Versatile dress shoe for travel?

[Patek]



Its not a matter of being afraid to wear it, more of a sense of respect for the things I have which are nice.  Also your logic of not being able to afford it is flawed since I have gone out of my way to spend more money on new shoes for the sole purpose of letting them get destroyed instead of just wearing shows I already own.

I either have no such delemma or my whole life is a dellema as I got rid of all of my shoes that were not good. The lowest shoes on my totem pole are an two old pairs of Ferragamos and a pair of BB wingtips, and a pair of Gucci loafers which are my "rainy day shoes" and which I do not travel with (except the loafers). The rest of my shoes are what you could clasify as "good" shoes, C&J cordovans and EG. I just got sick of "non-good" shoes (Mezlan etc) that I got rid of all of them.

 

[Bic Pentameter]

There are two sentiments that often come up on Styleforvum, particularly with respect to shoes. On the one hand are the "I'm not doing THAT with THESE shoes! Do you know how much they cost?" camp. On the other hand is the "I bought them. They are mere tools to be used, possibly,abused, and enjoyed. If I don't weae them now, then when?" camp.

We probably all fall somewhere on this spectrum. I have three pair of bespoke shoes but I have never used them for business travel. On the road, I have run over shoes with a rolling suitcase, scuffed them on the bottom of the economy class seat in front of me worn them two days in a row, bought stain remover to remove the salt stains that appeared after a rainstorm. I get all of that.

But, professionally and financially, the very most important meetings of my life have been on business trips. I sometimes deem it appropriate to wear my very best at important events, and find myself saying, "If not now, when?"

AE makes a solid shoe, and I can't imagine any customer, potential employer or business partner tisk tisking you for showing up in a black Park Avenue. All the better on you if you got it as a second in the US and wear it in Japan where they command a hefty premium.


Bic

 

[Patek]

To paraphrase a quote from the M3 forum:

Not wearing your shoes to keep their value is like not ************ girlfriend so that he next boyfriend will be able to enjoy her more.

 

[ismelllikepoop]

i dont understand all these smug responses about being afraid to wear it if you can afford it. i think it does make sense to get something dedicated to travel, and that you won't worry about too much if something does happen. I remember reading somewhere kanye likes to go running in lanvin sneakers just because he can. Just because you can afford to do something doesn't mean you can't be practical. I don't mind working out in my nikes even tho they arent goodyear welted and are made in vietnam. and if you're walking 10 miles a day i dont understand these recommendations for leather soled 5 lb bricks on my feet.

 

[Patek]



i dont understand all these smug responses about being afraid to wear it if you can afford it. i think it does make sense to get something dedicated to travel, and that you won't worry about too much if something does happen. I remember reading somewhere kanye likes to go running in lanvin sneakers just because he can. Just because you can afford to do something doesn't mean you can't be practical. I don't mind working out in my nikes even tho they arent goodyear welted and are made in vietnam. and if you're walking 10 miles a day i dont understand these recommendations for leather soled 5 lb bricks on my feet.

Who is giving smug responses? Most people on this forum own predominantly leather soled shoes. Not because we can but because it is what we like and find comfortable and stylish. I easily walk 5-15 miles a day when traveling in quality leather soled shoes--because crapy shoes feel like crap and will hurt your feet. To get shoes that are 5lbs each you will probably have to find some double soled cordovan boots.

 

[mrhills0146]

I think AEs are the perfect business travel shoe, especially the ones with rubber soles.

On my nicer shoes, I wear the hell out of them too, within reason. "Within reason" means different things to different folks, and that's cool. It's not an absolute rule - there certainly have been trips, generally shorter ones, where I had some type of important / milestone meeting, and for those, to hell with it, I'm wearing the best clothing and shoes that I own.

I forgot one final reason why I do not like to wear my best shoes on most business trips -- weight. I don't use a rolling bag, and shoe trees are very heavy. My rule of thumb is that the bag is comfortable to carry until it weighs more than 10% of your body weight, so I try to keep my bag under 20 lb.

Heavy is bad, and I don't want to deal with having to pack and carry a pair of shoe trees.

 

[gachimai]

Thanks all for the replies and input.

My budget is around $300 - $500. I don't really want rubber soles, but I think in my situation, its practical. I'll be going to Japan in a few weeks and right now parts of the country are getting hit hard with snow. I don't want to pack too heavy, as I have to bring gifts for relatives and business and that takes up half my luggage space. Gym shoes, I won't bring cause I know I won't be hitting a gym, between meetings and drinking and eating, I won't have time. All the walking in Tokyo/Osaka is enough exercise.

The Alden of Carmel was a great recommendation and I'll be calling that store, thanks!

 

[Hayward]

Paraboot Vigny with the rubber Galaxy sole.

Heschung Noyer.

RM Williams Comfort Craftsman.

 

[swiego]

The smug responses are coming from people who own many, many pairs of shoes, purchase new ones often, cycle out old ones frequently and frankly aren't going to be impacted if a given pair is damaged, because there's a closet full of backups at home.

If the M3 is the fourth car in the household, its owner will be more likely to drive it harder than if it's the only car. The attitude here is of people who own four, six, ten or fifteen M3s, and they just are not going to understand why anyone would want a beater car to serve as a daily driver. Someone with just the M3, who had to stretch a bit, and save for many years to get it into the garage, is going to treat it not as a car but as an achievement/symbol. Generally, most people take care of their symbols.... but one man's symbol is another man's daily-use disposable wear item.

 

[retronotmetro]



To paraphrase a quote from the M3 forum:

Not wearing your shoes to keep their value is like not ************ girlfriend so that he next boyfriend will be able to enjoy her more.

Wearing a pair of shoes around Tokyo in foul weather is like taking a girlfriend to a gangbang so you can watch other guys get her airtight. One might carefully consider which of their girlfriends that should be.

 

[NAMOR]



Yet another blind blind leading the blind thread.
Please keep the misinformation coming!
I travel just about every other week for work. I usually take a pair of loafers for ease at the airport (usually RL Marlows but sometimes Guccis) and a pair of dress boots or oxfords depending on what the weather will be. I also look at bringing something with a rubber toppy or Vibram if there will be rain or snow. Make sure to bring one set of shoe trees so that the pair you are not wearing can rest with them and gym shoes--if you work out.

 

[usctrojans31]



The smug responses are coming from people who own many, many pairs of shoes, purchase new ones often, cycle out old ones frequently and frankly aren't going to be impacted if a given pair is damaged, because there's a closet full of backups at home.
If the M3 is the fourth car in the household, its owner will be more likely to drive it harder than if it's the only car. The attitude here is of people who own four, six, ten or fifteen M3s, and they just are not going to understand why anyone would want a beater car to serve as a daily driver. Someone with just the M3, who had to stretch a bit, and save for many years to get it into the garage, is going to treat it not as a car but as an achievement/symbol. Generally, most people take care of their symbols.... but one man's symbol is another man's daily-use disposable wear item.

Excellent response.

 

[Metlin]

There seems to be a bit of misunderstanding in terms of what I meant by my original statement. I did not intend for it to be condescending -- I was merely curious as to why people would buy things they don't intend to use.

For the past few years, I've had a foot injury which prevented me from wearing good dress shoes (I had to make do with dainite soles and custom orthotics). So, I had a collection of great shoes that I could not really wear, that just sat around in my closet unused.

However, now, I can wear pretty much any shoe. And after having some geat shoes sit in my closet for the past few years unused, I do not see the point in not wearing them. Yes, they will get scuffed. Yes, they will get beaten up. Worn. Wet. And perhaps even damaged. But so what? After all, they are just shoes. Besides, I have other shoes, and there will always be new shoes to buy.

It has nothing to do with how many shoes (or suits, ties, watches) that you have. It's just a shift in mentality of buying something you do not intend to wear or use. I buy shoes because I will wear them, not because I wish to collect them.

 

[mcbrown]



The smug responses are coming from people who own many, many pairs of shoes, purchase new ones often, cycle out old ones frequently and frankly aren't going to be impacted if a given pair is damaged, because there's a closet full of backups at home.
If the M3 is the fourth car in the household, its owner will be more likely to drive it harder than if it's the only car. The attitude here is of people who own four, six, ten or fifteen M3s, and they just are not going to understand why anyone would want a beater car to serve as a daily driver. Someone with just the M3, who had to stretch a bit, and save for many years to get it into the garage, is going to treat it not as a car but as an achievement/symbol. Generally, most people take care of their symbols.... but one man's symbol is another man's daily-use disposable wear item.

Put differently, it's all in your perspective...

Ferrari use:



or Ferrari abuse:

 

[Patek]



I forgot one final reason why I do not like to wear my best shoes on most business trips -- weight. I don't use a rolling bag, and shoe trees are very heavy. My rule of thumb is that the bag is comfortable to carry until it weighs more than 10% of your body weight, so I try to keep my bag under 20 lb.
Heavy is bad, and I don't want to deal with having to pack and carry a pair of shoe trees.

I carry a leather duffle bag and I don't understand fully functional men in their prime that wheel around their luggage like flight attendants. I guess in this modern day and age people have become soft. I do pack carefully though and if I am bringing a heavy pair of cordovan boots, I will probably wear them and not carry them.

I will get off my anti-wheeled luggage soapbox now.