Lookin' spiffy at work

Allen-Edmonds, which are made in Wisconsin. You can get them at deep discount on eBay (A-E sells its "seconds," i.e. imperfects, on eBay, although the imperfection won't be noticeable). They are sometimes available cheap at Marshalls. I got mine as closeouts at a local chain that is similar to Marshalls. Closeouts are also available at sierratradingpost.com.

No leather shoes will last very long if you wear them every day. The average foot will produce a quarter-cup of perspiration per day, and leather will need at least a day to dry, even with cedar shoe trees in them (although stuffing them with newsprint can absorb the moisture, too).

The great thing about decent, leather-soled shoes is that they can be resoled and/or completely recrafted to like-new condition. A local shoe-repair person can do this, or you can ship them to A-E or Alden or Johnston & Murphy:

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/ServiceDescriptionView?storeId=1&langId=-1&catalogId=40000000001

http://www.johnstonmurphy.com/help_refurb.aspx

http://www.aldenshoe.com/pro_res.htm

For cheaper leather-soled shoes, I'd use a local person. I have some Bass Weejuns from the 1980s, when they were still made in Maine instead of overseas, and I had them resoled locally for $50. That's the thing about leather-soled shoes -- you can have them repaired. You can't do that with glued-together, rubber-soled shoes.

I'm told that if I take good care of them, the A-E should last 10-20 years. Of course they'll need new soles every 4-5 years.

 

When I dress up, people think I'm either a) interviewing elsewhere or b) burying a loved one. I'd like to dress up more, but I don't spend much time in the office and there's nothing more ridonkulous than a wearing a dark gray pinstripe suit to the Wednesday night wrestling dual. Plus I'm poor and fat, which makes looking good hard.

 

every girl's crazy bout a sharp-dressed man. /grapes

 

There's that reason to do it, too.

 

If you're talking about a job where you go cover games, it shouldn't hurt you to wear something nice once in a while. For a pro beat, it's a definite.

If you are a desk guy who won't be out in the public eye, sure, wearing something nice is always good to do on occasion, but I worked on the desk with guys who'd wear an old L.A. Kings jersey or would wear shorts to work all the time.

 

I stopped by work one time after an uncle's funeral, wearing coat and tie. Some wiseass goes, "Who died?" When I told him, he just shut up and walked away.

 

Any time I'd dress up, I'd get all sorts of cracks. Except for a good news editor we used to have, who was sincere with her compliments.

 

I used to wear a suit to work every day. I didn't like it at first, because I was coming straight from college and t-shirts and shorts every day, but I grew to like it a lot. I've always tried to stay in shape, yet I've never really given a shit about my appearance. After a while, I was devouring Brooks Brothers catalogs and actually shining my shoes.

Now, what seems like a lifetime (and a different profession later), I wear khakis and a polo shirt 99 percent of the time. I could dress nicer, but why bother.

 

Heh.
Sorry for your loss, of course.

 

NEVER buy cheap shoes. Good shoes are an investment. Not only will they outlast multiple cheap pairs that add up to more the cost of the good pair, but you can't treat your feet well enough.

 

If I dressed up at work, I'd not only feel uncomfortable, I'd feel like a phony. If dressing up is your thing, more power to ya, but I don't want to be one of those guys whose focus is dressing the part without doing their part. Too many of those around.

 

Hear hear.

Job interviews are one thing, but dressing to impress every day? Phony is the perfect word for it.

I dress decently, IMO, but I can't stand when people judge me on my appearance. Feels vain to me. Feels like you don't want to take the time to judge me on my merits. And those people are usually a waste of my time.