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- Feb 19, 2006
Pretty much frowned upon in many circles, don't know the best analogy to use but I would say it's something you discover when you actually begin to make an effort to "dress better" (-for lack of a better name
).Sadly, most squared toe shoes are bargains to the casual consumer, and they get scooped up because frankly when you don't "dress up" consistently you only have those for emergencies such as weddings, funerals, court dates or those couple nights a year where you go to a club that requires a dress code.
They are ugly, ruin the aesthetic of a nice outfit. Makes it look like you have a club foot. Look at all your sneakers, how many of them have a square toe? Why would you want that with your dress shoes when there are so many beautiful, yet a tad more expensive, round toe dress shoes.
A co-worker of mine asked me the other day for advice on dress shoes because he was in the market for a new pair. First thing I asked was, "what's your budget?", to which he responded: "$35-50". In my mind it was "
", but that is the mind set that most people have, even though his pair would've been used about four days a week. For the record, he was replacing a pair of Steve Madden's that were peeling (Ex. You get what you pay for.).I schooled him a bit, told him to stay away from square toes (enter dumbfounded look), and went over tiers ($75-150: Cole Haan, AE Seconds; $200+ type shoes). Told him to save some shekles and buy a better pair of shoes. He asked me about my shoes, Park Avenues, and how much they cost. When I told him what they cost, jaw dropped. Led him to shoebank and even though their seconds were marked down to $130 still found it expensive. Led him to Zappos and 6pm. You can guide a horse to water... well you know how that goes.
Dress shoes are an investment, dudes steady dropping $200+ on sneakers but can't see themselves dropping more than $50 on a decent pair of dress shoes.
