I have this theory that you can tell a guy by his shoes. Rather, you can tell a guy's fashion sense by his shoes; if a man is going to display any semblance of style at all, he will start with his footwear. Shoes are a basic, long-term investment that even the stingiest dude would be willing to spend a little extra on. Think of it this way: If a guy wears a basic shirt and pants combo but wears some really cool kicks with them, his outfit is instantly more stylish; however, if he wears a really snazzy shirt and pant combo, he'll kill it with ugly, old tennis shoes. Am I right?
So what, exactly, do shoes tell you? Well, the way a man dresses himself is probably the first thing I notice about him, and shoes are a tell-tale sign of style (or lack thereof). I'm not sure I can tell you exactly which shoes mean what, but I shall try to formulate an analysis hereafter.
No. These are for old men. Or guys who are only concerned with the "functional." That's fine if that's your style, but I (and several other women I know) are simply not attracted to it.
A couple of my friends at work claim that half the guys at BYU wear these shoes, which aren't necessarily bad by themselves, but they pair them with Wrangler jeans and a plain button-up shirt, which combination is less than satisfactory (or fashion-sensible). I wasn't certain of the prevalence of this phenomenon until I decided to look for it. I was horrified to find that more than half of the boys in my ward were wearing this EXACT OUTFIT. Leather is classy, but this shoe is not.
These are classic and easy to wear with many different styles. I had a friend say that guys who wear Vans only wear them because they've seen other guys wear them. Hm, maybe sometimes. But I still think Vans look good. And at least that means they've noticed (at least in some small way) that this shoe has style, even if they don't totally understand it. Vans are a safe choice.
I would argue these are even more classic than Vans. And any choice of shoe becomes (possibly) more awesome when he takes a risk and goes for a shoe with a little extra. Of course, he has to know how to pull it off.
YES. *Drool, drool* I'm sure I'm not the only girl who likes guys in high-top kicks, though they definitely are a preference of mine. Oh, hardcore kids (which I thought were called scene kids, but I guess I was wrong) . . . Taking a risk and pulling it off is always a win, and I feel like wearing cool kicks like these is always a risk.
Hipster Shoes
These are hard to pin point because they can come in varying shapes and sizes. The classier hipsters (and by hipsters I don't necessarily mean people who live a legit hipster lifestyle, but people who dress in hipster style) will wear shoes like these: rugged, often leather, earthy, vintage, leaning toward the style of a trendy old man. Hobo hipsters are a different story.
Girl Shoes
There is something to be said about girl shoes. Most girls always show their sense of style with shoes, but they don't just invest in that one item; girls use shoes as an accessory to an outfit and not as the only fashionable piece in a combination. A girl's taste in shoes shows her variety of style rather than just her possession of it.
On a side note, one boy told me that he would propose on the spot to any girl who wore these shoes:
In a word, how a person decides to present his or herself is very telling about personality and self esteem. Think about it.
