There are many phrases that have been used in men’s fashion for a long time: “You should invest more in leather shoes than in suits,” “Leather shoes are worth spending a fortune even if you have to,” and “There is no item whose quality is more proportional to its price than leather shoes. Many of you may have heard former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is known to have worn wingtips by Church, a long-established brand in Northampton, England, for over 18 years, say, ” Cheap shoes are uneconomical. In this issue, we’ll show you why businessmen should invest in leather shoes!
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Why Businessmen Should Spend on Leather Shoes (1) “Classic leather shoes are that rare thing that doesn’t become obsolete with changing fashions.”
The design of classic leather shoes is complete and universal. In some cases, there are last (wooden form) fine-tuning, etc., but basically, the designs of 100 years ago are still followed, and classic leather shoes are timeless. For example, as you can see in the old catalogs of Edward Green, a long-established brand representing Northampton, England, the standard models such as ” CHELSEA ” and ” DOVER,” which are still popular today, as well as other models look almost the same today as they did back then. The atmosphere of the faded catalogs and the current models are the same as those of the past. The contrast between the faded atmosphere of the catalog and the leather shoe designs that feel completely natural in the modern age speaks for itself.
On the other hand, the situation is a little different for suits. It is true that suits are less susceptible to the influence of fashion trends than casual wear, but they are certainly affected by changing trends. Let’s take the 007 movie series as an example, where a certain ideal type of suit style for each era is on display. For example, the Brioni suit worn by Pierce Brosnan in ” Die Another Day (released in 2002)” is a 3B suit with a longer length. Although the brand is different, the Tom Ford dark gray suit worn by Daniel Craig in “Skyfall (released in 2012),” which was released exactly 10 years later, is a 3B suit or 2B suit with a shorter length. It goes without saying that seasonal designs change slightly each season and become outdated after 10 years.
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If you force yourself to buy an expensive suit that is too far from your wallet, “you will end up wearing a suit with good tailoring and fabrics but an old-fashioned design for many years.” It is not too much to say. Incidentally, Mr. Masakatsu Ochiai, a leading figure in Classico Italia, wrote in his famous book, “The Art of Dressing for Men,” “Even a cheap suit looks reasonably good if the leather shoes are good. The opposite is not true.” There is no reverse. If your budget is 100,000 yen, it would be a smart balance to boldly invest 70,000 to 80,000 yen in classic leather shoes and buy a 20,000 to 30,000 yen suit with a trendy design.
*High-brand shoes that do not originate from leather shoes often tend to be out of fashion. There are also many classic shoe brands under the umbrella of conglomerates that own high brands, and they sometimes develop leather shoes with trendy designs. In order to obtain classic leather shoes, it is necessary to pay attention to the choice of brand and model.
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Reason why businessmen should spend money on leather shoes (2) “Good quality leather shoes will last a lifetime if they are well cared for!
Because classic leather shoes have a universal design that is not associated with fads as mentioned above, it is valuable to be able to use them over a long period of time. It is possible to wear them for more than 15 years if you rotate them and do not neglect daily maintenance and regular sole replacement. Avoid wearing them continuously and leave at least two full days between wearings, so if you work five days a week, you should own three pairs. The number of times you can replace all soles varies depending on the rotation (frequency of use), maintenance conditions, and the strength of the leather used for the upper. It is wise to invest in items such as shoe keepers in order to keep wearing them for a long time.
Incidentally, it is possible to replace all soles on Mackay shoes as well, but it is important to keep in mind that the number of times all soles can be replaced tends to be limited due to the structure of the shoe. If you want to wear your shoes for many years, it is stylish to choose Goodyear welt shoes, which are made with the assumption that all soles can be replaced, and enjoy the changes in leather over the years. At the same time, this will show that you are “a person who is diligent and does not cut corners in daily detail work” and “a person who takes good care of things,” which will give your business partners the impression that you are a businessman with the qualities to build a long-term relationship of trust.
Reason #3 why businessmen should spend money on leather shoes: “Even if your body shape changes, your foot size will not.
Even if you get a suit that fits you just right, you cannot wear it if you are overweight. And conversely, even if you work hard at muscle training or dieting and your body shape changes for the better, it is clear that the suit that was a perfect fit before that will become a suit that does not fit your body shape. In this respect, leg size does not change significantly with changes in body shape, so you can invest in a suit with peace of mind.
Reason #4 why businessmen should spend money on leather shoes: “Leather shoe lovers will take a glance at you and make a good impression. And you won’t be seen as cocky by indifferent bosses.”
Executives who are conscious about leather shoes have a good impression of businessmen who invest in leather shoes and do not neglect their maintenance. In particular, if a young businessman is found to have taken it upon himself to invest in leather shoes, his reputation may be further enhanced by the fact that ” this person seems to know what he is doing. The fact that Western businessmen and hotel staff, even more so than in Japan, have the habit of first and foremost observing shoes and evaluating a person’s value is a point that international businessmen should always keep in mind.
On the other hand, a man who is careless about his clothes and who does not value the importance of a man’s personal appearance is also free to have his own values, but such a person may think that he is a “cool guy who spends so much on leather shoes,” or that he is “young and cocky with his expensive leather shoes. However, such a person often does not have the knowledge to judge the quality of leather shoes or is indifferent to his/her feet, so if you and those around you do not say anything unnecessary, he/she will not notice you wearing good leather shoes and you will not be considered cocky. Even if the shoes are from the top brand ” John Lobb,” there is no need to worry about antipathy or jealousy because there is no “John Lobb” or “top brand” written on the uppers.
Reference column on shoes: “If your leather shoes are no good, will your negotiating partner think you’re a jerk? What is the origin of “watching your feet?
As you know, ” to take advantage of someone’s weakness” means ” to take advantage of someone’s weakness,” but the origin of the word is interesting, so I would like to introduce it here for your reference at the end.
Until the Edo period (1603-1867), “palanquin hitoshi*1” and ” makata*2,” who were in charge of transporting passengers in inn towns and on the highways, would often change the amount of money they demanded from travelers by watching their feet (waraji). If a traveler’s straw sandals are in tatters, he must be very tired,” and then, “Since there is a high possibility that we can conclude a deal even for a slightly higher price, I will offer him a higher price than usual…” This is how it is done in today’s business world.
If we were to somewhat forcibly apply this to today’s business scene, we would say, “A salesman who is careless with his feet (wears cheap shoes, doesn’t take care of them, etc.)…. I bet his sales performance is not so good, so is he having trouble making sales? In any case, he/she seems to have some flaws in his/her work, so I might shake him/her up by making unreasonable demands…” In the worst case, the sales person might say, “I can’t trust them from an external point of view. In the worst case, some businessperson might think, “I’ll stop doing business with them because they don’t look trustworthy from the outside. Now and in the past, you should always be on your toes.
1 A basket puller. A job in which passengers are carried in a basket. It was one of the main methods of transportation until the Edo period (1603-1867), when it was replaced by the rickshaw in the Meiji era (1868-1912).
2 Umakata. The occupation of transporting passengers and cargo by horseback.
