Why Did Men Stop Wearing Dress Shoes?

#dressshoes #casual #notsponsored

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Gentleman's Gazette

00:00 Men Stop Wearing Dress Shoes Introduction

We’ve spent a lot of time resembling Rodin’s famous sculpture “The Thinker”, and with all that staring at our feet we had a lightbulb moment: Why did men stop wearing shoes?

00:42 History of Men’s Footwear

It was around the time of the ancient Egyptians that footwear became more than just about practicality; as an extension of the class structure within their society, with only the most powerful and wealthy being able to don footwear at first.

03:32 The Rise of Casual Shoes

When you think of casual footwear you probably have a pretty firm idea in your mind’s eye – things like boat shoes, sneakers, flip flops, and the dreaded “Franken-shoe”.

Sure, it’s plain to see that when you put any of these examples next to a pair of dressy leather Oxfords, there’s quite a difference in the levels of formality. But, none of these shoe styles come out of nowhere. Like we’ve seen in our history of footwear so far they are the product of time and development.

06:44 Casual vs. Dress Shoes

If you were in business, they wear a suit and dress shoes. On the more casual side of things, sneakers are starting to gain prominence in what men wore when they were not at work.

It’s at the point in footwear history that we can see two clearly defined choices and the disappearance of the middle ground. You’d have a super formal shoe for work and some super casual sneakers for leisure, which was a big departure from having mainly formal shoes in your wardrobe.

09:25 A New Millenium

As we look at the 2000s, we can see the divide between casual and formal become somewhat blurred and that there are no set rules about what is worn when. As society continues to change and flex, it’s easy to see how dress codes are being questioned.

11:40 The End of the Dress Shoe?

So what is it about a dress shoe that makes it less attractive in today’s society? First up, they typically have a much higher upfront cost than casual shoes. A quality dress shoe will be made of leather, requires greater time and skill to make, thus resulting in a larger ticket price than a typical sneaker might.

They require time and money beyond the initial purchase to help maintain them. Leather creams, polishes, and wooden shoe trees; these all come at a cost. You’ve also got to consider your time at shoe care routines as well.

Dress shoes can also be uncomfortable at first and will require a little bit of time to break them in.

13:26 Conclusion

Even though it might not be as every day as it used to be, the dress shoe isn’t dead as there’s a whole host of menswear enthusiasts out there who enjoy classic, quality footwear.

If there’s anything that you can take away from this post, it’s that your wardrobe has space for things on both ends of the spectrum because there’s nothing worse than turning up to a wedding in your sneakers or taking a spin at the gym in your dress shoes.

13:59 Outfit Rundown

[blazel]

I switched to probably 80% boot (dress, service, etc) use instead of dress shoes. A nice boot looks great, feels great and depending which is worn, can be dressed up pretty easily. More practical for commuting (ie walking to train and in city) in winter and rainy weather.

[tonydeltablues]

Whilst many people in western societies wear sneakers (or trainers in the UK) as a go-to footwear standard, I'd say the formal shoe is not dead (by 'formal' I'd include deck shoes and loafers as well as oxfords and derbys). In fact, there is a renaissance happening in men's classic/formal footwear. Lot's of new brands produce high quality Goodyear welted shoes (Carlos Santos, Carmina and TLB Mallorca, for example). Long live the dress shoe!

[ziaride]

As someone who's worn only hiking boots since the 80's I'm proud to say that since watching this channel 100% of my footwear (still mostly boots) are now goodyear welted, blake stitched or stitchdown constructed and I do wear a few derbies to work now.

[MrPinstripes]

I love my dress shoes, I'm 17 years old and found them in a thrift shop, they are the most confortable shoes I got

[jonstern]

Many comments on this post suggesting that people are moving to things like boots, perhaps as something less formal than dress shoes but less casual than sneakers etc. This is significant and I'd recommend that this channel recognise that going forward. This is the way many of us want to dress now. A bridge between smart and casual. We want to look good but not stuffy.

[kevinjarchow]

I used to wear high end leather dress shoes. I had two or three pair, and took care of them as suggested. After a year or two, they are broken in, but not all that practical especially when living where there is snow or rain. My Dad would wear boots or goulashes over his dress shoes, which were also a pain. Polishing them daily is part of the routine.
Conversely, I wear black Bates work boots to my white collar professional job. They are practical, comfortable and are always good to go. I have one pair, and I wear them 90% of the time. They last four or five years.
For a while, I wore a pair of cowboy boots with my suit when I was working a bank job. They were by far the most comfortable pair of footwear that I have owned.

[MisterRorschach]

I have to admit as a kid I loved boots but got made fun of for wearing them. So I stopped. Since then I have hated boots but this channel actually made me love boots again. Now I want to always wear them.

[NaNa-kjgw]

For me, I used to wear dress shoes everywhere until my feet were wrecked. I switched to adidas running and trail shoes for most long walks due to comfort. One thing to remember is that all these sneakers are constantly being examined and re-engineered. A lot of dress shoes, on the other hand, are mostly the same with some rare outliers, like Johnston and Murphy's dress shoes with Eva foam.

The most comfortable dress shoes I've worn are from the Rockport company. Those can be worn for very long walks without causing pain and injury.

[janerkenbrack]

I continue to wear dress shoes, even though my general dress is more casual. I do segregate athletic clothing from dress clothing regardless of the formality level. I switch from mostly shoes in the summer to mostly boots in the winter, with levels of formality in both approaches. A comfortable pair of brogues or chelsea boot with chinos or jeans looks nice.

[Tim]

I’ll never stop buying dress shoes and boots. Even if it’s just with jeans. They may be a tumbled leather but being a man will never go out of style. Sweats and Nikes … no way.

[PCOCPA]

It seems to me that sneakers and other 'casual' shoes can cost as much or more than a reasonably priced pair of dress shoes.

[Paquette]

When I wore suits in the 80s and 90s, I wore dress shoes with leather soles. These soles had to be replaced at least once a year given that walking in the rain softens the leather and it is wears faster. In the large 90s and later, I switched to business casual wear and still wore dress shoes but no longer with leather soles - quieter, lasted longer, were slightly warmer in the cold, and still looked good. Now, I mostly wear hiking shoes or boots as they are better for casual wear.

[Getpojke]

I was brought up by a father who was something of a stickler for proper dress.
"Brown in town!" was an exasperated phrase that would often pass his lips. Brown tweed suits or brown shoes shouldn't be worn in town, though an excuse was made on a Friday as one could be heading to the country after work; not having time to change. He really despaired of me one day when I visited wearing a blue suit & brown shoes, a combination that just wasn't done. Brown shoes just weren't formal in his book. The suit was another matter.
He also wasn't keen on the "Bum Freezer" vintage suit I picked up as he thought it a bit caddish. He later admitted that it was well made & suited me though.
Funnily enough he got over his suspicion on men in suede shoes whilst stationed in Malaya, I think the heat got to him there.
For me these days I find a pair of Blundstone boots; a style of Chelsea boot, make excellent casual wear, very comfortable & still look reasonably smart as well as being a great piece of footwear.
Did/do any of these rules apply in the United States at all or is it just a British thing?

[fortunatejeremy]

Men owning dress shoes has become so rare that I see men wearing suits with some sort of sneaker.

[petekadenz]

Perhaps because most dress shoes are not foot-shaped: instead, they are typically too narrow, pointed rather than curved at the toes, with heels that are unnaturally high and soles that are in sufficiently flexible. But, apparently, they look great. In short, form over function.

[mystscot]

Such a superb video, very informative. As a 53-year-old guy I recently bought a pair of dress shoes for a funeral, however, around 20 years ago or so I used to buy Chelsea boots to match my dress trousers and shirts for work. Now I wear baggy cargo jeans and Nike Pegasus 37/38 trainers (sneakers) for my new job role. I also remember when I used to go to nightclubs from my 20's to mid 30's, dress shoes were very much the standard here in the UK, no clubs would allow people to wear jeans and trainers (sneakers), how things have changed these days.

[KlaasDeforche]

Did they stop wearing them? I wear dress shoes every day, and they are really comfortable.

[jeholloway]

I replaced the soles on all of my Allen Edmonds with Vibram lug soles to increase padding, comfort and grip. Also to adjust to the pandemic’s effect on office wear.

[Carhug]

I love this series! It reminds me of my History of Fashion class I had to take in college to fill a random credit/timeslot. Super interesting. I wish they made casual shoes more repairable/resolable!

[princeeverlove]

Being a Gentleman is timeless..."Every girl crazy for a sharp dressed Man"...Still True👔👞