花哨的人 服饰搭配:男人也爱美 男鞋变花哨了

服饰搭配:男人也爱美 男鞋变花哨了  

The only shoe dilemma faced by many men used to be deciding beeen black or brown but now
eye-catching fooear is opening up a brave new world of self-expression. "There are studs
sparkle
print and colour everywhere
" says Ed Burstell
managing director of London department store Liberty. "Men are now more trend aware – certain brands and styles hit the floor and they're gone right away. They're also prepared to spend more."
Witness the rapper Tinie Tempah in Jimmy Choo glittery slippers (no socks)
paired with a dinner suit; DJ Mark Ronson in rainbow hues; Kanye West in Christian Louboutin's gold-studded men's loafers
and Black Eyed Peas star
in eye-catching high-tops. Yet while musicians have always embraced the more outre side of fooear
now they are no longer an exception.
"We're seeing a lot of customer interest in some men's styles
" says Stacey Smith
menswear buyer for online retailer Matches. "Christian Louboutin and Pierre Hardy have waiting lists long before the product hits stores."
"我们看到很多消费者喜欢流行的男款，" 斯泰西•史密斯(Stacey Smith)说，他是Matches网上零售店男装部采购员。"克里斯蒂安•娄伯丁与皮埃尔•哈迪(Pierre Hardy)的产品上架前，订单早已络绎不绝。"
Indeed
due to customer demand
Christian Louboutin is opening a new dedicated men's fooear store on London's Dover Street this autumn
following New York and Los Angeles locations this summer
and Jimmy Choo recently launched a dedicated men's store in London's Burlington Arcade. On the shelves at Louboutin there will be peacock-blue calf-leather brogues with decorative zipper detailing
gold-capped leopard-print slippers and golden-studded tartan fabric loafers (£795). At Jimmy Choo
expect to find ponyskin army-print loafers and purple and pink suede shoe-boots (£350).
Prada has created lace-up Shoes decorated with applique leather flowers and studs
alongside o-tone lace-ups where the bottom half looks like it has been dipped in cherry-hued paint (£870 and £620 respectively). Alexander McQueen has floral embroidered slippers (£615)
and Pierre Hardy is offering leopard-print brothel creepers (£300).
"The best men's styles are now easily on a par with their womenswear equivalents in price and the use of more luxurious skins and finishes
" says Smith. "The secret is that they're not too costumey. They're fun but there's real workmanship and quality materials
" says Burstell.
"‘Better-made shoes are more popular in general now
" agrees Toby Bateman
buying director at men's online retailer Mr Porter
adding that hand-made classic John Lobb styles in particular are selling fast on the site.
However
Lobb's handmade styles (around £600) offer years of wear while these new "directional" designs mimic the seasonal changes usually seen in womenswear and are thus a less reliable investment. Will they catch on with male consumers?
One place that is particularly resistant to passing trends is the City of London. Says one City lawyer: "I wore dark brown lace-ups as a change one week and those were considered ‘statement' enough. I was mocked for weeks by my conservative colleagues
so I am not sure these would go down well. Perhaps in media ..."
Another Lloyd's broker adds: "I don't think the missionaires would let me in to the Lloyd's building with them on and at the weekend my teenage boys say they wouldn't let me leave the house in them."
So why the sudden rush to bolder styles among the sartorially adventurous males? "There's a growing confidence among male consumers
who are being increasingly fashion literate and ready to be more playful with their wardrobes
" says Smith.
The trend started in spring 2011 with Prada's platform trainers
brogues and espadrilles
which became cult hits
and the reinvention of men's slippers in opulent fabrics. The growing embrace of brothel creepers has also encouraged men to be more experimental.
"Trainers have also been a major driver
" says Burstell. "There's been a huge string of statement
bright styles
which have been really popular
and worn by lots of famous people. It's encouraged men to be braver. These rare styles also appeal to the collector in men
which we've seen with sneakers for years. Shoes have bee another geek pursuit."
At the same time
observes Bateman
"the statement shoe is much less scary than a statement jacket. Perhaps our bravery has migrated from our socks – it used to be these that the ‘classic' man kept as their subversive bit of fashion and now it's the shoe. A coloured shoe or a velvet slipper makes me feel slightly more rebellious."