Off the Cuff - Carson Kressley [8]
There is one caveat. If you do choose to take the sockless plunge, you need to use powder in your shoes to avoid your sweaty feet smelling like a cheese factory. Not appealing, people.
TIP
Fairy Carson Explains All About Taps
Please, my straight friends, do not put taps on your shoes. They’re devised to prevent wear and tear on the toe and the heel, but it‘s really not that expensive to have shoes resoled, and most leather will wear more evenly without them. Not to mention that you’re going to sound like some out of work chorus line member from 42nd Street. I only like taps on Liza.
8.The Athletic Sneaker. The athletic shoe is where you can knock yourself out. This shoe can be as ugly as you want it to be. (I can’t believe I just said that!) It just needs to provide support and protect against bunions and corns. Good times, good times.
It pains me to have to remind you that athletic shoes are for the gym and for the gym only. We’re in the midst of a raging sneaker epidemic in this great nation of ours, which has been propagated by the freakishly huge—and growing! —selection of sneakers available. I fear that the number of sneaker styles out there will soon exceed the national population. True athletic shoes, meaning any sneaker that is predominantly white, should be saved for the gym. You can’t even wear them to get coffee in the morning. And one thing I really hate to see is men on their morning commute wearing sneakers with a suit. That’s a one-way ticket to Tragikestan. It saddens me more than global deforestation. Don’t ever, ever do that or, Prada help me, I will personally come and rip those shoes off your feet.
9.The Driving Moccasin. A moccasin made for exactly what it says: driving your car. And even if you don’t build your wardrobe around driving, you should still have a pair of these, because they’re comfortable, they’re just plain cool, and they look great with everything. They’re especially yummy in chocolate brown and, for the more daring, baby blue. Okay, I confess that driving mocs may not be for amateurs or the average Joe, but who wants to be average?
10.The Tuxedo Shoe. If you’ve made it this far, consider yourself among the lucky. If you already own tuxedo shoes, you probably own a tuxedo. Good for
you! I’m beginning to like you already. If you don’t, keep it simple on this one and go with a black patent leather lace-up, which is always timeless and classic.
What Color Shoes with Suits?
I wouldn’t be so worried about rules. It’s case by case and you just have to see what looks good. I love a navy suit with a brown shoe. It’s very rich and very, very English. I like black shoes with navy as well. Brown goes with pretty much everything but black. If someone tells you brown is the new black, I have news for you, people: They’re lying.
For those who are firmly in touch with their masculine side, most men’s fashion books will tell you that the dark velvet slipper is appropriate with a tuxedo. I personally love the formal slipper embroidered with your monogram (or Gucci’s or Ralph Lauren’s,) a family crest, or a sartorial nod to a favorite hobby—perhaps martini glasses or a skull and crossbones. (Corporate logos do not count.) Just keep the vamp high so as not to look like an out-of-work ballet dancer.
A word of caution: The velvet slipper is for real pros. In all honesty, I think velvet slippers can be far too gay sometimes, even for me. That’s saying a lot, people. Let’s just leave it there and move on.
10a. I know, I know, I said ten, but if you live someplace where inclement weather is a factor, you might want some snow boots. Unless you live in Alaska, you’re not going to wear them every day, so you can invest in a pair that will last for a number of