The footwear world is wide and by now it has a great variety of styles and type of shoes. Which ones are the true staples in any man’s wardrobe? Choosing attentively, even a few models can be enough to match outfits for any occasion. Here below we selected three that have by now established themselves as staples of menswear.
The black lace-up shoe
In a man’s wardrobe, lace-up shoes are now the shoe par excellence. In their most elegant variety, their origin can be traced back to the Oxford model, which was developed in Great Britain and was already popular in the 19th century. Interestingly, these shoes were first considered relatively sporty for the time, especially if compared to boots, which they were a summer variant of. One century later, Oxford shoes had already become the most common choice for gentlemen, who wore them with elegant trousers, leaving their ankle exposed. In addition to these, a new variant with open lacing, called Derby, was developed; it allowed for a more comfortable fit, giving it a slightly less formal look.
Nowadays, if a pair of black polished Oxford shoes are considered among the most elegant choices, to set aside for particularly official occasions only, opaque leather Derby shoes are a slightly more relaxed option, just enough as to make it a model with great versatility. Seishou thus offers Lehigh, Derby lace-up shoes made with refined Nappa leather: a sober classic to be worn every day, perfect for work and comfortable for your free time, which does not look out of place with either a suit and tie or a more informal outfit.
The suede loafer
The simple and comfortable slip-lasting method of construction characterizing this model developed independently in geographically very distant areas, e.g. Scandinavia and North America. In its modern version we all know, loafers appeared starting in the 1930s. Several variants stem from the basic design, always maintaining a unique balance between formal and informal. Loafers are in fact considered casual shoes at least until the 60s, when a new generation of businessmen starts wearing them with suit and tie. This was also when the preppy style was in full swing and loafers became the symbol of an attire that somehow hides a certain attention to detail pairing traditional pieces of clothing to more sporty elements, thus obtaining the iconic air of nonchalant elegance.
Seishou offers two models of loafers that offer a modern interpretation of this approach to fashion. The simple and refined Maryland, made with soft suede echoing the style of penny loafers, is the essence of elegance. Unlined, super light and good to wear during the summer, with leather and Vibram rubber soles sewn to the upper through the refined Blake construction, Maryland shoes convey an idea of luxury that is based on attention to detail. For whoever is looking for a bolder look, instead, Seishou also offers another suede loafer, Duke. Characterized by two elegant fringed tassels, which catch the eye, and comfortable Vibram rubber soles, this model is the ideal choice to have a stroll in the city with all the style of a modern gentleman.
The closed toe sandal
Not everyone knows that the first shoes in human history were precisely sandals. From classical antiquity to the present, this apparently simple model had a complex history, across different styles and configurations. Every culture developed its own sandals, which for centuries have been the standard in temperate regions. With the fall of the Roman Empire, this type of shoe progressively fell into disuse in most of Europe, until it almost disappeared in the Middle Ages. Only with the French Revolution there was a brief resurgence of sandals, when fascination for classical aesthetics encouraged shoemakers to create open shoes inspired to this type of footwear. However, we needed to wait until the 20th Century for this model to be popular again, along with the evolution of bathing suits on the world’s beaches. Nowadays, there are sandals for every occasion, spacing from extremely casual flipflops to refined evening sandals.
Seishou offers Johns, men’s sandals made with exquisite tumbled leather, containing both the style and the versatility that are characteristic of the brand. The elegant look of the black leather gives this closed toe model great class, making it perfect even for surprisingly not-so-casual outfits compared to other sandals. The moderately open configuration, instead, allows you to wear them all year round, further increasing the possibilities of use of these exceptional shoes.