What are the most essential types of shoes for a man to own?

[Joenobody0]



Been showering barefoot in gym locker rooms 3-5 times a week for about 45 years now. Never had warts or athlete's foot - not even once.
I'd rather take my chances than mess round with wet flip flops in this setting.
Have I just been very lucky?

I'm not sure. However I knew a girl who waited 40 years to get a pedicure because "they're gross". The first time she got one... nail fungus. She had to take medicine for a year to make it go away. The whole time she had to have kidney function tests because the medicine was so hard on the body. Also, her HMO wouldn't pay for it, so she had to go out of pocket!

I know it's not the same, but I wear shower shoes anywhere but my home.

 

[BostonHedonist]



Been showering barefoot in gym locker rooms 3-5 times a week for about 45 years now. Never had warts or athlete's foot - not even once.
I'd rather take my chances than mess round with wet flip flops in this setting.
Have I just been very lucky?

Or perhaps I was just very unlucky...

 

[Lionheart Biker]

Replace the flip flops for ridicously expensive leather sandals. They look nicer, are more stylish and serve their purpose.

 

[BostonHedonist]

These work well enough to me. Leather, plastic, rubber, whatever. It's still a flip flop and has it's place in any warm climate.

 

[laufer]

Hey BostonHedonist,

Who is maker of those flip flops?

 

[BostonHedonist]



Hey BostonHedonist,
Who is maker of those flip flops?

It's the 'Kumu' by Olu Kai, a brand from California/Hawaii I think.
Found here for $80: http://www.backcountry.com/olukai-k...-F061-DF11-9DA0-002219319097&mr:referralID=NA

They'll last about two years of moderate use before any major signs of wear. Or one year if you take them in salt water. I'm on my second pair.

 

[AlexE]

OK this topic has really been discussed a lot, but since we have the 8th million black suit poll running right now...wtf

I think one has to differentiate between essential shoes for style purposes and shoes for purely practical reasons. Among the first category I'd list
- black cap toes without broguing (work)
- black quarter / semi brogues (work)
- dark brown wingtips (work less formal)
- dark brown double monks
- lighter brown semi brogues
- brown suede shoes
- some loafers
- black patent leather plain-toe oxfords (black tie)

Among the latter category I'd list
- Running shoes (guess for what)
- flip flops (looks kind of odd running around the beach / pool in EG Chelseas)

Somewhere in between
- Haferlschuhe for Oktoberfest

 

[KObalto]



I'd say for me the bare minimum would be:
Dress shoes (one matching black, one matching brown),

I'm not sure what you mean by matching, and "dress shoes" is such a broad description it really doesn't add anything to the conversation. I would say burgundy wingtips, dark brown cap toe, black cap toe, dark brown suede with broguing, tan penny loafers, and boat shoes.

 

[BostonHedonist]



I'm not sure what you mean by matching, and "dress shoes" is such a broad description it really doesn't add anything to the conversation. I would say burgundy wingtips, dark brown cap toe, black cap toe, dark brown suede with broguing, tan penny loafers, and boat shoes.

Let me clarify. "Dress" shoes to me means appropriate with a suit or at a formal occasion. Within that category I feel the minimum should be a shoe that goes with a black suit (say, Park Avenues) and a shoe that goes with browns and/or earth tones (such as your dark brown cap toes).

We're talking about bare essentials here, although - I suppose - in a literal "desert island" scenario the flip-flops might actually win out as most necessary.

 

[KObalto]

Blue shoes with navy then?

 

[rioni]

2-3 pair of crocs get the job done it just about every environment. Just no black please!

 

[MikeDT]



Replace the flip flops for ridicously expensive leather sandals. They look nicer, are more stylish and serve their purpose.

Any good in a shower though? I to also wear plastic flip-flops to avoid plantar warts and other nasties when using public showers.

 

[Lionheart Biker]

I levitate to avoid touching the floor when in public showers... hahaha, now for real. I remember when I was away in college, I lived in like a boarding house (or guesthouse, I don´t know how you´d call it), and there were like 20 other guys there, so the shower was a pretty disgusting place. At first, I used to shower bare feet, and during that (a year and a half or so) I had no problem in my feet. Then, i remember one day i went into the bathroom and I heard this guy (a fat brazilian who was also living there), he was showering and he started blowing his nose right there in the shower. That´s when I realized I didn´t want to touch that freacking floor with my feet ever again, so I started using flip flops religiously. I don´t know what was it, but at first I didn´t even think i wasn´t the only guy showering there, though i obviously knew but i guess i didn´t care, so i would just throw some shampoo on the spot where i was going to shower, to clean it up, and that was it. But after that, i started realizing that It was something to avoid for the rest of my stay. But even with that, some friends I had there showered bare feet and never used flip flops, and didn´t even think, or care, about where they were stepping into.

 

[cptjeff]



I levitate to avoid touching the floor when in public showers... hahaha, now for real. I remember when I was away in college, I lived in like a boarding house (or guesthouse, I don´t know how you´d call it), and there were like 20 other guys there, so the shower was a pretty disgusting place. At first, I used to shower bare feet, and during that (a year and a half or so) I had no problem in my feet. Then, i remember one day i went into the bathroom and I heard this guy (a fat brazilian who was also living there), he was showering and he started blowing his nose right there in the shower. That´s when I realized I didn´t want to touch that freacking floor with my feet ever again, so I started using flip flops religiously. I don´t know what was it, but at first I didn´t even think i wasn´t the only guy showering there, though i obviously knew but i guess i didn´t care, so i would just throw some shampoo on the spot where i was going to shower, to clean it up, and that was it. But after that, i started realizing that It was something to avoid for the rest of my stay. But even with that, some friends I had there showered bare feet and never used flip flops, and didn´t even think, or care, about where they were stepping into.

Or they realized that that's the kind of **** we have immune systems for, that people were using soap that was also going on that floor, and that the only things you really had to worry about were rare cases of fungus? Or they realized that the **** being blown out of his nose was the same stuff they were breathing in and was catching in their noses, and the same stuff they were touching on every doorknob? If you think about where germs get deposited on a daily basis without also realizing how well our bodies defend against them, you would simply go insane. Never worn shower shoes. Scout camp, with the most disgusting and high volume showers you could imagine, college, the gym. Never bothered. No issues thus far. I suppose it's cultural. I grew up camping a lot. Still do. In that setting, dirt on food is accidental seasoning. I'm just not generally afraid of the scary germs. People got along pretty well before bathing was an accepted cultural practice- once a month was often, even too often for some. To head off the argument, average life expectancy was lower, but that was due to more kids dying. Once you got your adult immune system going, people routinely lived to 70. Really. Trust evolution. You're here, ain't ya? Our predecessors lived in conditions much more nasty and infectious then the ones we live in today, and managed alright. As for substitutes for flip flops in the realm of casual footwear, I would suggest leather slides. They don't have to be expensive. The pair I've had for a few years now ran me just under $40, and are likely to last another few summers.

 

[Hayward]

RM Williams Comfort Craftsman in black, chestnut and whisky

Sebago boat or driving mocs

Lowa Vento lows

Danner Light IIs

Ariat Ropers

Chucks, preferably leather, or Adidas Officials (if they ever made them right again)