Feets of Strength

If you are more accustomed to wearing these…

…rather than these…

…then I say you are a lazy geek, L-A-Z-Y. It’s time to step it up a little. Your feet are your friends - and you can tell an awful lot about a person based on their shoes (same-old-same old, or unexpected complexity and daring?). These days, (for me) footware seems to involve a lot of patent leather - but what that telegraphs to the universe, I’m not sure. Perhaps just that I’m drawn to shiny things.

Okay - maybe patent’s not really ideal everyday wear for boy geeks, unless you’re in the habit of wearing a tux (though as far as I’m concerned, every male over the age of 18 should own a properly-fitted, quality tuxedo. I don’t care if it costs $3000 and you’re only going to wear it once. That once, you’re going to look really, really good. Is that not enough?)

Anyway, the point of this post is twofold - to tell you about some footware that I bought recently (because I know you are fascinated by my shopping habits) and to explain how the right shoe can be your friend in a geek setting.

Exhibit A:

I got these Aquatalia boots at David’s in Toronto a few weeks ago and apparently they’re waterproof or something. This is great because they have absolutely no tread, so when things are wet and slippery and I fall on my ass, the boots will be fine. They’re low-heeled, Italian patent leather, with white stitching and zippers on both outer and inner seams. They’re very cool with rolled-up jeans and also skirts. But bestly of all? They’re an awesome combination of comfort and cool - I’m not suffering to be fashionable wearing these suckers (until I fall down in them, that is). I would actually wear them on a plane, rather than kickin’ it old school in my DC hightops, like I usually do.

Exhibit B:

I picked up these Stuart Weitzman croc-printed patent “car shoes” (note the rubber running up the back of the heel, this prevents the leather from becoming scuffed while driving) at Nordstrom’s in Seattle in September. I was there for a geek-ish event, the Ford/Microsoft launch of Sync (an in-car technology that lets you operate your iPod, phone, etc. with voice commands… but enough with the client pimping).

As it turns out, they came in very handy in early October, when I was in Las Vegas for SAP’s TechEd, which, of course, is a delightfully geeky event. These shoes look fancy, but they’re as good as a pair of Nikes (minus the sweat shop stuff) - as evidenced by my repeated victories in casino footraces against RedMonk’s James Governor. I understand he has still not recovered from being beaten so throughly by a girl. Suck it up, James!

In other words, these shoes are magic - not only screaming professionalism (with suits or skirts), but also perfect for impromptu 100-metre dashes.

Today’s lesson? Taking the time to spend a little extra dough and thought on your footware can add a disproportionate amount of style to your wardrobe. Even if you’re dressed like a slob or in a “short-sleave, conference shirt over the long-sleave [sic] shirt“, cool shoes will erase a multitude of sins.

I guess what I’m getting at is this: in a way, what’s on your feet provides a window into your soul, and you don’t want everyone to think you have a boring soul, do you?