Choosing the Right Men's Dress Shoes
1.) Leather - Most mens dress shoes are made of leather. It is important to know what constitutes good leather since this material covers about 80 – 90% of the dress shoe. Generally, base on laymen’s sight and touch, we focus on a smooth with consistent fine grain on the leather for mens dress shoes details. The leather should feel rich and supple. All leather hides naturally have blemishes or scars on them. The high quality leather will have little scars on it and hence the higher price.
Still it is difficult for any layman to assess the quality of leather unless you really know leather very well. Instead of trying to assess the leather itself, the focus should be more on the construction of the mens dress shoes. An important point of focus is the insole. High quality mens dress shoes have insoles made from leather rather than layers of cardboards. These leather insoles are durable and prevents unnecessary foot odor because it allows the foot to breathe and absorb perspiration.
2.) Lining - Leather is still the focus here. High quality leather should still be used to work on the lining. A good example of such leather would be calfskin. Make sure that the lining is smooth at the folds around the seams and edges. Fine stitch is important along the lining because a fine binding and clean finishing defines the workmanship of the mens dress shoes details.
3.) Stitching - Stitching is something that is not usually noticed among mens dress shoes details. We would recommend careful inspection of it. Good quality stitching on mens dress shoes should be as inconspicuous as possible. It should be concealed from the top to the bottom of the dress shoes. Remember to ensure that the inside of mens dress shoes do not have any exposed knots because these can cause a lot of discomfort for the wearer. On the sole, a welt finishing involves stitching the leather in between the edge of the sole and the turned-in edge of the upper. These stitching should be hidden within the leather and should not have any loose ends revealed. The shoes need tight stitching, too. If the stitching is not tight, the shoes will come undone quickly. If your men's dress shoes have tight stitching, you can rely on them to last well.
4.) Soles - Soles are the foundation of mens dress shoes details. A good investment for mens dress shoes would be having leather soles. One good point about leather soles is that it is definitely more formal and refined looking than rubber soles. Leather soles are usually tanned to make it more lasting. The light tanned hue on the sole avoids possible cover-up of blemishes and scars. The soles can be made into various layers, from single to three, and it all depends one’s personal choice to fit the formal dressing. Make sure these soles are shaped as closely as possible to the foot to assure comfort for the wearer. Dress shoes soles should never be glued to the shoe. We should expect stitching around this area. It allows possible changing of the soles when worn out but not for those with glued soles.
5.) Heels - Another important aspect about mens dress shoes details is the heel. Leather comes into play again. The heels are actually layered with leather and nailed together with brass pins. This creates a tight reinforcement for the leather layers to create a cushion effect as well as sustainable support around the heels. Make sure the heels are not oversized as this disrupts the balance for the mens dress shoes and can make walking with such heels very uncomfortable. For added durability, some heels are further attached with brass tacks to the sole.
Still it is difficult for any layman to assess the quality of leather unless you really know leather very well. Instead of trying to assess the leather itself, the focus should be more on the construction of the mens dress shoes. An important point of focus is the insole. High quality mens dress shoes have insoles made from leather rather than layers of cardboards. These leather insoles are durable and prevents unnecessary foot odor because it allows the foot to breathe and absorb perspiration.
2.) Lining - Leather is still the focus here. High quality leather should still be used to work on the lining. A good example of such leather would be calfskin. Make sure that the lining is smooth at the folds around the seams and edges. Fine stitch is important along the lining because a fine binding and clean finishing defines the workmanship of the mens dress shoes details.
3.) Stitching - Stitching is something that is not usually noticed among mens dress shoes details. We would recommend careful inspection of it. Good quality stitching on mens dress shoes should be as inconspicuous as possible. It should be concealed from the top to the bottom of the dress shoes. Remember to ensure that the inside of mens dress shoes do not have any exposed knots because these can cause a lot of discomfort for the wearer. On the sole, a welt finishing involves stitching the leather in between the edge of the sole and the turned-in edge of the upper. These stitching should be hidden within the leather and should not have any loose ends revealed. The shoes need tight stitching, too. If the stitching is not tight, the shoes will come undone quickly. If your men's dress shoes have tight stitching, you can rely on them to last well.
4.) Soles - Soles are the foundation of mens dress shoes details. A good investment for mens dress shoes would be having leather soles. One good point about leather soles is that it is definitely more formal and refined looking than rubber soles. Leather soles are usually tanned to make it more lasting. The light tanned hue on the sole avoids possible cover-up of blemishes and scars. The soles can be made into various layers, from single to three, and it all depends one’s personal choice to fit the formal dressing. Make sure these soles are shaped as closely as possible to the foot to assure comfort for the wearer. Dress shoes soles should never be glued to the shoe. We should expect stitching around this area. It allows possible changing of the soles when worn out but not for those with glued soles.
5.) Heels - Another important aspect about mens dress shoes details is the heel. Leather comes into play again. The heels are actually layered with leather and nailed together with brass pins. This creates a tight reinforcement for the leather layers to create a cushion effect as well as sustainable support around the heels. Make sure the heels are not oversized as this disrupts the balance for the mens dress shoes and can make walking with such heels very uncomfortable. For added durability, some heels are further attached with brass tacks to the sole.
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