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Men - Need Your Help with Shoes!!
Help!! My husband and I are arguing about how many pairs of shoes he'll need to bring for 3 weeks in Europe (Switzerland, Paris and Provence)
My thought process is he'll need two pairs - no more. Bring a light brown/dark brown pair of lace-up shoes that are comfortable enough to walk in (and do some light hiking in while in Switzerland), but yet you could still wear them to a nice restaurant with khakis, and then a pair of walking sandals for the days he's wearing shorts and we're investigating the small towns of Provence. No need to bring a pair of Nikes (which is what he wears around here when running weekend errands, etc.). He thinks he needs to bring *at least* 3 pairs - the above-mentioned three types, PLUS a dressy pair of brown shoes that you would wear out to dinner. Would something like this be appropriate to wear into, let's see, L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, or Les Ombres?? (I don't have reservations at either yet but am hoping to!) If he needs something fancier please let me know. http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/15834597/c/6.html There are sooo many threads when it comes to women's shoes and what walking shoe to buy, but not so many for men. We could really use your help. |
Hi jenblase,
My husband doesn't carry an extra pair of shoes, and we don't travel in warm weather, so he doesn't wear shorts. He wears a pair of dark brown lace up ECCO shoes, and that's it. He wears them with khaki pants for just about everything. Then again, we don't go to restaurants like L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, or Les Ombres. I would call our style of dress "dress casual." I wear walking shoes as often as I can, and if I simply must dress up a bit, I carry a pair of flats. My husband wears a lightweight outer jacket that doubles as a dinner jacket. Sandy |
Hi Sandy - Thanks.
The only reason we are even considering going to restaurants such as Joel Robuchon is because it's our honeymoon. Once in a lifetime, ya know. :) Can you tell me more about the lightweight outer jacket that doubles as a blazer? Sounds interesting. Where'd you get it? |
jenblase,
Unless you are going to stay on paved walking paths in Switzerland, he is probably going to want to wear his Nikes rather than the brown leather street shoes. The hiking paths can be rocky and/or muddy. So that would make a total of 3 pairs----the Nikes, the waling sandals, and the dress shoes for dinner. |
For Switzerland, I take my hiking boots. Some of those mountain trails, even the Wanderwegs, are easier to traverse with lug soles. The Bergwegs just about demand sturdy footgear.
For air travel, I wear SAS shoes which are very comfortable. One year, however, I had to go to a formal party. So I had a pair of freshly shined shoes for that event. That is the only time I have taken an extra pair of street shoes with me. Snow has been light this year in Switzerland, but in previous years I have walked across snowfields even in August. By then they were really packed and some patches were much more ice than snow. I really needed lug soles and I took the rubber tips off my hiking poles so the end would penetrate the hardpack. Usually I like to keep the tips and the snow baskets on, but not on hardpan. I had to cross one field from high to low. Even with maximum effort my pole tips would not penetrate deeply enough. I kept slipping down, so I just slid about 50 meters down the slope. Easier than falling down, getting up, falling down. I really needed crampons and and ice axe, which I did not have. |
I used to travel with two pairs of shoes, but no more. I only took one pair on a two week trip to Germany last Fall. I was greatful not to have the extra weigth. I found a pair of brown leather Dunhams which are comfortable, sturdy and waterproof.
Your husband will stand out if he wears his Nikes (especially white Nikes). Also, I found very few European men wearing shorts. And keep in mind that you will be traipsing over cobblestones in many places and a good pair of walking shoes will provide more support than sandals. A twisted ankle is a sure-fire way to spoil a vacation. |
I was suggesting the Nikes for hiking---he's not going to "stand out" in them in the mountains of Switzerland. But Bob_Brown is right---hiking boots are the best choice. In May, it could well be snowy as well as muddy.
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I take two pairs of shoes to Europe -- black ECCO shoes with laces (from Nordstrom), and brown New Balance #745 walking/hiking shoes (from REI). Both are so comfortable.
I've worn the ECCO shoes to the Opera Garnier in Paris, and the New Balance on the rough cobblestones at Pompeii. Perfect! Woody |
we have the same dilemma only we are down to one pair - on his feet. ( carry on luggage only)
So no sandals , no running shoes, (no shorts )just a pair similar to the one in your picture I get to take one pair in the carry on - a woman's prerogative. |
If they all go in his suitcase why do you care? Blimey, I can't imagine wanting to dictate to my other half how many shoes he is 'allowed' to bring on a trip. Talk about control-freak.
Anyway, for May, he'll want something warmer and good for walking in, sandals might be a bit chilly some days (what if it's raining?) and lace-up leather shoes aren't really good for exploring on foot. |
For 3 weeks two pairs of shoes is far from adequate. He'll want a sports shoe for daytime so it's comfortable to do quite a bit of walking i.e. a shoe with a rubber as opposed to leather sole. I'd imagine trainers would be useful if you are in the middle of nowhere and just doing walking, or if he wants to go to the hotel gym etc.
As for dressier shoes, you never wear brown shoes in the evening. Brown is for daytime if you must, perhaps a proper pair with jeans or something casual like that. For dinner you will want some black shoes, not sports shoes, not trainers, but shoes! So he is right in wanting at least three pairs, and if it were me I'd wear one on my feet and pack four or five. |
jen - Rockport put out shoes very similar to the ones in your link, only a little more dressy. They come is full & half sizes, wxtra narrow and extra wide. They call them "walking shoes" but they easily pass for dress. I take two pairs - one black and one brown, both leather.
I like the idea of being able to wear a pair one day and then switching to the other pair the next. If you are doing a lot of walking I feel this is important. Most suitcases have an outside pocket and that is where my extra pair goes. Weight is the only issue. |
Jen, to be blunt: I do not think that those shoes are appropriate for the restaurants you mentioned.
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I also wear black Ecco's everywhere - at home and abroad. They are perfect for hiking in the woods, at the opera, and everything in between. I never pack a second pair. VERY comfortable for endless walking - highly recommended.
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Here on this forum is a current thread "What screams tourist?"
Here my answer: Wearing Zappos and Eccos and Nikes in restaurants. |
Hi J,
I bring 2 pair - 1 to wear and 1 to air. Why does he have to wear sandals if he's wearing shorts? Why does he have to wear lace-ups if he's not wearing shorts? Let him bring as many pairs as he wants, as long as he carries the suitcase. :) ((I)) |
Hi jenblase.
I think he should bring the same number of shoes as you do. :-) Muck |
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Ok, so... after reading everyone's responses, it sounds like he should bring FOUR pairs.
* Brown New Balance or Rockports to wear with khakis * Leather sandals for more casual walking days * Nikes for hikes or more intensive walking * Dressier black shoes for fancier meals. See the dilemma?? And I am far from a *control freak* - I just want him to be able to be comfortable and not regretting he brought so much stuff. He's never been to Europe and never been on vacation this long. HE is the one worried about how much luggage he needs to bring, not me. He doesn't think he can get by with one 24-26" and a backpack as a carry on for the plane. Yet he wants to only be rolling one thing because he has back problems and won't be able to handle one rolling back in each hand (not to mention that this is crazy impossible anyway). So, in order to pare down on the luggage, I told him only bring two pairs of shoes. I'm just trying to find the best kinds of shoes for him to do that. He won't wear black shoes; he never has. Oh wait, I guess to weddings and funerals. But if he's going to a nice restaurant he wears his brown dress shoes with khakis. What I was looking by posting this is for specific recommendations for pairs of shoes that male Fodorites bring. I would like to have some options to present to him as we will both be buying new stuff for this trip. |
And ekscrunchy - thanks for telling me that those shoes are not appropriate for the restaurants I mentioned. I appreciate it. Would something like the Eccos that bardo1 posted a link to be appropriate?
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To tell someone they shouldn't wear brown shoes in the evening is so old fashioned. If you are going out to a pub or a casual cafe for supper, there is nothing wrong with wearing a pair of suede bucks or cordovan loafers with khaki slacks and a polo shirt.
Not all Fodorites are collecting Social Security checks, sweetie darling. |
Even for three to five months in Europe I normally take two pairs of shoes total. One is a pair of Eccos -- I can't believe I don't see them on Bardo's link. They are black and a sort of cross between their casual and dress models -- actually called "cross". They are super comfortable for walking, but dressy enough for dress. Then I also carry a similar pair of brown or tan, slightly more casual shoes, usually Ecco, but I have a pair of Bjorn's that I'm really crazy about. I will say that the summer we spent a lot of time in Greece and Turkey I did also take a pair of Ecco sandals. I did plan on wearing shorts a lot (and did) and also knew I'd sometimes be going to the beach or the water in swim trunks. I'm not going to wear regular shoes with that!
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jen - I think your question was fine. Some haven't had their coffee yet.
The Rockports I wear are: http://tinyurl.com/32pxm4 Cycle through the colors to "tumbled black" or "tumbled brown". If he doesn't wear brown... don't buy them. I agree with marg, that brown at night do fine. I agree with ira about switching pairs every day and I really like having 2 pairs of the same kind of shoe that fit exactly the same, and are equally as comfortable. Otherwise I always gravitate back to the pair that I prefer slightly more than the other. If he hasn't worn shoes like this they are sooo comfortable especially compared to dress shoes. In any case make sure they are worn for a couple of weeks before you go and I swear by those gel insoles that you can buy at any shoe store. The sandals won't take upo any room so throw them in and don't even count them. I am fussy about foot comfort as nothing spoils a day more than blisters. |
I personally would take:
- sandals (men in Europe do wear shorts; especially in the mountains, little less in the cities, but still not uncommon!) - athletic or hiking shoes (men in Europe do wear athletic or hiking shoes; both in and out the cities) - a somewhat dressier shoe for the city For the dressier shoe; a type of shoe you see a lot in Europe at the moment, are shoes like these: http://www.uncrate.com/men/style/sho...ers-002935.php They are comfartable yet still dressy enough to go to a restaurant with them. They look great with shorts/khakis/jeans and even a suit-type-pant. |
Robjame - Thanks, we both really like those. :)
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jenblase---my husband has Rockport cap toe oxfords that have a steet sole and are dressy enough for dinner most anywhere, but comfortable enough that he has walked all over Paris and Venice in them.
http://tinyurl.com/2e3eh6 He takes those, plus hiking boots for hiking, and sandals for wearing in our apartment in the evening (after hiking). Three pair. I take 4. While it is important to pack light, it is also important to have the right shoes for all your different activities that you plan---and that are your reason for going to Europe in the first place. Otherwise you are "defeeting" the purpose of the trip. |
Last summer we had the shoe issue as well - how to pack only 1 suitcase each and still take the shoes you need for all the activities? We wanted to travel with only a roller each and a daypack as well because we were going to be on trains and didn't want to have to hassle with a lot of stuff. I got all my stuff into my roller, but my husband's shoes were taking up too much space and he couldn't get everything into his.
He wanted to take tennis shoes, a pair of nicer black shoes, and sandals (which, BTW - worked great for everything we did). We ended up taking an extra duffle bag because we couldn't quite get by with just the 2 rollerboards. We were able to strap the duffle to the top of one of the rollers when we moved around so we didn't actually have to "carry" an extra bag - it just went along for the ride with one of the rollers. It worked out well. |
I'm going to weigh in for whatever it's worth. I have not read all the responses, but I did see something in a followup from jenblase. She said her husband-to-be doesn't (generally) wear black shoes. Neither do I. When I travel, I take a reasonably nice pair of brown shoes and a pair of shoes in which I can walk/hike/surf/parasail/deep-seafish, etc. My wife and I have been to many a fine restaurant in most major cities in Europe and elsewhere where I wore my brown shoes. I always managed to fit into the crowd. |
I'm only going to weigh in because I've been to Joel Robuchon's Atelier (in Paris), and there is nothing wrong at all with wearing decent-looking Eccos, etc to that restaurant. That's not some fancy, dressy restaurant, it's pretty casual because it only has a bar to begin with (ladies sitting at bars are not exactly formal). I don't know about the other restaurant.
There are some of those tie walking shoes that look better than others, so you just need a little taste. I used to date a guy who wore these expensive Merrell walking shoes out to dinner in a quasi-nice place and they were black -- however, they were really ugly because they went out of their way to give them light-colored stitching around the bottom and they had light beige laces (against black, mind you). They were really disgusting-looking, I thought he was out of his mind to wear those in public or to even buy them when there were so many other good choices. I can't imagine why Merrell designed such an ugly shoe. He had terrible taste in clothes, though. So don't buy anything like that and wear them out to a restaurant. I think the brown vs. black thing is a matter of which goes best with what you are wearing otherwise. Usually black is most versatile, but brown would be better with dark greens or browns. |
Christina, why would you go out with a guy wearing those shoes?
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Now, wouldn't these shoes look cute in Europe. Talk about making a fashion statement. :-) http://tinyurl.com/yt6695 ((b))
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LOL Budman - those are great!! Do you think those would be appropriate in Joel Robuchon??
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Please don't buy a sports shoe/trainer and think that just because it is designer (and Hugo Boss is a very dubious "designer" label as really it's little more than one step up from the shiny suit brigade) you can wear it to smart places. There are so many people in London trying to get into nightclubs wearing their Prada Sport black trainers who think that just because they're Prada, they're smart enough. It's a bit like someone who is hopeless at tennis buying the latest racquet and expecting to play like a pro.
Buy your husband a proper pair of shoes, these are all leather, and are of loafer type style. Look at Dior Homme, YSL Rive Gauche, Jil Sander, etc. No ugly shoes please! |
Jen..the black Ecco's are much better. Just my own taste.
In last Sunday's New York Times Men's style section there was a short piece on new "fashions:" Sandals with socks Lace up dress shoes with shorts I can't find the link....the first looked awful to me and the second just looked silly... The ugliest shoes ever made are those flesh-colored pleather ones with the off-white gum soles..the kind we used to see on Eastern European tourists in Europe years ago... |
The sandals with socks look is the sort of thing that goes down a runway and that's where it ends. No one in a real life situation will look good with sandals and socks, and if they do look good then they'd look better if they ditched the socks, and sandals for my part. Some novice fashion journalist has picked up on this and decided to spark controversy and hope to see someone that's taken their advice and have a laugh at their expense.
As for Eccos, they're ok for arthritic ninety year olds. |
I have some Eccos that are pretty nice, they have a wide variety of styles, I thought, I don't understand the comment about only being for 90 year olds.
As for why I went out with that guy -- well, when I met him, it was a very casual situation and jeans and trainers were appropriate attire, so I didn't know how he dressed when trying to be a grownup. I found out that he didn't own a proper pair of shoes and had these nerdy engineer habits of having cellphones draped all over his body just in any situation, and he wore those ugly black shoes with beige stitching along with a pair of polyester navy blue pants that were about two inches too long, even. I shudder to remember it. This was for a play and moderately nice restaurant. Oh, and on top of that he wore one of those straps behind his glasses to keep them on like people do who are either playing basketball or getting elderly and forgetful. He wore that throughout the dinner in the restaurant, also. ugh, well, I don't go out with him anymore, I like guys who have some artistic vision, and I think that is part of it, actually, although people think it is superficial, I think it does reflect some aesthetics and taste, actually. I'm not at all picky about expensive or designer clothes, and don't even really go to top restaurants, but I do have my boundaries. Like I don't like a guy who lives in a really ugly place, either, with orange crates for bookshelves, etc., at the age of 45. |
Perhaps you should find out about the shoe inspection rules in some restaurants. Customers must present their feet for inspection and if they are not wearing the proper shoes, the manager will refuse service.
In fact, some restaurants have special mirrors to reflect the shoes so that the inspection process is easier. Some of these places have gotten very fussy about proper footgear in an effort to maintain high dress code standards and preserve the upscale image they are so desperately trying not only to achieve, but to maintain. So under those conditions, perhaps 6 or 7 pairs of shoes would be in order. Better still, wait until you are over there and then buy a pair of shoes suitable for the local city. Standards do vary, therefore there is no taking the risk that something brought from home might not pass inspection. Just wait until you are there and solicit local advice on what type of shoe constitutes the best fashion statement and buy accordingly. Once back in the States, there are so few shoe standards that no one will pay any attention to what he wears. I live in a college town and I see everything from $400 Bruno Magli fancy dans to dirty flip flops with a broken strap. Besides if he wears shoes made in Europe, he will not look as much like a tourist. |
If you're trying to NOT look like an American, then I'd strongly suggest wearing the sandals with dark socks. Everyone will assume you are a German, not an American tourist.
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I have one pair of Hi-Tec suede leather walking shoes. They are brown and at a pinch can pass as 'proper' shoes for restaurants (no on has complained yet!) They are very light and waterproof / breathable and great for trekking. This is all i take, though in summer months i add sandals (need a new pair....)
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