“I love your shoes!” I have heard women use those words on my friend Okafor, more times than I can remember. For a long time, I thought it was because he was a Nigerian, and you know those guys can charm women. I digress.
I remember some years back, when still a young boy with an appetite for life, I loved shopping. I still do, but not with the same vigor and attitude that I possessed back then. I went and nearly made myself an illegal owner of a number of clothes, some of them designer ones from the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Balmain. All this was courtesy of a wrong mobile money transfer from an unknown number. Don’t judge me, I bet you’ve benefited from the same, if not, you’ve thought about it, which makes you just as guilty.
If you thought that decision was a good thing, a blessing even, it was far from it. Something tragic also happened on that day. I forgot or rather, my cash ran out before I could buy shoes! Given the only thing I lacked were shoes, I used the little money I had to buy some cheaper ones which was far from what I wanted to own. That’s the day I noticed women start looking at me from my feet up, and not vice versa. You can imagine the disaster they found when they did that. Something was obviously amiss. Cool outfits, wrong shoes.
I don’t want to continue with my sad narrative, but just so you know, I got no lady as I had initially positively anticipated. That incidence drove me to find out exactly, what’s women with mens shoes? What is it that they see when they look at them? Is it simply something they use as an ice breaker to conversations? What I found blew my mind.
Women are capable of reading a lot from your shoes. They take a quick glance at them and immediately, you either score or lose points. Note, good shoes are not a guarantee that you’ve nailed it, far from it. You have to complete the puzzle with the right outfit. Yes! It’s a good appetizer, and don’t raise the lady’s appetite only to spoil it with something weird upstairs. You make her think, you either borrowed the clothes or worse, you shop lifted them.
Shoes are the foundation to a man’s dressing. They tell a lady whether you are fashionable, stable, trustworthy, spendthrift, handy, caring, stingy, talented, sporty and so much more. Like my friend Okafor, the ladies loved him. Not that he was a smooth operator, or something, quite the contrary. He simply invested in good shoes and took his time looking after them.
Due to the seriousness of the matter I took my time to sample a few shoes and what women see when they spot you in them.
1. Desert boots: A woman is able to deduce that you are a guy whose detailed, but not flashy at all.
2. Driving mocks: These ones the lady will simply glance once and know that you are a guy who knows style, but at the same time is capable of high maintenance because those things require some tender love, and care. Believe me.
3. Sandal with socks: Haha! Please just allow me to laugh first. Frankly, I dislike these stuff, and I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing them. However, for the ones who do, this is what a woman will see. Lazy! Lazy! Lazy! Please for heaven’s sake don’t ever try it!
4. Lace-up Oxfords: Damn! I really love these smooth operators. If you do too, then the next time you wear them, this is what she will see. You are a gentleman, and not just a gentleman but one who means business.
5. Air Jordan: As much as I love these shoes, I hardly wear them. In fact, I can’t remember when last I owned them. What do they see in these babies? They see that you are a serious sneakers head, who can easily stand her up just because you were in line waiting for the latest arrivals.
Let just leave it there for today, I will tell you more about other types of shoes later including those converse you love so much, timberlands, Sperry boat shoes and so on, you can even comment with suggestions.
The next time you want to shop, please start with nothing else but SHOES! SHOES! SHOES! Do take a lady with you, she’ll come in handy in sourcing for ones that communicate your style.
As the saying goes “ A man is only as good as the SHOES he wears.”
Hehehe, it’s TRUE that shoes reflect the image much more than anything else. It’s a worth investment at all levels— the very first impression that catches my eye.
Shoes are an integral part of a man’s dresscode.