As autumn begins to take hold the weather inevitably gets worse. The winds get stronger, the temperature falls and sleety rain showers become ever more frequent. Rain, especially, can play havoc with business attire. While most men sensibly protect their suits by wearing a waterproof coat, many neglect one of their most important – and most expensive – items of dress: their shoes.
Most good dress shoes have leather soles, which mould to the wearer’s feet over time and allow moisture to escape. But leather soles absorb rainwater, and the more worn-in they become the more water they soak up. Walking in leather-soled shoes in the rain can not only leave the insides damp, it also quickly wears out the soles, and if your shoes have got soaked on the way to the office or a meeting then you might have to endure soggy feet for hours. The solution? A good pair of dress boots.
It is worth spending some time thinking about what you need from a pair of dress boots. Good dress boots, like good dress shoes, often have leather soles, but you have to consider whether leather soles are really going to be practical. Admittedly, they are often extra thick, which helps to provide a greater degree of protection against the rain than single-layer soles, but they can still get soaked through on wet days. In addition, leather soles provide virtually no grip on some surfaces. Walking across an ice-covered car park or wet tiled floor in leather-soled shoes can be a Spartan test of endurance that will have you clinging desperately to railings or shuffling along like a pensioner with haemorrhoids. In short, rubber soles are better. They last for ages, offer excellent grip and are – above all – waterproof.
The style of boot you choose is, as always, a matter of personal taste. The Chelsea boot is an established classic that works well with slim-cut, Modish suits; the lace-up boot looks like a normal dress shoe when the wearer is stood up, which can be an advantage in business circles; and, finally, there is the chukka boot, which lies somewhere between the two. Personally, I recommend lace-up boots for autumn and winter wear: they offer greater ankle support and are generally quite unobtrusive. They can also make the wearer look as tough as nails, as Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (pictured above right) demonstrates.
check out the daily express samuel windsor shoe and boot offer. i got the dealer bboots and very nice too. 60 quid for two pairs and on a par with church. you could get the chelsea boots as well. the only prob is some of their shoes squeak a bit , if you know how to resolve this tell me on gary.byrne@libero.it
Hear hear! At this time of year, it makes sense to have a few rubber-soled boot options; black, smart lace-up are the obvious choice for the City/work. But even for casual wear, I quite like a lace-up style of (brown or black) boots which works well with jeans – as well as Chelseas. Note to self: need to get some RM Williams yardboots next.
I am wondering about here in Hokkaido, Japan. We get easily 2-3m of snow and I bought myself a pair of dress lace ups with a rubber sole but still thin and on the delicate side. My feet froze and I was constantly battling chilblains.
This year I am considering a thicker soled boot to give more protection but I am worried it will be too chuncky.
What should I do? Where does the balance lie?
Hi Robert,
Winter weather in Hokkaido is going to beat the hell out of most dress boots. This pair (http://www.herringshoes.co.uk/product-info.php?brandID=50&catID=97&shoeID=2922&selectedSizeID=9&selectedFitID=2&seconds=0#) by Trickers might be all right, but they’re pretty expensive. Alternatively you might want to get a pair of work boots for walking to and from work, and change into a pair of dress shoes when you get to the office. I’d go for a pair of Red Wings or Timberlands if I were you (ABC Mart sell both). This pair (http://www.amazon.com/Red-Wing-Mens-Iron-Ranger/dp/B0032UYNKI) of Red Wing Iron Rangers would be my first choice.