Square Toad Blog

Ask Andy About Clothes - he's not a fan of square toed shoes

Just found this forum post on Ask Andy About Clothes, a cool website  that "is devoted to men's clothes -- what to wear, how to properly wear it,and the history of why we wear what we do.

But, it appears that Andy is not a fan of square-toed shoes:

"[Andy went into a store and] stopped in and spoke to Reggie, who wasn’t in such a great mood! I don’t blame him with all those ugly sweaters and square toed shoes to sell. Poor guy."

To be honest, I don't know if a square toe is in or not anymore.  I have 2 pairs myself and like how they look, and they are plenty comfortable...

Kenneth Cole New York - Living ON Edge (Cognac) - Lifestyle Departments

Kenneth Cole New York - Living ON Edge (Black) - Lifestyle Departments

The great Square Toe (shoe) Debacle of 1963

Just found this old Time Magazine article from 1963 called "Square-Toe Debacle".  Seems that one of Britain's premier shoe companies in the 60's suffered from the age-old fashion problem of balancing trends with production capacity. 

Whatever.

A square to is a well-dressed toe, and no square toe caused any debacle.

Period.

Even though our beloved square toe shoes are bound to go out of fashion sometime soon (and many would argue they already are), they'll be back again, and again, and again, and again...  after all there are only so many toe styles that can possibly be created, right?

Weighing in on the square toed shoe debate...

Just read this post on The Coherent blog regarding  a nice discussion about men's fashion and whether or not there can be any major changes in men's fashion trends if retailers don't help push the frontier.  And how same retailers "play it safe" in order to attract a mainstream audience. 

I like the overall discussion, and should probably do some more thinking about it, but, as usual, my immediate focus is on square toed shoes... and the post on The Coherent uses square toed shoes as an example of a mainstream fashion that retailers are not pushing out of the mainstream. 

I don't know, I am rambling because I spent 12 hours and $1,500 at Mohegan Sun last night and I am a mess...

A sad prediction from March 2006

Just read this post from blogger Anthony Bradley where he references a Cargo Magazine piece in March 2006 about square toe shoes for men being phased out as a fashion statement.  Of course we hope that is not true! 

Cargomag.com no longer exists, so maybe they didn't have all the answers...

Shout out to The Manolo

Should have started this blog with a shout out to The Manolo.  Obviously the pre-eminent shoeblogger out there.  Love the Gallery of The Horrors!

The Celebrity category is pretty funny too...

Online Shoe Sizers - a list of resources

Buying shoes online can suck.  Getting the right fit is one problem.  Sure, most people try it on in the store, get the fit they want, make sure everything looks cool, then order online. But, if you are looking for some sites that help you get the right size, check these out (let us know of any others out there)...

Online Shoe  Sizing Information:

Cool Interactive Shooe Size Conversion Tool - Women's Shoe Sizer; Men's Shoe Sizer

International Shoe Size Conversion Chart

About.com - Guide to Fitting Shoes

Dexter Shoes - Easy fit shoe guide. (.pdf)

Guaranteed Fit Shoes - Free shoe sizer.

If the shoe fits - Children's foot sizer.

Naturalizer - Print out shoe sizer.

Payless - Fit finder shoe site with tips and conversion chart.

Kohls Shoe Sizing Information

Wedding Tennies - Sizing instructions using a ruler.