Least favorite shoe styles

[Sprezzatura2010]

What are your least favorite shoe styles? Not materials, but styles.

Here are a few of mine.

-Chopped Chelseas. I don't see the point. The Chelsea boot is an elegant and classic shoe, but I see no reason for these things to exist. Except, perhaps to give retailers something novel but useless to put on the shelf. (Couldn't they just make a balmoral boot instead?) The gorges throw off what could otherwise be a fine low boot.

-Bicycle-toes. When I see such shoes, I cannot think of a single positive thought about them.

-Tassel loafers. I know they're classics, but I just cannot warm up to them.

-Mal-proportioned captoes. A captoe that's too high on the vamp (Santoni is a big offender) or two low (I think I saw some Barker Blacks with a mini-cap recently) just look inelegant to me.

 

[stilmacher]

Yes on Bicycle toe and tassle loafer. Although these are on a different level. Whilst the tassle loafer is a classic style I don't like the Bicycle toe is just a bunch of design trash. I would like to add butterfly loafers and those golf shoe lookalikes with the feathered tounge.

 

[citoyen]

what a useless thread. latest on page 5 we will have every shoe style mentioned as the least favorite one, because there will be nobody who likes every shoe style. unless the answers will be as specific as yours regarding the "malproportioned cap-toe"...then there will be the "half-brogues with too few/too much holes", the "too-short-winged longwing" and the "boot without speed-lacing hooks".
on the other hand everyone will agree on the bicycle-toe as an ugly shoe. why didnt you make a poll...

just a thought. others may disagree.

 

[Cary Grant]

Originally Posted by citoyen

what a useless thread. latest on page 5 we will have every shoe style mentioned as the least favorite one, because there will be nobody who likes every shoe style. unless the answers will be as specific as yours regarding the "malproportioned cap-toe"...then there will be the "half-brogues with too few/too much holes", the "too-short-winged longwing" and the "boot without speed-lacing hooks".
on the other hand everyone will agree on the bicycle-toe as an ugly shoe. why didnt you make a poll...

just a thought. others may disagree.

The point of these forums is to foster discussion. Sprezzatura2010 asked a fair question and gave some good specific examples. So, yes, I disagree with you.

My choice would be suede used in more formal styles:

I don't know why but I'm not a fan of suede shoes, even bucks except... big maybe... light-colored bucks.

 

[Homme]

Medallioned loafers. Ugh.

 

[fuji]

Black brogues and any dress shoe without a heal. Oh and black and white spectators.

 

[OxxfordSJLINY]

Unbrogued six-eyelet laced cap-toe balmorals are my favorite shoes overall and the best (but certainly far from the only) shoes on Earth to wear with suits. However, these cap-toes are not good to wear with sportsjackets and odd trousers. This is regardless of the number of eyelets unbrogued laced cap-toe balmorals have.

Unbrogued lace cap-toe balmorals are just too dressy to wear with sportsjackets and odd trousers (regardless of color, hide, material, etcetera, but especially when they are black and most of all when the uppers-including the top of the tongue-are made out of black shell cordovan leather).

Tassel loafers similar to the Allen Edmonds Grayson are best to wear with sportsjackets and odd trousers, much less so (but still adequate) to wear with suits. But these tassel loafers are much better to wear with suits than the laced cap-toes that I spoke of before are to wear with sportsjackets and odd trousers.

However, all excellent dress shoe styles are only excellent if they have rounded toes of any kind (the regular or more traditional rounded toes are best). But this applies to the cap-toe shoe style that I have a tremendous fondness for (the one that I described in full detail in the first and second paragraphs above

) more than it applies to all other shoe styles on Earth. And, this applies to the tassel loafers that I also like a great deal (the ones that I described in full detail in the third paragraph above) more than it applies to most (but by no means all) other shoe styles on Earth.

 

[flatfront]

No idea why but I tend to have a pretty irrational aversion to Split-toe shoes.

 

[Wes Bourne]

Originally Posted by stilmacher

Yes on Bicycle toe and tassle loafer. Although these are on a different level. Whilst the tassle loafer is a classic style I don't like the Bicycle toe is just a bunch of design trash.

^ +1.
I also don't like wholecuts.

 

[Eagle]

I'm inclined to put another bullet in the coffin containing bicycle toed shoes!

 

[AlanC]

My primary objection is to bicycle toes. I'm not exactly sure what the point is.

Originally Posted by Cary Grant

I don't know why but I'm not a fan of suede shoes, even bucks except... big maybe... light-colored bucks.

Your namesake disagreed with you.

 

[Cary Grant]

Originally Posted by AlanC

My primary objection is to bicycle toes. I'm not exactly sure what the point is.



Your namesake disagreed with you.

And?

 

[audiophilia]

Most loafers.
All tassle loafers
Many wholecuts.
Split toes
All boots, except Chelseas
Those Norwegian monstrosities

 

[Twotone]

Crocs

 

[Zebear]

I know that they are fashionable, but, I hate dress shoes with pointy or square toe... On the other hand, I like cowboy boots with pointy toes!!