The Oxford-Shoe-Worn-Casually Appreciation Thread

[dieworkwear]

Different people will of course have different standards of what they find acceptable. What is it about all the ones you went through that you don't find acceptable?

I think it's just the chase of finding beautiful tailoring. Too hard to describe in a post and not that interesting to go into specifics regarding my specific jackets. IMO, more interesting to post examples of beautiful tailoring.

 

[acapaca]

Ah yes, I know that feeling well. I'm constantly on the chase myself too. I find it a joy to try at least one example of every region/maker/style of distinction, as the case may be.

But I suppose I think of it more along the lines of wine (though I'm mostly just imagining, as wine is not really my scene), being able to enjoy and appreciate the differences between varietals and provenances. I don't mind wearing more than one silhouette, just as I wouldn't always drink the same thing.

In fact, this sometimes adds a layer of enjoyment in getting dressed, when I'm able to intentionally put together, as an example, Japanese shoes and a Kamakura shirt with a Ring Jacket suit. It's the kind of thing no one but me would ever know, but that does not in any way diminish the satisfaction. (In fact, it might enhance it!)

I'm also pretty obsessive about chasing a perfect fit, but I also keep being reminded of something I read once, and I can't remember where, about Italian tailoring. I believe it was said of the Neapolitan jacket that the beauty of it is that you can take one size smaller or one size larger and look good in all three. I'm not entirely sure I buy that in full, but it's definitely true that all my jackets don't have the exact same dimensions, yet this does not mean they are unwearable. Not in the least. It means that I coordinate them with different trousers, sometimes different shoes and accessories, for different ends. And to me that is not unenjoyable.

 

[willyto]

Blue shoes, grey and green shoes have been part of classic menswear way before they were trendy today. Usually suede. You can find them in old catalogues and in some illustrations from the 30s up to the 60s.

I don't understand why oxblood or burgundy shoes are fine but not blue, green or grey. Some might be more flashy than others but if you coordinate the outfit right I don't see why they can't work.

Spade sole to add to the flash:

I can't find the oxford suede bright green Florsheim pics but they also made spectators or loafers:

You could even find crazy colours in leather jackets like blue from makers like Block Bilt in California:

This is all part of Classic Menswear wether you like it or not. I don't think people realize how playful they were with colours. Just have a look at the socks selection at the time, all the colours, patterns,etc.

 

[dieworkwear]

Blue shoes, grey and green shoes have been part of classic menswear way before they were trendy today. Usually suede. You can find them in old catalogues and in some illustrations from the 30s up to the 60s.

I don't understand why oxblood or burgundy shoes are fine but not blue, green or grey. Some might be more flashy than others but if you coordinate the outfit right I don't see why they can't work.

Spade sole to add to the flash:

I can't find the oxford suede bright green Florsheim pics but they also made spectators or loafers:

You could even find crazy colours in leather jackets like blue from makers like Block Bilt in California:

This is all part of Classic Menswear wether you like it or not. I don't think people realize how playful they were with colours. Just have a look at the socks selection at the time, all the colours, patterns,etc.

I think they're part of CM in the way that zoot suits are part of CM. They are part of the history of how some people have worn tailored clothing, but not part of how people on this board have traditionally referred to the style. But yes, that is changing and the "old CM" is considered cosplay/ boring/ out of touch, etc.

I still think that people are just coming up with ad-hoc reasons to justify a shoe hobby. I don't think they're actually creating the kind of looks below.

 

[willyto]

I think they're part of CM in the way that zoot suits are part of CM. They are part of the history of how some people have worn tailored clothing, but not part of how people on this board have traditionally referred to the style. But yes, that is changing and the "old CM" is considered cosplay/ boring/ out of touch, etc.

I still think that people are just coming up with ad-hoc reasons to justify a shoe hobby. I don't think they're actually creating the kind of looks below.


View attachment 1691476

I agree that people try to justify buying certains shoes that are not coherent with the outfits.

Regarding the outfits you display... I wear original vintage clothes mixed with current Classic Menswear from shoes to clothes so that doesn't really stand out to me.

I wouldn't wear an oversized jacket though but I do wear plus fours, oh and with oxfords sometimes.

I like the classic menswear of the past but I don't like the fit of some of the most basic stuff like shirts so I stay with current production that fit me better. I don't want to wear a camping tent for a shirt but I do love spearpoint collars so I have a friend make me custom shirts or buy from brands that do the style.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

I think they're part of CM in the way that zoot suits are part of CM. They are part of the history of how some people have worn tailored clothing, but not part of how people on this board have traditionally referred to the style.

You've mentioned zoot suits several times now and always somewhat disparagingly as if it stands to reason that no reasonable person would consider them part of the CM canon. Now, I'm speaking here as someone who has taught about urban subcultures and style, and in the case of zoot suits and indeed much of the rest, this starts to seem a bit uncomfortable.. Is it not possible that the lack of acceptance of whole swathes of menswear history and culture, even if we're sticking to the USA, has as much to do with a kind of structural racism, encouraged by the fact that this board has been until relatively recently painfully white? Indeed the rare people who we all praise as going above and beyond the normal seem to have one thing in common: that they do not disdain this side of menswear (the side of colour and extravagance) - which is exactly what lead one particularly dickish member to refer to one of these posters as looking "like a pimp" (in a demonstration of precisely the unconscious racism I'm talking about). Now you rightly protested then, but I wonder if you aren't encouraging this same attitude with your disdain for aspects of the male style canon, like zoot suits, that began as Black? At the very least we should all be more careful.

 

[yorkshire pud]

My navy sport coats and blazers are generally the garments that leave me slightly miffed. Because I've yet to reach perfection, and with navy I want perfection.

With some more aggressive cloths I've used for

Blue shoes, grey and green shoes have been part of classic menswear way before they were trendy today. Usually suede. You can find them in old catalogues and in some illustrations from the 30s up to the 60s.

I don't understand why oxblood or burgundy shoes are fine but not blue, green or grey. Some might be more flashy than others but if you coordinate the outfit right I don't see why they can't work.

0

Spade sole to add to the flash:

I can't find the oxford suede bright green Florsheim pics but they also made spectators or loafers:

You could even find crazy colours in leather jackets like blue from makers like Block Bilt in California:

This is all part of Classic Menswear wether you like it or not. I don't think people realize how playful they were with colours. Just have a look at the socks selection at the time, all the colours, patterns,etc.

Please note the black & white photograph offered in response to your actual coloured pics ?

 

[dieworkwear]

You've mentioned zoot suits several times now and always somewhat disparagingly as if it stands to reason that no reasonable person would consider them part of the CM canon. Now, I'm speaking here as someone who has taught about urban subcultures and style, and in the case of zoot suits and indeed much of the rest, this starts to seem a bit uncomfortable.. Is it not possible that the lack of acceptance of whole swathes of menswear history and culture, even if we're sticking to the USA, has as much to do with a kind of structural racism, encouraged by the fact that this board has been until relatively recently painfully white? Indeed the rare people who we all praise as going above and beyond the normal seem to have one thing in common: that they do not disdain this side of menswear (the side of colour and extravagance) - which is exactly what lead one particularly dickish member to refer to one of these posters as looking "like a pimp" (in a demonstration of precisely the unconscious racism I'm talking about). Now you rightly protested then, but I wonder if you aren't encouraging this same attitude with your disdain for aspects of the male style canon, like zoot suits, that began as Black? At the very least we should all be more careful.

I think I've disparaged a wide range of things, such that people looking at the very wide body of my work of disparagements know the context of what I mean if they were looking at this honestly. It's true that notions of "Good Taste" are tied to race and class. But I've also disparaged the Fedora Lounge, Elvis, and the very white, middle-class look of Business Casual. I disparage everything.

My main point in regard to that specific post is that, while a lot of stuff happened in the past, they were not included in what we mean by CM. I am also not sure people buying those shoes pictured above are even interested in coherent retro styles. They're just sticking blue or green shoes with their BC looks.

 

[Sir Jack II]

I believe you can unproblematically maintain that zoot suits are ugly. Sure, one may always be constrained and influenced by imperceptible cultural factors—and such limitations and preferences are of course not unique to white people in the US—but I don’t think this necessarily negates the aesthetic that results. There are so many enduring aspects of style that black communities have contributed to American culture. But they’re not all gonna be winners.

 

[dieworkwear]

Every morning, @RJman sends me a link to something he's thinking about buying, and then I disparage him.

 

[JohnMRobie]

Every morning, @RJman sends me a link to something he's thinking about buying, and then I disparage him.

This should be a Patreon tier tbh. “For $5 a month I will disparage the products you’re thinking about buying. Think of the money you’ll save.” The anti-personal shopper.

 

[smittycl]

I like the bal boots in blue with suit WAY more than any of the casual oxford looks we've seen.

Still not my style.

I dont have any Balmoral boots, and I'm not sure I would ever buy any. I'd be worried about messing up the line of trousers while standing in boots that high.

They work well with tailoring in cold, sloppy weather. Thick enough to keep your feet dry while also dressy enough for work.

EDIT: had mine for years. Allen Edmonds First Avenue in black.

 

[RJman]

They work well with tailoring in cold, sloppy weather. Thick enough to keep your feet dry while also dressy enough for work.

EDIT: had mine for years. Allen Edmonds First Avenue in black.

Derek was literally on the floor laughing at me the one time I learned my balmoral boots couldn’t keep my feet dry. The next week I ordered veldtschoen boots that are not as nice to wear with tailoring but will keep my feet dry the next time there’s a rainstorm, my neighbor fertilizes with manure, and the sidewalks flood.

This should be a Patreon tier tbh. “For $5 a month I will disparage the products you’re thinking about buying. Think of the money you’ll save.” The anti-personal shopper.

if folks send me $5 a month I will send them links to stuff I am thinking of buying every morning

 

[Stylewords]

the fact that this board has been until relatively recently painfully white?

How do you know how many posters are white? At what number does that become "painful" for you?

 

[JFWR]

You've mentioned zoot suits several times now and always somewhat disparagingly as if it stands to reason that no reasonable person would consider them part of the CM canon. Now, I'm speaking here as someone who has taught about urban subcultures and style, and in the case of zoot suits and indeed much of the rest, this starts to seem a bit uncomfortable.. Is it not possible that the lack of acceptance of whole swathes of menswear history and culture, even if we're sticking to the USA, has as much to do with a kind of structural racism, encouraged by the fact that this board has been until relatively recently painfully white? Indeed the rare people who we all praise as going above and beyond the normal seem to have one thing in common: that they do not disdain this side of menswear (the side of colour and extravagance) - which is exactly what lead one particularly dickish member to refer to one of these posters as looking "like a pimp" (in a demonstration of precisely the unconscious racism I'm talking about). Now you rightly protested then, but I wonder if you aren't encouraging this same attitude with your disdain for aspects of the male style canon, like zoot suits, that began as Black? At the very least we should all be more careful.

Do you spend every waking moment wringing your hands in the dreadful fear of lurking racism? Do you think it makes you cool, or more progressive, to insult something as "painfully white"? Would you feel comfortable saying the same thing about any other race?

"Structural racism"? Really? That people reject certain men's wear history as looking ridiculous is only because it was worn by non-whites? Comments like these make me question whether or not you are a long-con parody account.

Also, one can say someone looks like a pimp because pimps frequently depict themselves as having a specific style. Yes, this style has a racial component: it is primarily found amongst black and hispanic pimps. That it is not racist to nevertheless think it in poor taste is because the culture which adopts it, the PIMPING culture, is one which embraces violent, coercive sexual abuse of women. Unlike the structural racism which depends upon reading desperately into it, to look at a pimp and say "ah yes, let me look like him" is effectively to suggest that it is a good idea to emulate people who are trafficking, abusing, and profiting off the sexual enslavement of women.