Your husband looked devastated.
In his words, he had walked into the closet a kid, but was walking out as an old man.
He had been in his closet for quite awhile and you had actually started to wonder if something was wrong. When he finally walked back out to the bedroom, though, he looked crestfallen. After a few seconds he admitted the problem. He was looking for a pair of black designer leather shoes he had not worn for awhile. In the process of looking for them he decided to reorganize all the shoes. It was in the middle of this reorganization when he realized that there had been a major change in his closet. He found the pair of black designer leather shoes that he was looking for, but he also found something else.
As he completed the reorganization, he realized that his assortment of all of his shoes in the closet no longer looked like they belonged to a young man. The collection now looked like what he remembers seeing in his own father’s closet. More dress shoes than athletic shoes. More casual work shoes than canvas boat shoes. How, he wondered, had this happen. He confessed that he feared that his shoes were simply a reflection of his life.
He was now a boring old man.
The poor guy felt so badly that you really did try to sympathize. You really did try not to laugh. In the end, though, you simply could not hold it all in. The small smile became a giggle, and then the giggle exploded into full blown laughter. Before long, even your husband had to admit that his drama about his shoe inventory was pretty funny. It was pathetic as well, but it was funny.
Everyone’s Wardrobe Has to Grow Up at Some Time
It is a sign of adulthood. The fact that your show inventory transfers from a closet floor full of athletic shoes to more expensive and more conservative leather dress shoes does not have to mean, however, that you are getting old. It simply means that you realize the importance of making a good first impression. And while the hottest pair of athletic shoes may have been the ticket to impressing your college buds, but the decision to upgrade your footwear to a more adult look is the decision to make an investment in yourself.
Several studies have shown that visual cues are three times to five times as powerful as audio cues. What you wear, then, speaks much louder than anything you say. And while many people will make sure that there slacks and shirt are looking the best, it is often only the most confident men who will pay attention to their accessories as well. From mens luxury leather belts to the leather satchel or briefcase that you carry to the shoes that you select, you have many opportunities to impress those who you see every day at work. Knowing how important first impressions are, doesn’t it make sense to dress your best? Psychology studies go so far as to say that first impressions are formed within only seven to 17 seconds of meeting someone. These same studies also reveal that 55% of a person’s opinion is determined by physical appearance.
It is no wonder then that the mens fashion industry, including designer leather shoes, continues to grow. Consider some of these convincing facts:
- Designer leather shoes are just one part of the mens fashion footwear industry that increased by 39% between the year 2009 and 2014.
- Making up as much as 40% of global sales, men?s spending on luxury also grew almost twice as fast as women?s in 2011. The men’s numbers grew 14%, compared to the women’s numbers that only grew by 8%.
- Leather dress shoes can last tens of thousands of flexes, especially if you take the time to use shoe trees and leather polish, which can increase the lifespan of shoes significantly.
- In addition to shoe trees and polish, it is also a good idea to make sure that you rotate your shoes, giving each pair at least one day’s rest to return to its initial shape.
