Bespoke shoe, black/brown blend?

[Cizeta]

Hi, fashion newbie here.

I bought a new pair of custom Softstar shoes. I chose a black leather front, black suede rear, and "aged acorn" leather on the sides. My goal was just to have a formidable everyday shoe that could work with various styles, even as far as semi-formal. They are so light, tactile, and comfy that they work flawlessly as a full blown running shoe too!

My parents like it (I told them to be brutally honest), my girlfriend does not. My mom and pop like the contrast between the leather/suede and black/brown, while my girlfriend says that's what ruins it.

Thoughts?

 

[dieworkwear]

This forum is heavily American-centric, and the people who visit this side of the forum tend to be into formal clothing. So you will probably not find a very warm reception for those shoes here. That style is unusual for the US (perhaps it is more common where you live) and it doesn't fit the sort of formal clothes discussed on this side of the board.

 

[Cizeta]

This forum is heavily American-centric, and the people who visit this side of the forum tend to be into formal clothing. So you will probably not find a very warm reception for those shoes here. That style is unusual for the US (perhaps it is more common where you live) and it doesn't fit the sort of formal clothes discussed on this side of the board.

I see.
First off, I am American and Softstar is made in America.
Secondly, I suspected these would not have warm reception, all critique is welcome!
I can see how they are strange. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone with their brown offering for more formidability in pairings.

Is there a better section of the forum for advice on semi-formal or everyday wear?

 

[dieworkwear]

If you're American, then I'll say I don't think these shoes look very good. Sometimes fashion is very culturally contextual, so I'm careful about saying something if someone might be based in another country, in a context or culture that I don't know. But in the US, I think those shoes would be considered ugly and I don't recommend going back to that company.

I recommend starting with an aesthetic for how you would like to dress. Don't think of shoes as independent objects, but more as part of a whole outfit, which itself should be situated in a larger aesthetic. Do you want to dress formally or casually? If formal, what kind of formal? If casually, what kind of casual? The way I think about it is like language. You want your outfit to say something, and that requires using language (or clothes) in a way that other people understand. These shoes don't really say anything, so they are aesthetically non-sensical.

This forum is broken into two parts: Classic Menswear is mostly about tailored clothing and the sort of casualwear you can expect to find at Brooks Brothers. Streetwear and Denim is about a broader range of casual aesthetics. There are other forums, such as Reddit's Male Fashion Advice. You can start at these places if you want to explore different ways to dress.

 

[Cizeta]

Very helpful, thank you.

In other words, these Softstar shoes are trying to be too many things at once perhaps?

I think I get the picture, which I kind of could see in the back of my mind already.
I should stick to mesh, bold colors, etc. for athletic shoes, and save leathers for more formal pairings.

 

[dieworkwear]

I think the design is nonsensical. I don't think you can invent clothing or shoe designs out of thin air. It's more language than art.

Again, I would start with how you want to dress, and root that aesthetic in something.

Noam Chomsky, a linguist, is famous for a phrase: "colorless green ideas sleep furiously." It's an example of a sentence that's grammatically correct, but doesn't make any sense. Instead of thinking of shoe design like random elements in a soup (e.g. "leather is dressy, but this overlaying of different leathers make the casual"), I think you should think of it as language. Read books about different fashion movements, watch films and TV shows, and check out how different subcultural groups dress. This will give you an idea of how clothes communicate something. Think of how costume design departments fit actors and actresses. They use clothes to tell a story about a person. This gives you an idea of how to dress yourself.

 

[DapperPhilly]

I see.
First off, I am American and Softstar is made in America.
Secondly, I suspected these would not have warm reception, all critique is welcome!
I can see how they are strange. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone with their brown offering for more formidability in pairings.
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Is there a better section of the forum for advice on semi-formal or everyday wear?

I think they're pretty cool looking but super casual. I wouldn't wear them but I'm in my early 60's and not my style.
If you like them enjoy them.

 

[rjc149]

I think the shoes would go well with a medieval or Renaissance fair costume.

 

[DapperPhilly]

I think the shoes would go well with a medieval or Renaissance fair costume.

I can see that

 

[maxalex]

Beyond the aesthetics, which I also don’t like, I’m thinking they won’t last long. The leather and sole are thin, probably glued (not stitched) together although just a guess.

 

[Leiker]

even as far as semi-formal

They definitely are not appropriate for a semi-formal look.