Yemeni/Moroccan Slippers

[Eli Curt]

I'm heading to the mid-east for a couple of weeks next month. In the interest of packing light, I would like to pack only one pair of shoes and only one suit. I'll bring a chocolate brown fresco with a few shirt and tie options as well as some casualwear - chinos and polos. I would like to bring just one pair of shoes. Can I pull these off with a suit in the more casual, warmer environment that is the Middle East? Most people I will be interacting with will eschew any tie and coat. Many will wear open-toed sandals.

 

[maxalex]

Those are from Turkish Modern, I believe; I own several pair. I love them but consider them a small step above espadrilles by virtue of the leather upper—what might be called Riviera casual.

They are certainly not conventional business shoes, but it is difficult to say what qualifies as business wear these days, in the Middle East or the Midwest; certainly they beat open-toed sandals although that’s a low bar.

In the right environment (such as strolling the Croisette at Cannes) they could work with a linen or fresco suit and open collar; a tie would be trying too hard. If you must bring only one pair of shoes (and I’m unclear precisely why), I think you’d be safer just wearing a pair of conventional brown loafers.