I've certainly heard that adage before, or versions thereof. It reminds me of the time I was the new student at a school where everyone else already knew each other. As I sat down at my assigned desk, the girl across the aisle looked me up and down, then up and down again, then fixated on my shoes. I didn't know if it meant anything good or bad, or anything at all, but then she quickly leaned over in the opposite direction and whispered something to the girl next to her, eyeing me and my shoes the whole time. The second girl stared straight at my shoes, they both snickered as they whispered conspiratorially for a few more seconds. I was immediately self-conscious without even knowing why. I came from a family where fashionable clothing was not a priority, but it seemed to be important to a lot of other people. I never wore the latest styles or the top brands. Soon it became part of my daily school experience to be looked down upon because I didn't fit in with everyone else who wanted to make a fashion statement as opposed to learning. Making fun of my clothing was great sport for my fellow students. It marked the first time in my life that I noticed that many girls and women look at a guy's shoes in an evaluating manner. I don't know fully or completely what information it entails, beyond the myth of shoe size in correlation to other body parts, or how well he must take care of himself hygiene-wise gauged by the cleanliness of his shoes, or by determining his finances based on footwear choices. By the way, I was in the sixth grade in the school setting above, all of eleven years old.
My mother always told me, as she laced up her orthopedic shoes, 'fashion stops at the ankles'. So her shoes, (and mine), reveal that we don't believe in ruining our feet just to look stylish.
I think women notice when men are wearing expensive shoes and newer clothing because a lot of women like clothes. Unfortunately for my clothing I live a pretty active, outdoor life and even my expensive shoes get wet and muddy and faded in no time so I just end up buying cheaper footwear because I have to replace them so often. I think you gotta be open-minded about people's clothes because like I said I'm active and just the other day I was standing in line at a food court after having been at the lake swimming and playing at the park with my son and my niece all day and I was wearing flip flops, faded shorts and a faded T-shirt that I had worn to the lake and a girl was standing beside me in line, looking at me and later I overheard her and her friend talking and she said "I was looking at that guy." The friend looked over at me and said "He looks homeless, let's go." LoL, I'm not homeless and I do have nice clothes and I do know how to dress well if I'm going out, but I also have a life during the day and I wear stuff out. I don't think shoes or clothing indicate a man's character, but rather they could indicate his lifestyle and possibly his income. I don't judge women by their clothing except if a woman is obsessed with shoes and handbags etc I just hope I don't have to pay for the collection.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at July 26, 2017 9:20 PM MDT
I used to be a word processor for a large office equipment company....a new sales manager started working with us and I asked him how did he decide on hiring a salesman?
he said........'first thing I look at are his shoes........if they look well cared-for, he's got the job........if he can take care of his shoes, he can handle anything"..........wow.......always amazed me, but I guess it's true.............
as for the ladies, never thought to ask him,,,,,,,but perhaps the same?????
texasescimo 