Dear Mr Fox,
I've recently discovered your blog and am thoroughly enjoying your posts, as is my 47 year old (slightly grey haired) husband.
I have a question for your on his behalf please (as unlike me, he doesn't spend half his waking life reading blogs.) The question is, what would you suggest as a suitable but stylish footwear choice for wearing with shorts? It's a really tricky one. Sandals without socks is a solution when on holiday or in the garden, but isn't really suitable for going into town. He has tried the slip-on shoes without socks look, which was a disaster! His current stop gap solution is to wear socks with Converse trainers, which is fine, but very casual.
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I'm not sure if you've got anything on this subject planned for future posts? If not, any suggestions you can offer will be very gratefully received.
Thank you so much for your time.
Jane M.
Dear Jane M.,
Thank you for your question, which exercises the minds of many men in those brief days when the weather is warm enough for shorts. Here are my thoughts - take them we you will.
Converse, or similar white or blue canvas deck shoes, are certainly a good option, as their casual and comfortable style goes well with shorts - but there are several alternatives.
Leather deck or sailing shoes are an obvious choice - they come in a wide variety of colours and are comfortable and cool to wear. I've just bought a pair of Rockport deck shoes which are beautifully soft and comfortable.
Suede shoes, as in desert boots or lightweight brogues, look good with shorts. Suede is breathable, cool, comfortably soft and works well in warm weather.
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From top left - Converse, Sperry Top-Sider, Alvaro leather sandals, Castaner espadrilles, Swims deck shoes, J.Crew Kenton suede brogue. All images (except Sperry) courtesy of Mr Porter.
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I avoid trainers on comfort grounds. They are sweaty and smelly in warm weather and are best kept for the sports for which they were designed. Crocs and flip flops sometimes get a bad press and you may like to restrict their use to the beach.
Sandals are fine (without socks) and can be stylish and comfortable around town if the right pair is chosen. Espadrilles are ideal, but won't last long pounding the pavements.
You mention socks - I wear them with shoes and shorts. In general, I prefer them to be light in colour (white, khaki or a pale yellow or cream) and unpatterned (and certainly not black or dark-coloured). In general they should be short, but I see no reason why long socks shouldn't be adopted by the bolder man seeking to recreate the early twentieth century military/explorer look, with khaki socks and matching shorts. My prediction is that this look will hit the fashion shows within a couple of years, so I suggest you pre-empt it now. You read it first on Grey Fox.
I've chosen some images for this post which may help your selection of shoes - good luck in your search.
All this reminds me that I'm overdue to write about the thorny issue of shorts - so I'll do that soon.
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