When it comes to clothing and accessories, the immediate thought is that women have it so much easier because they can pretty much wear whatever a man wears and then some. Take shoes for instance; you might think for a more fancy event women have the option of heels, wedges, flats, loafers, sandals, and even more, and what do you get? Pretty much dress shoes. However, this isn’t true at all! When it comes to men’s dress footwear you have more options than you might think you do. We’re going to talk about some of the options you men have when it comes to dress shoes, and it’s more extensive than you think.
If you read our thoughts and still want more information, someone else has done a great write-up covering the best dress shoes they’ve found. You can read the full info here.
Styles of Shoes
First thing’s first, the style of the shoe. There are six main forms of the men’s dress shoe and we’re going to briefly touch on each one. All six choices are acceptable forms of dress shoe wear; it just depends on your personal preference.
The Oxford is probably the most common form of dress shoe. It’s the one you probably see most people wearing and it’s just an average shoe. It can come with different designs and toes, but ultimately, it’s a pretty simple and versatile option.
The Derby is the next most popular, resembling the Oxford shoe, the difference mainly resting in the laces. It’s another versatile and simple option.
The Monk Strap is quite a European shoe shape. As stated in the name, rather than having laces, this shoe instead uses buckles and straps. Originally monks wore them, hence the name.
The Loafer is another very familiar shoe, and although it’s perhaps not as dressy as the other options, it can be if worn correctly, but that’s for another post. Loafers are of course moccasin-inspired and can be extremely comfortable.
The Dress Boot is another very European style that can look very smart with the right pair of pants. Its shape resembles an Oxford shoe, but instead is taller and has more laces.
The Chelsea Boot resembles very much a riding boot, it has no laces and is about as simple as you can get.
Toe Styles
There are many toe styles, but there are six main ones, and you can combine any of those toe styles with almost all of the above shoe styles, for infinite options. You have the plain toe, which is as it sounds, the cap toe, the wingtip toe, the medallion toe, the apron toe and the split toe.
Within these different types of toes you also have different designs such as full brogues, long-wing brogues, quarter brogues. Truly, your options are infinite.
So the next time you think women have more options than you when it comes to dress shoes, think again. You can pick and choose which attributes you want for a shoe that is personalized perfectly to your style, how many women can do that?
