How many work shoes?

[rbjones]

Hey yall, just curious how many pairs of shoes I should have to rotate to ensure the maximum life out of my shoes. To put things in perspective I am a college senior graduating in may and moving to New York. Thank you for your help.

 

[grimslade]

Absolute minimum: 2

interim goal: 5-10 is probably reasonable to foresee a year or so out.

long term goal: Click here.

 

[rbjones]

Also is it okay to have more than one pair of the same shoe? I bought two pairs of a black shoe VERY similar to this one, http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2879527/...bo=2384636&P=1, on sale at Nordstrom for $190. I have read that most members in this forum do not like Ferragamo studio, but at the price I felt they were a good deal. They are very comfortable, and in my opinion a better deal than Cole Haan or JM at the price point. Is a chisel toe acceptable business formal? What are your thoughts on this shoe, in terms of style?

 

[Concordia]

Don't worry about having 2 pair of a classic style like that. Those are not at all offensive. If they fit well, you got a decent deal.

For shoes, my MO is to consider what I need them for and then ask "suppose I did that for a week?" I.e., if I had client meetings or other suit-worthy occasions every day for a week, or went on a vacation with a lot of walking, etc.

So I have categories:

black (with subsets for evening)

brown suitable for the office-- we have a business casual office, and I'm doing more sport jackets and fewer sweaters for that. A slightly different mix for summer than winter.

weekend/vacation brown, which takes in more rural-looking brogues, derby cuts, etc. There is some overlap here with office-worthy shoes.

suede/patent/loafers-- other special purpose shoes. These I would not likely wear for a solid week, so "enough" is a different number here.

A week's worth of a shoe could be just two (which are just enough to rotate) or five (if I'll be wearing that category for not just one week per year but many). Having more than two ensures that I not only get a day's rest between wearings, but that I have a margin of safety in case of rain, repair, and so on.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by rbjones

Also is it okay to have more than one pair of the same shoe? I bought two pairs of a black shoe VERY similar to this one, http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2879527/...bo=2384636&P=1, on sale at Nordstrom for $190. I have read that most members in this forum do not like Ferragamo studio, but at the price I felt they were a good deal. They are very comfortable, and in my opinion a better deal than Cole Haan or JM at the price point. Is a chisel toe acceptable business formal? What are your thoughts on this shoe, in terms of style?
I have two dark brown (one of them like "antiqued") Ferragamo Studio myself (maybe three, I am not sure about my third pair of SF), and I love them. They look great IMO, and they have turned out to be very comfortable (in spite of looking quite slim, something that at a first look appears to be incompatible with my wide feet). I bought them at retail (actually, both times I went there on sale but the shoes on sale didn't fit me, and then I saw one of these on retail ones and thought, what the hell, I'll give them a try) and I have not regretted it. At that time they were my most expensive shoe buy ever (close to EUR 300, I believe), and still I thought them worth the money.
Maybe the construction is not good, I do not know, and I do not know (yet) about durability, but I must say that I am very satisfied with them so far. Also, some women have given me compliments on them, and that is always nice.
I want to buy a pair of Tramezza one day, and I actually saw some on sale last weekend, 50% off, but of the models I liked there was nothing left in my size.

Now, when it comes to work shoes, I guess that you need at least two pairs in the colour that combines best with your suits and preferences (so that you will not have to end up calculating difficult rotation shemes for suits and shoes; I believe that you should never wear the same shoes two days in a row, although I do that when travelling), and then at least one further pair in another colour to get some variety in. And then an additional pair so as not to be short of shoes if one of your pairs get ruined. It is not nice to have to buy shoes urgently when you are busy with other things.

That is, I would say that if your preference is black shoes for work, then you should try to have at least three pairs of black shoes and one pair of brown shoes. And viceversa.

Just my opinion, though.

 

[Nantucket Red]

I just counted and found I have 11 pair in my rotation, and 3 of those I hardly ever wear. Two of them I'll probably end up selling on Ebay to make room for two pair of suede Tramezza wholecuts.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

I just counted and found I have 11 pair in my rotation, and 3 of those I hardly ever wear. Two of them I'll probably end up selling on Ebay to make room for two pair of suede Tramezza wholecuts.
I am happy to hear that I am not the only one having a problem with space...
I also have around 10 pairs of dress shoes and ankle boots in my rotation. That is enough for me, and I have decided not to buy anything further (unless I run into a pair of SF Tramezza on sale) until one of those pairs is worn out. I have a pair of Bally shoes (quite a square toe box, by the way, not likely to gain any appraisal on SF) that is close to its end (actually, one of the shoes broke twice just shortly after I acquired it, just where the leather was attached to the sole, really **** quality -I have heard that others have had similar experiences with Bally-, but it has kept together rather well since then), and then I intend to get a pair of light tan suede shoes to go with a light blue pinstripe cotton/linen blazer I acquired last summer, which I wear with white, beige, off white or blue trousers and with which none of my current shoes look really appropriate. I got the light tan suede recommended in another thread. Had never thought of that possibility, but the more I think of it, the more I like it.

 

[Niels]

I have 7 pairs. Due to the climate here I need to have a rotation of shoes with rubber soles, so 4 is reallye the minimum in a wet climate unless you want to wear rubber soled shoes all the time.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by Niels

I have 7 pairs. Due to the climate here I need to have a rotation of shoes with rubber soles, so 4 is reallye the minimum in a wet climate unless you want to wear rubber soled shoes all the time.

What about leather soles with these rubber protectors that have been discussed sometimes on this forum? I mean, that grants the stability provided by leather soles, and the rubber protectors prevent them from becoming to slippery in rain. I know that some people consider rubber protectores to be a sacrilege, but I put them on all my shoes the first thing I do, and I am happy with that.

 

[whnay.]

Dress casual wrecked havoc on my rotation. Currently I have 5 pairs in rotation for dress casual, 5 pairs for business dress. Ideally, I would like to have 8 pairs in rotation for business dress.

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by epa

What about leather soles with these rubber protectors that have been discussed sometimes on this forum? I mean, that grants the stability provided by leather soles, and the rubber protectors prevent them from becoming to slippery in rain. I know that some people consider rubber protectores to be a sacrilege, but I put them on all my shoes the first thing I do, and I am happy with that.

That might help on wet sidewalks after rainstorms but won't elevate a leather upper above any amount of slush, which is a real curse in certain northern cities.

 

[sho'nuff]

of all my shoes I have 6 verified shoes I wear in my daily work rotation:

Ferragamo rubber sole bit loafer (black)
Ferragamo studio Deeper bit loafer (brown)
AE Bradley split toe (black)
Sergio Rossi wingtip (pebble black)
Hugo Boss wingtip (burgundy)
AE Cameron penny loafer (burgundy)

I have also work in my other nicer shoes into the rotation for the workday sometimes, but it is the above 6 that I go to do serious work in.

All my other shoes for night, going out, weekends, dressing up, church, family ,etc. Some shoes i wear frequently some , once in a while , like a wedding.

 

[grimslade]

I'd say I have about 10 in more-or-less regular work rotation. In theory that allows me to wear each shoe no more often than once every other week, but in practice, some get more use than others. Today, I'm wearing my AE Park Avenues for the second time this week (first was monday). Not all shoes are equally suitable for wearing with suits, etc.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by Concordia

That might help on wet sidewalks after rainstorms but won't elevate a leather upper above any amount of slush, which is a real curse in certain northern cities.
I am not sure that rubber soles are always thicker than leather soles. Actually, in rain and slush (which I know a bit about, having spent most of my first 30 years on the Swedish west coast...), the leather upper always gets wet. I am not sure about the real advantage of rubber soled shoes, unless you combine the rubber sole with a rubber upper. Not very elegant, though, IMO, and your feet will not appreciate it. I guess nowadays, goretex is an option, but maybe still not for dress shoes. Or? Ecco is Danish, for example, and I haven't checked their recent contribution to nordic winter dress shoe options.
Also, from my time in Sweden, I actually remember using one pair of shoes/boots to get to work, where you changed to another pair, that you actually kept there.

 

[Will]

Two pair are a fine start.

Much more at http://asuitablewardrobe.blogspot.co...-wardrobe.html