Why leather soled dress shoes?

[Matt Deckard]

They aren’t really comfortable compared to sneakers. Sneakers always win that contest hands down. Style? Well You can do a lot more with a rubber or plastic sole. Make it any shape you want. The breathability issue for the materials doesn’t hold weight nowadays either. Maybe back when canvas rubber shoes were the only option you’d run into the stinky shoe that gave you sweaty feet regardless of the temperature of the world, though now you have sneakers that breath better than any leather soled dress shoe ever did. In reality, if a man was rich he’d live in sneakers all day long since they are extremely comfortable and in a way disposable with their short lifespan. But that’s the modern rich man.

The reason I wear dress shoes is of course the style. Yet over time, being someone that wears his leather soled shoes much more than any rubber sole, I realized that as uncomfortable as they are when compared to sneakers, leather soled dress shoes they last 20 times longer.

An uncorfortable life with a durable shoe or a comfortable life with dozens of disposable shoes. Most people choose the latter because comfort is really king!

Anywho, just a thought.

I just ordered a new pair of Allen Edmonds called the "Strand"

I had to special order them since I've heavily become partial to the Poron footbed which gives me that bit of cushion you don't get with the regular footbed in shoes which in the end doesn't absorb any shock.

So aside from looks... When it really comes down to it... if I end up trapped on a desert island or fall into another dimension for several years; the shoes I'd rather have are leather soled dress shoes. It's because they will last me longer.

 

[Drew B]

fair enough...

actually I wear leather soles every day too and I just gotta say I'm used to them. My fav pair are posibly the most comfortable pair I own. Say, does the foot mould a bit over time to fit one's regula shoe do yo think?

Cheers,
Drew.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

In the early '70s the fam' moved from Detroit to a very rural part of Central Florida (at that time). It was horses, cows, diamondback rattlers and cotton mouth moccasins around all the time. The #1 rule was, "Do not go outside without your boots on." So, I wore western boots (and hats) from the age of 7 to, well, I still wear them on occasion.

I didn't own or put a pair of sneakers on my feet until I was about 15 years old and started playing some school sports. I remember those things. They were early Nikes. The blue numbers made from a combo of suede and nylon. And, MAN, did they ever feel light on my feet!

I pretty much wore white sneakers for a couple of years in art school but once out in the professional world it was dress shoes and clothes for about 15 years or more. During that corporate period I did also have a great pair of Reeboks to go with a Racquetball craze but those were, again, for sport.

Now, with being a caricature artist under the palm trees, anything goes. Most of the other vendors I know wear shorts and flip flops, tank tops and Ts. I just can't do it. I wear jeans or khakis with good shoes - most with leather soles - and collared shirts most of the time.

I just don't see sneakers, trainers, tennis shoes, what-have-you, as anything but tools specific to a sporting activity. I have worn flippers while snorkeling but I wouldn't think to wear them to the store or workplace, see?

So, the point is that in my case wearing leather soled shoes and boots is a matter of what I like fashion-wise, and what I am accustomed to from many years of practice.

 

[4and1]

I find my leather soled dress shoes to be more comfortable than the chinese made sneakers that I work in. But my work would quickly destroy dress shoes, so...

Why leather soles?..dance floors!

 

[Drew B]

Why leather soles?..dance floors!

bloody bingo!

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I have worn flippers while snorkeling but I wouldn't think to wear them to the store or workplace, see?

don't take it any further than that & you will be allright.

 

[benstephens]

I find leather solde shoes very comfy, in fact I find trainers (Sneakers?) cause my feet to spread a little if I were them a lot, so do try to avoid them for anything but sport.

The most comfy shoes I own are New and Lingwood ones. The leather is soft, the shoes well fitting and ever so light compared to other shoes. I can have them on all day and not notice I am wearing them.

I suppose leather soled shoes do have a longer break in period.

Kindest Regards

BEn

 

[Dr Doran]

I don't like slipping and sliding.

If I could find glue-on rubber pads, let's say rubber circles an inch in diameter, and I could glue two or so onto the leather soles, I'd wear my leather-soled shoes more often.

 

[zetwal]

They [leather soles] aren’t really comfortable compared to sneakers. Sneakers always win that contest hands down.

I don't agree. I find leather soles MORE comfortable for everyday use. Long walks or running are another matter.

 

[PADDY]

New & Lingwood shoes

Ben, I'll be popping in there (as is my habit) in July. Love all the old Eton stuff and upstairs is great to see all the lasts and the original shoes they have made. Just pretty expensive on the pocket [huh]

I find leather solde shoes very comfy, in fact I find trainers (Sneakers?) cause my feet to spread a little if I were them a lot, so do try to avoid them for anything but sport.

The most comfy shoes I own are New and Lingwood ones. The leather is soft, the shoes well fitting and ever so light compared to other shoes. I can have them on all day and not notice I am wearing them.

I suppose leather soled shoes do have a longer break in period.

Kindest Regards

BEn

 

[Dr Doran]

Anyone else want to cry when you see someone in a suit or female equivalent wearing runners to work? I recently saw some guy in a nice looking dark blue suit, carrying a backpack in one hand, and his dress shoes in the other, while wearing bright white runners.

Ugh!

It is an assault on the senses.

 

[Kid Mac]

Leather shoes, leather soles. A good pair can be re-soled, further extending their useful life. Don't care for leather shoes with rubber/plastic soles.

Mac

 

[Edward]

I have a couple of pairs of leather shoes with rubber or pvc soles, bought to be worn uber-casually, with jeans, in place of trainer in wet or colder weather (mainly as I'm not much of a fan of trianers outside of old-school canvas types). With slacks, trews or even a lounge suit and everything more formal therefrom, I far prefer leather soles. Partly a perception of greater quality (which is, I know, erroneous; there is no reason to assume that that will be so for any reason other than that the very cheapest shoes most commonly have plastic, and the most expensive, most commonly leather). I also associate the leather soles with being more easily replaceable, many rubber-soled shoes being essentially 'dead' once the sole wears past a certain point. Then there's the sound issue: there's nothing quite like the snap of a leather sole on a wet pavement after dark in a quiet part of town....

As to comfort, I don't notice much difference, all things being equal. Certainly nothing to suggest that any of the various substitutes to leather is inherently more comfortable. I do like a rubber over-layer on leather soles, though - good for keeping the damp from absorbing in heavy rain. I usually have the rubber overlay done the first time a pair of shoes is re-heeled.

 

[bigshoe]

My faorite pair. Six years old I wear them to work every day. I just wore out the second pair of out soles but was too busy at the shop so I put a topy on them. Leather insoles fourth pair of heels. I too am partial to the texon poron insoles and make all my dress shoes with them. A good pair of all leather shoes will out last almost any other construction method.

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[Geesie]

As far as style goes, if I notice more than the existence of a sole, I think it's been done wrong.

 

[Drew B]

As far as style goes, if I notice more than the existence of a sole, I think it's been done wrong.

how philosophical

actually I just had to have my best shoes resoled because I wore throught the last one, but it was worth it because I love my shoes!

Cheers,
Drew.

 

[Tomasso]

I don't like slipping and sliding.

If I could find glue-on rubber pads, let's say rubber circles an inch in diameter, and I could glue two or so onto the leather soles, I'd wear my leather-soled shoes more often.

This would be a relatively simple task for a competent cobbler. A layer of the sole would be removed to accommodate for the thickness of the rubber.

Of course it wouldn't be as easy as a simple Topy job.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I reserve my leather soles for dry days of which we have few here in Boston. Leather soles, no matter how nice or how thick, cannot and do not stand up to the pervasive wet of winter sidewalks. A few months wear and they are done.

A good pair of rubber soled shoes last a very long time and once they wear through, any competent cobbler will resole them. I have recently had my favorite shoes, my high brogues from Venice resolved with excellent Vibram bottoms, not the lug kind, mind you.

A man's wardrobe should have both, here in Boston. If I lived in a dry place, I would probably not worry so much.

 

[Matt Deckard]

When it comes to leather's place... and wearing clothing for work or play

Clip clop clip clop clip clop. A man's gotta dance and shoes should make a noise when heading down a street.

For dress shoes; even-though rubber will ad life, it's never been able to give me the slide I need when leading a dance. It's never been safe for me to wear rubber soled dress shoes when I can grab a girl for a dance at any time in any place. Rubber taps and rubber soles are in my closet. Over time I've wished I never bought them.

Sneakers are more comfortable for walking running and sitting, yet they don't suffice when it comes to wear, dancing, thinking and patina.

But maybe, maybe taps now and again are fine... yet I hate sticking to the ground and not making noise when I obviously should be clip clopping to catch the train.

 

[Tiller]

I've heard this excuse before, so I'm wondering. Am I the only one who feels comfortable in leather soled dress shoes? The complaint that they are uncomfortable just isn't true with me atleast.