Saturday, August 15, 2009

Reader Question: Casual Summer Shoe

Reader:

First off I think you have great style and give you the utmost respect for that.

Second... I wanted to know your opinion on what a good casual summer shoe would be. I wear a range of traditional boat shoes, drivers, and I just ordered a pair of white (really off white) Vans authentic canvas sneakers for summer. I hope they will work. Love Chucks and Vans but open to any opinion. What do you think?

Style Blogger:

Sounds like you have a decent spread there between boat shoes, drivers, chucks and vans. I'd say add a classic-looking loafer in a dark brown/burgandy. Something that is versatile enough to go from casual to dressy and everywhere in between. Check out the timeless Bass "Dover", found here. It is your safest option for most occasions.

But as you know by now, I'm not really about "playing it safe". My favorite shoes for summer are suede driver shoes; the brighter the color the better. The downside (which is also kinda the upside) is that they are really hard to find, especially at a reasonable price.

The best ones are made by Tod's and The Original Car Shoe (owned by prada), both of which run around $400 a pair. The Original Car shoe store, found only in Milan and Florence, is one of the coolest stores around simply because they have their signature shoe in basically every color...their wall of shoes looks like the nearby gelato shop selection with colors like Pineapple yellow and Mango orange .

At a more reasonable price ($105), there are these by new shoemaker Born. The red ones are hot, I just wish the laces and stitching were red also.

However, if you are like JD and Jay-Z in the summer of '98 and "Money Ain't a Thang", then here are my two favorite shoes this summer:

1. The Original Car Shoe in Aligator Skin (~$1,800.00):

2. The Mr. Hudson boat shoe/sneaker designed by Kanye West and Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton (~$900.00):

Hope this helps. Yours in style, Style Blogger.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those shoes are hideous and tasteless.

If Kanye West designs something, it's a good reason to stay away from it.

hendrix said...

I'm just discovering you blog, and as someone that considers himself fashionable and always open to learn new things, I love it.
My comment today is about the drivers. I love Born, but you referred to them as a new shoe company. I used to sell shoes at Nordstrom, beginning in 2002. We carried Born then, but from your comment I'm assuming they are very new. I haven't been able to find out when they began producing footwear. Would you happen to know?

Evania said...

Wonderful selection of shoes!! all are looking really nice!! Love them!!