Dress Shoes? Suggestions?

Water Cooler
#21

A wiseman once told me that there are 2 things worth spending money on: a pair of shoes and a bed mattress. You spend 2/3 of your life using either one.

#22

Mezlan

#23

F you and your weather! :slight_smile:

#24

This will likely be my excuse for paying up a bit.

Problem is, as is not the case with my single matress, I need many pairs of shoes…

#25

Yeah - snow can be a pain in the ass, but with my almost non-existent commute I’ve noticed it much less. Also, we’ve had unseasonably little this year.

#26

I don’t know how someone can be “Cheap” living in NYC ha ha ha. Cheap to me is having $400 rent and utilities bill a month with the above behaviors lol

#27

I have Cole Hahns, and I consistently like how they feel comfortable.

I just bought one of these at DSW. Expensive enough to be comfortable, cheap enough not to be constantly worried about getting them damaged. My first time with this brand… so far, I’m happy:

http://www.dsw.com/shoe/mercanti+fiorentini+wingtip+oxford?prodId=dsw12prod5700077&brand=300235&activeCats=men,300235&isBrand=y&categoryName=men

I’ve learned that good shoes are worth paying for, and also a good mattress as (I think) CvM said. Wish I’d learned this earlier in life.

I also bought a nice Hugo Boss scarf for the winter here. I cringed at the price, but then I realized that I’m likely to be wearing it day in and day out for the next 3 months, and then again in another 10 months, so the use vs amortization ratio turns out to be decent.

I think that certain classes of things you use and depend on every day should not be dirt cheap (to the extent that cheap = bad quality). Mattresses, shoes, desks (if you work at yours and have control over what desk it is), your daily computer. I don’t own a car, but for people who commute every day, I can see the value in a premium car up to a point. If items have reasonably long life and you use them a lot, then paying more for quality, comfort, and durability makes sense, as long as the difference in price translates into a noticeable and valuable difference in what it’s like to use them.

I’m thinking about getting one of these sit/stand adjusable height desks this year. It’s a bit expensive at $1500 +/-, but since I’m at it nearly every day, and I expect it to last a long time, I may bite the bullet on it soon.

http://www.nextdesks.com/models (I’m thinking of one of the Terra models)

#28

Liking those wingtips, and price is right.

Our office ergo is awful; desks looks great, but hardly comfortable. You lay your own shingle bchad? Or just a small shop? Would think employer may eat some cost?

#29

I did consulting gigs for a while but now have something full time where I traded a higher hourly rate for more consistent income flow.

Even so, my current situation is as a remote worker, so I work out of a home office a lot. Things like office equipment or a desk I can deduct from consulting income to reduce my tax bill, plus I don’t have to return it to an employer if/when I shift employers/clients, the way I would with a regular employer.

#30

Sweep the leg, this is the reason why I take credit for everything all the time. It’s to make up for the times when I don’t get my due.

For those that don’t have a clue where this post is coming from, then you didn’t read this thread:

http://www.analystforum.com/forums/careers/91337433

#31

I say a lot of things. All I know is sleep is very very valuable to one’s well being. A poor mattress will leave you restless, with aches and pains, and so forth.

#32

Well it’s a conundrum :

  • cheap dressed shoes make a man in a suit look like a sad, poor bastard

  • snow, salt and calcium will ruin leather faster than you can polish it. I have had good quality shoes ruined in 3 weeks due to that.

So basically all you can do is wear cheap shoes on your way to work and wear good shoes in the office.

It’s when you go to clients/meetings that it gets tricky. If you are SOL and streets are all salty on that day, then I would say protect right when you leave home and wash and polish as soon as you get back. Can’t show up with them rubbery zippy shoe protectors, however the hell you call these hideous things.

#33

Solution to water, snow, salt and calcium: Swims Galoshes

They look a little silly on their own, but look fine once on a pair of shoes. I know many people who use them and come in a variety of colours.

http://www.swims.com/men/galoshes.aspx

#34

LOL @ shoe booties.

#35

Dude all shoes look the same.

#36

No they don’t.

#37

I never thought I would see style/galoshes mashed together; not sure I see myself with a pair, but probably effective. Snow rolling in tonight - the boots will do for now.

#38

Nunn Bush waterproof shoes

#39

When the weather is bad, I wear Allen Edmonds seconds. Highly recommend their seconds. Most of the time I don’t notice the flaws, and they’re made at the same factory. The best you can buy for under $200.

Loafers, I have had some luck finding A. Testoni black label shoes on sale. Every once in a while you can get lucky and find a good pair for around $300. Well made and will last years and years if you care for them. I’ve also bought Bally and some smaller production Italian brands for around half off.

If you rotate your shoes and use shoe trees, they should last at least 3-5 years.

#40

I have you beat.

  1. I eat MRE ration bars to ensure I have enough protein and calories in my diet. I need to be well fed for my walk to the library to use their computers to post this.

  2. I had been using the same plastic cutlery from Sunoco for a month, just picked up some fresh stuff today to start the year off right.

  3. I practice eating massive quantities of ASPCA pet food so that I can go to restaurants and eat the entire challenge meal, letting me eat for free.

  4. When I buy gas, which is rarely, I ask the attendant for a cup and fill it with Ultra when he’s not looking. Then I steal the squeegee.

  5. For lent last year I gave up taking all of the dryer lint from the laundramat that I normally use to make blankets and burn for heat. It was a cold winter.

  6. In order to get drunk and have fresh breath, without the hefty price tag, when I party I drink mouthwash.

  7. When I clean my ears and the Q-tip doesn’t come out with wax, I put it back in the box for future use. I save all the wax too, so I can use it to grease my bearing block when creating fire with a bow drill.

  8. I love mischeif night, don’t have to buy toilet paper for months!

  9. One trick I’ve used is to find a coma patient and switch places with them. You get free blood transfusions, hydration and nutrition, and you can save calories by putting yourself in a self induced coma with their morphine. This way you can use almost no calories until roadkill season comes around.

  10. I learned braille because you can mail things for free if you translate them to braille first.

That’s all I have for now, half hour is up.