Every season comes with a wave of new trends, especially when it comes to men’s shoes. Guys, there are a few styles to look out for when you go shoe shopping this season. From casual wear to business attire, the new trends provide enough variety to go with outfits for almost any occasion.
CASUAL DAYS
First, let us address casual wear. It is important to remember casual should not mean lazy. On casual days, you still need to sport shoes that will tie your whole look together. Even when you are planning to spend a day hanging out with friends or running errands, there are a few hot new shoe styles you can choose from. If you have old tennis shoes like Reeboks or Converse, it is time to bring them back out. Designers like Dolce & Gabbana and Prada are including shoes similar to our featured Reeboks in their spring lines for this year. It is easy to find shoes of this style at higher end thrift shops or even local footwear stores like Foot Locker, Finish Line or even JCPenney and Nordstrom. As for Converse, many designers like Prada and Gucci are sporting the white rubber toe trend. Converse can be bought at retail shops such as Target, PacSun and Urban Outfitters, or even department stores like Nordstrom. Although not pictured here, slip-ons are making a comeback too — so do not retire those Vans yet. Prada has slip-ons of all colors and patterns this season. To achieve the appropriate spring look for this year, you want to make sure you choose shoes that are more subtle, like white tones and softer blues, greens or greys.
ROCKING THE BOOTS
For a warmer casual look, do not put your boots away yet. They are still acceptable in the spring before switching to flip flops this summer. This season, it is all about lace up boots. Calvin Klein, Moschino, Sibling, Thom Browne and Yohji Yamamoto feature plain toe boots in their spring collection and Givenchy and Iceberg have wingtip boots with brogueing. Brogueing is a pattern of perforations along the seam of the shoe. Popular boot styles include chukka and Chelsea boots. Chukka boots are open laced with three eyelets and a plain toe while Chelsea boots are laceless, slip-on, plain-toed boots with a stretch panel at the ankle. Alexander Wang’s spring 2015 line features chukka boots and Saint Laurent’s spring 2015 line features Chelsea boots. You can get these boots at any Nordstrom, Macy’s, Banana Republic or Famous Footwear or online at Zappos or ASOS. For boots, stick to brown or black.
A BASIC STYLE
When buying formal shoes, keep in mind trending styles, as lace-up cap-toe shoes are in right now. Also, if you find yourself reaching for square toe shoes, slap your hand. That style is retired — for now. Laceless, slip-on formal shoes, such as penny loafers, were worn on the runways of Lou Dalton, Gucci and Valentino this spring. You can get penny loafers at Cole Haan, Nordstrom, G.H. Bass or online at Zappos or Amazon. Gucci, Prada and Peter Millar are trying to make bit loafers the next big thing with lace or spunky buckles. You can get these shoes at Bloomingdale’s, Cole Haan or online on Amazon or Zappos. Cap-toe derby shoes are in right now and are the basic style for men’s formal shoes. They were spotted in Hugo Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna and Robert Vasi’s spring 2015 lines, but you can get them at Cole Haan, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.
OWN IT, LOVE IT
Another style currently trending is the monk strap shoe. This type of shoe appears in the spring lines of Prada, Paul Smith, Zara Monk, Giorgio Brutini and Bally. You can get these shoes at Aldo or Neiman Marcus. Go black or brown for dress shoes or be courageous like designers and buy bright colored dress shoes for pizzazz.
Whatever you wear, make sure you own it, love it and look comfortable in it and you will be the Belle of the ball — or should I say the Beast?
