Quality Made Dress Shoes are Key to Gentlemen Style

Boyds Philadelphia

The shoes on a man’s feet say a lot about his since of style, hygiene, and attitude toward money.  According, to the celebrity author of “Never Trust a Man in Alligator loafers” Donna Sozio, “…the majority of men don't understand the power of shoes because they haven't tapped into it. They resist it by saying, "I just want to be comfortable." But they need to know that shoes are (their) ticket(s) to ride and get (them to) where they wants to go.” Although, comfort is important for the feet it doesn’t have to be the difference between wearing an inexpensive pair of shoes and well made footwear. Frankly, the more you are willing to spend on your shoes the greater the likelihood that you will buy a pair that are comfortable and made exclusively for your feet. A quality crafted pair of shoes should be made of (1) premium tanned leather; (2) on a wooden lasts; (3) and finished with a Goodyear welt. Tanning is the process of softening and dying an animal skin, shell cordovan is one of the highest qualities of animal skin you can buy because of its lasting durability. A lasts is a wooden foot form used by shoemakers to mold and form stitched pieces of leather in to a finished shoe. The final part of the process is putting on the shoe sole and one of the best ways of doing this Goodyear welt construction (named for the person that invented the process Charles Goodyear Jr.). The benefits of a Goodyear welt are it’s an attractive way of sowing together the insole and outer sole of a dress shoe and it allows the shoe to be easily refurbished with a new sole if necessary.

 Not everyone can afford shoes handmade in this process nor the quality of materials that go into the premium labeled shoes. However, a quality made pair of shoes is worth the investment, because of the construction and material that go into them they will last longer and endure severer use over time. Look at these gentlemen attending the Boyds Philadelphia's La Dolce Vita on April 11, 2013 wearing timeless classics such as Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Fratelli Rossetti, Prada, Alden, and DiBianco, brands that have a history of making fine animal hide shoes for over a hundred years.