For Seller

By: Bilal Babic

The dress shoe may sound boring, but it is anything but. In an age when tennis shoes and sneakers are worn everywhere, mens dress shoes may not be as popular, but they do show the difference between those that are serious and the posers. There are a wide variety of styles, and it depends on what you are looking for. Mens dress shoes range from borderline casual to very fancy, and can adapt to any situation.

Mens dress shoes that many often picture are the boring black shoes with thin laces that we all learned to dread as kids. However, dress shoes have changed a lot since then. The big difference is that the sole has undergone some changes, going away from the wooden and plastic soles to rubber ones, allowing for more comfort, as well as dancing. Also, there are more types available, with wingtips and penny-loafers making a comeback. What styles are popular this summer can be found here: http://www.mensflair.com/news-trends/summer-dress-shoes-trend.php.

The dress shoe has been allowed to dress down, with some shoes being derived from moccasins. However, Italian shoes still continue to reign, with New York and London coming close. Strangely, Los Angeles has also been starting to come into its own. As sneakers become more popular, they have been combined with more conservative mens dress shoes to create hybrids; although looked down, they are becoming popular with trendy models.

Also of note are sandals, which are catching on as more people embrace more holistic lifestyles. Although not a dress shoe by any means, that they are being worn in more formal situations is of note, as well as the controversy that they have created in regards to formal wear, especially as "tribal" fashions come and go in fashion circles, and New Age beliefs continue to take hold. It will be interesting to see if sandals ever crossover from women’s fashion, or will be a truly male footwear.

It is interesting to note that wingtips and penny-loafers are in vogue due to a wave of nostalgia. As more modernistic styles become available, new designers are always trying to update the classics, if for no other reason than to see what modern materials can do to old classics. At the same time, boots are also being taken more seriously than in decades past, possibly due to an interest in western music and Texas’ rise in popularity, as well as having a number of influential politicians from there (not the least of whom is the current president). These "dress boots" are made of a different leather than regular boots, as well as having more obvious needlework.

In short, there is a wide variety of shoes available for dressing up, and it is up to you what kind of shoes you will wear, from the conservative to almost fun.

Bilal Babic, editor of Men’s Fashion Magazine http://www.MensFlair.com
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