks. This is just going to be a cooler more
relaxed, you can pull these off with shorts, you can wear these with jeans. Guys, the options
are endless. Still too hot for you, you want a fashion-forward
design? Look at this right here. A loafer is simply designed as a shoe that slips on
and off with no lacing. So, right here we’ve got a perforated leather. It’s actually
not even leather, this is going to be a faux leather right here, so a fake leather.
And the perforations basically allow air to go in and out. You can wear these with no-show
socks. It’s going to be very breathable. These are going to be glued together so that,
you know, they’ve got the rubber sole. But, when it comes down to it, you just need to
wear this for a few seasons and, yeah, they’re going to look good, they’re going to stand
out, and you’re going to feel nice and cool in them.
Same concept, different design. Right here, we’ve got the classic penny loafer look.
Again, the vamp has moved forward, but we’ve got that perforated leather on a darker shoes,
so you can’t see this much. At the same time, your feet are going to be breathable
and they’re going to thank you. And if comfort is your number one goal, then
look for a moccasin design. Again, it’s going to have a larger toe box. It’s in
general going to have a wider design, so it’s going to be very comfortable even if you’re
putting the miles walking around like I have on this right here. I really like the flat
design as well. Great on a boat, so when you don’t want to slip.
All right, Antonio. That’s nice, but I’m a working man. I got to go into the office
and I’m wearing khakis I’m wearing my dress shoes, occasionally I’m throwing on
sports jacket. I want something that’s versatile, I can dress up, I can dress down.
Well, gentlemen, go no further than brogues. Tons of options here, looking at semi brogue,
going with a quarter brogue, maybe go for a full brogue. You want to up and fly? Check
out those long wing brogues. Gents, brogues are classic menswear, but they
made a resurgence recently because they are so versatile. You can dress them up, you can
dress them down. They come with a wide variety of styles and you do need to know the difference
because the more broguing you do see on a shoe in general the more casual it’s going
to be. So, if it’s just got a little bit of broguing
maybe on the cap toe semi brogue there, that is actually something you could even pull
off with a suit. I know I have especially if it’s in darker brown or even a black
color. But, if it’s something that’s going to
be in a lighter brown and it’s got the full wing tip, a full brogue going on there, then
that in general is going to be more casual. Now, there’s a common misconception out
there that dress shoes are not comfortable. That’s not true. Shoes that don’t fit
you are not comfortable. So, a lot of guys don’t know how to actually buy a pair of
dress shoes that fit them and they end up buying the wrong size.
So, buy a pair that fits you. Try them on, make sure they feel comfortable and don’t
be afraid to spend a little bit more to get quality build.
So, right here we’ve got a Goodyear welt. I’ve talked about this before, but a Goodyear
welt is where they stitch the sole directly to the upper and it has a welt and that’s
why it’s called a Goodyear welt. You also will see a Blake stitch design. In
general Blake stitch designs are going to be more delicate looking. They’re going
to more have more of an Italian feel and that’s where the Blake stitch comes from. It’s
actually done with a machine. They’re going to be lighter weight in general. They still
have the stitching, but they’re not going to be a water proof as a Goodyear welt.
That being said, either one of these built is so much better than glued shoes and overall
I think is going to give you a more comfortable fit. And on side note, yes, you can get dress
boots with a brogue design. The brogue refers to basically the perforations
in the leather and the design work. So, it doesn’t actually have to do with the style
and the type of shoe. You can see oxfords, you can see bluchers, you also see dress boots
like this made with the brogue design. The broguing simply makes the shoe in general
more casual, but it also can draw attention and for a lot of people, they just love the
look. It adds a bit of texture and overall weight to the shoe. I absolutely love it.
Now, jumping from the broguing which this shoe has, let’s talk about contrast colors.
So, in a lot of shoes you’re going to see different mixes of colors, you’re going
to see different materials used with the shoe. Most men are going to stay away from this,
way too outlandish for me. I don’t want to buy something that I don’t know how to
wear. [0:10:04]
That’s what most guys are thinking. But, when I see a pair of shoes like these, I’m
thinking, wow, this is a great way to spice up your wardrobe. Now, I will say that it’s
not going to be as interchangeable as most shoes out there because people are going to
remember when they see that contrast. They’re going to remember, oh, those are
your brown with blue suede, it’s something that’s unique, something that stands out.
But, if you already have three to four pairs of shoes in your rotation, you’re picking
up your fifth pair, maybe your seventh, your eighth, your ninth pair, guess what, guys?
These are going to be shoes that aren’t going to be interchangeable, but they are
going to get you compliments, they are going to get you noticed.
People are going to say, “Wow! Look at those shoes, they look great.” And that’s what
we’re going here for, shoes that simply are going to make you feel like a million
bucks because you’re going to get compliments all day when you wear them.
Now, the contrasting doesn’t have to be different materials, you could actually have
the same leather just simply colored in a different fashion. Right here, this is a relatively
small contrast. You will see high contrast, maybe white mixed with black or white mixed
with brown. But, I like a little muted contrast like this because it’s something that you
could start with. If you can pull this off, you can start to
wear higher contrast shoes and really, again, draw attention, feel good about this. But
to be honest, many people won’t even notice this. They, yeah, they’ll notice it a bit,
but it’s also a classic and formal enough shoe that I can even pull this off with a
casual suit. And speaking of casual and contrasting, right
here let’s talk about the leather sneakers. So, canvas sneakers are cool, but leather
sneakers in my opinion are where it’s at. And they come in a wide variety of different
leathers. Right here, we’ve got suede. When you’re
buying suede, I like to look for performance suede, suede that isn’t going to need too
much upkeep. But, in general if you go with the darker color suede, this is something
in my opinion that works really great with footwear and, again, the texture helps you
stand out from the crowd. And, when you go for something casual like
this, you can wear this with jeans. I would not recommend for most people that you actually
try to pull this off with a casual suit, but if you’re a rock star, if you are the owner
of your company, if you don’t care, you know what your style is, then go for it.
Now, interestingly enough, one of the easiest colors to start with is a simple solid in
black or white. A lot of people and this has become really trendy in the last decade is
simply going with the classic white. I say trendy, but it’s been a style that’s been
on and off in men’s shoes for a long time. We go back to classic basketball shoes with
Converse. They started off in simple white and black colors. We also saw white pop up.
So, overall this has been a shoe that’s been around for a long time.
And if you can keep this the leather clean, that I think is the key. You don’t want
to wear dirty shoes, so you want to make sure you pay attention to the upkeep, make sure
you keep these things white. And if that sounds like too much work for
the entire shoe, then maybe just keep the sole white, but make sure you go with a contrasting
color in the upper. Right here, just a beautiful overall shoe. Notice, I went a little bit
of a high top, so if you want to provide a little bit of ankle support or be able to
show off a little bit more leather. Overall, a great design if you want something casual
and fun. All right, so at this point, I promised you
a little bit more about boots and that’s what I’ve got covered in this video right
here, why you should wear boots and why they make you more attractive. I lay out tons of
reasons, guys, if you’ve ever considered why you need to wear boots.
If you’re not wearing boots, you need to watch this video. If you’re wearing boots,
you want to watch this video because it’s going to reassure you, it’s going to make
you feel better about your choice to rock boots.
[0:13:11] End of audio