findingdrape

[findingdrape]

White Sneaker

Ubiquitous. A staple in the stable. Everyone should own one of its many iterations. Comfortable, versatile, you will never be judged poorly for making the choice fashion cognizti will have you believed, from the boardroom to the bathroom. Of course made famous by Ms Melanie Griffith and Run DMC simultaneously, only to remerge as high fashion 3 decades later. Every fashion house has some version. It’s the best selling sneaker at Nike, NB, and all the rest. They are inescapable. Everywhere, in nearly any country, across any age group, someone fashion conscious will be sporting a pair. Just walk through any international airport. It is the people choice. The most democratic footwear statement. They have never seemed to fit. Nor nearly any other sneaker. Recently tried on a few to see if I could convince myself that I have been wrong about the whole enterprise. Gave it a go with some of the biggest examples out there from Nike and NB. Mind you I went in as optimistic and a ready for change spark in my step as anyone could muster. But no. Try as I might, I felt ridiculous. An imposter. The very definition of poser. It was infantilizing, clownish, and pathetic. Who is this moron, man-child, wanna be, dipshit staring back at me. I couldn’t get rid of them fast enough. After two tries I kindly explained to the cool young man, I was in the wrong store. Ever since that fateful day a few weeks ago, I can’t help but hurl, silently, unkind judgements, reserved especially harsh for 35+ men. These sycophants, Schwimmer mama boys, these stuck in the closet followers, have become my new favorite person to despise. It like tell that you love the self help genre.

#airforce1 #nike #dunks #whitesneakers

[findingdrape]

The Shoe

The basic building block. Fundamental.

The place to start. It communicates subliminally.

Where am I going. What do I do. The most basic of equipment for the day.

When we walk around casually and not wearing something appropriate to a given sporting or work activity, what do we wear. It is this shoe, the one we grab all the time, that is perhaps at the core of how we wish others to view us. What we project into the world.

The humble shoe may say more about us than we are aware.

If I am now conscious of this element of our wardrobe, what should my choice be? Not being able to speak for anyone else, I have worn daily black leather vans slip ons, with a white rubber sole, since forever.

This is a clean look. It says that I think skating and counter culture are cool. I’m youthful, suave, and approachable. But does it also say I don’t think highly of myself or want to be seen as someone who should be taken seriously. Is it I am afraid of the rejection so I beat them to the punch, or is it that I want to say I’m and anarchist and don’t dgaf what others think? That I am entirely above need for approval and acknowledgement of my apparent self worth. Well the very fact that I am thinking about the image/ad I show to the public, demonstrates that I’m still anchored by my fears of rejection.

Recognition of the problem is half the battle, something a vans wearer just might say.

What to wear…? The whole on my way to the gym is definitely not the overachiever, go get ‘’em tiger look I would like to portray.

The same goes for hiking shoes, since my outdoor adventures exist between parking lots and linoleum.

One might say the same for boots. They serve a very specific, hard wearing purpose. Now if you are riding a motorcycle or pulled your horse up to the store or saloon, you didn’t have a choice.

Men should not expose their feet by with any open toed variety. It’s unbecoming and always sends the wrong message. A zero sole, barefoot experience isn’t much farther behind, the most extreme case being the one where each toe has its own little shoe. Are you headed to drum circle after picking forest berries, do you have a trail name? Are you going surfing? Beach day? Hiking the Pyrenees, or out bouldering?

The high end sneaker is way too young and hip hop for anyone my age. The color doesn’t matter. It is something children wear because kids play tag annd run for no reason other than they are bursting with energy. Are you headed to a game of hide and seek? Are you some influencer who is going to break out in spontaneous dance in the middle of an intersection cause you so culturally intersectional? Clearly I’m not cool enough for sneakers. There are some benefits of age, fyi you know you are old when you don’t identify with even one 18 yr old out there, how much so only depends on your length of existence.

So we finally admit we are aged enough to start wearing the serious person’s leather dress shoe.

Are you wearing a suit or tuxedo? No, then skip the overly slinky and formal styles, that would feel so out of place cruising the sidewalks. Too fancy/stylish bespeaks wannabe pimp, drug dealer or other. Do you have to look uptight and formal?

I want something manly. Not green beret or dock worker, but something that doesn’t make me look like a pansy, that perhaps says I can kick ass. Decently thick soles, but not super chunky or commando/mud approved. Something with laces that can’t double as house slippers.

Alas, we have arrived at the humble champion of shoes - the blucher. Alden is my favorite. Fits my foot well and doesn’t try to be more than it should. Design perfection. #sartorial #aldenshoes