Customer Survey: Who makes your favorite

tippy · June-13th-2003, 03:44 PM

SHOES?

Brian Olewnick · June-13th-2003, 03:51 PM

Wait.

The people who make shoes have, like, names?

Pete C · June-13th-2003, 03:54 PM

I'm a Rockport artist.

tippy · June-13th-2003, 04:02 PM

Pete knows how to play the game, Brian, without further clarification. He even knew that I wasn't talking about athletic shoes (although I am interested in that to, but less so).

Let me guess, your wife buys your shoes doesn't she? Actually that's pretty cool to have someone who buys shoes for you. You are excused from the exercise and may go eat your peanut butter and jelly and then take a nap.

Jimmy Cantiello · June-13th-2003, 04:03 PM

Bally
Ferragamo
Cole-Hahn
Gepetto

moneyp · June-13th-2003, 04:06 PM

Nike for athletics, Red Wings steel-toed for everyday walk around footwear. Timberland for surfaces where Red Wings fear to tread. Footwear is about the only thing I find name brand to be the most reliable.

Dress shoes are more variable. Whatever looks decent and is cheap.

Monte Smith · June-13th-2003, 04:07 PM

Doc Martins and Johnston & Murphy.

Or the classic:

Brian Olewnick · June-13th-2003, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tippy
Let me guess, your wife buys your shoes doesn't she?

Yeah, that's pretty funny. You're dealing with someone in possession of size 13 feet. When I go into a shoe store, I usually simply ask what they have in my size and pick the ones that look and feel most comfortable. I have no idea what brand my current ones are. Looking down at my sneaker-clad extremities, I note that I'm currently wearing New Balance black things.

Sergio Zamora · June-13th-2003, 04:18 PM

I liked the shoes that Huggybear wore in "I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka!". The ones with the fish in heels.

tippy · June-13th-2003, 04:47 PM

Brian, I'm sorry. My comments were extremely insensitive to the Big & Tall set. As someone who was called "shorty" for much of her life--until she moved to NY, now I'm a giantess...

--I hope you will forgive me.

Monte, Johnston & Murphy is the impetus of this thread. I was floored recently to discover that my thrifty father--the one I begged & begged for a pair of REAL $20 Levi's in the 80s (v. JCPenney girls dept.) and who refused and refused because he remembered when "LEVI'S was only $5"--spends not less than $175 when he buys a pair of shoes and Johnston & Murphy is his brand of choice.

Even so, I guess knowing what shoes you guys buy is no use to me because the shoe market for men and that for ladies is completely different. I imagine that I would have to spend more than you guys to get the same quality. Or maybe I'm wrong and it is just that the ladies market is positively flooded with crap. For example, I will NEVER buy another pair of Nine West...their shoes are lousy quality (yet there prices aren't Payless) and people think Nine West is an acceptable even cool brand. Anyway, I've been shoe frustrated for several years now and what usually happens is I find one pair I can stand, wear them everyday for a season and then disgard them and move onto the next.

I did buy two pairs of sandals recently at Timberland and I am pleased with the quality, fit and they are very comfortable--one pair is almost stylish--with a little bit of tweaking here and there I could have almost loved them, but you know it's those little details that make the difference between shoes you love and shoes you just wear. Are any other ladies shoe-frustrated?

Dr Dave · June-13th-2003, 04:54 PM

New Balance 1000-series cross trainers. The only shoe that fits me and provides proper support while heaving champagne cases.

Long ago, in a distant world, I wore Johnston & Murphy wingtips.

hornplayer · June-13th-2003, 04:59 PM

I LOVE shoes. I used to wear Bally, Ferragamo, Palter DeLiso, etc. You get the picture?

Now, I have GOUT! bunions, hammer toe, intermittent pain. So now I wear whatever I can find that is comfortable.

My friend Cathy DeBease makes a really cute shoe that's sold on-line at www.conversationshoes.com that are a cross between a Reebok and a ballet slipper. I wear those a LOT.

My high heel days are gone forever!!!!

June-13th-2003, 05:08 PM

Nike cross trainers

Wolverines

Bass

walto · June-13th-2003, 05:08 PM

HP said both 'bunion' AND 'hammer toe.'

Tee hee.

Uli · June-13th-2003, 05:10 PM

Gucci loafers and mocassins.

Monte Smith · June-13th-2003, 05:21 PM

Johnson & Murphy are a good value. They're respectable shoes, and when they wear out or need repair, you can get the company to do it for about half the cost of a new pair.

Long ago my father told me, "Son, nothing in life is more important than a good pair of shoes."

"Nothing, dad?"

"Nothing."

"Really...shoes, huh? Nothing? Nothing is more important than a good pair of shoes?"

"Nothing is more important than a good pair of shoes, son."

"Nothing! I'm astonished that you would say that. Nothing is more important in life than a good pair of shoes?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"Nothing."

"I can't believe that."

"Nothing."

"You have got to be kidding."

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing."

"Nothing."

Jon Abbey · June-13th-2003, 05:34 PM

Mephisto, baby. about half the price in Paris that they are in NYC (probably closer now, as the dollar becomes increasingly worthless), I always pick up a pair or two when I'm there, as Brian can testify...

http://www.mephisto.com/

June-13th-2003, 05:57 PM

Really deep stuff Monte. All my dad ever told me was that I was going to go to hell for listening to 'that devil music'.

That from a man who nows spends good portions of his day downloading old Elvis tunes.

Ron Thorne · June-13th-2003, 06:16 PM

Rockport
Bass
Dexter

For summer wear, when possible, my two favorites are a pair of Earth Shoes leather sandals I picked up at Wal-Mart a few years back, and even better, a pair of Scott Hawaii "Makaha" thongs (flip-flops) from our recent trip to Hawaii. Love 'em!

moneyp · June-13th-2003, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jon Abbey
Mephisto, baby. about half the price in Paris that they are in NYC (probably closer now, as the dollar becomes increasingly worthless), I always pick up a pair or two when I'm there, as Brian can testify...

http://www.mephisto.com/

They look good, Jon, although that website blows. What do they run, normally?

June-13th-2003, 07:13 PM

Ron, I also picked up a pair of those Earth Shoe sandals a couple of years back at Walmart. Those things are great. I've had them for almost two years now!

HLJ · June-13th-2003, 08:40 PM

Adidas and Stacy Adams.Peace and all that.

patricia · June-13th-2003, 10:31 PM

For years, I wore a brand called "Red Carpet", whose last fit my foot, exactly. They were a little pricey, but lasted a long time and were solid leather and good-looking. They had a sole which looked pinked on the edge and came up slightly, all around the bottom. They were perfectly balanced, even the ones with 3" heels. Sadly, gone now.
Lately, for comfort, I wear Aerosoles and Easy Spirit. Aerosoles are really comfortable, but don't have the really soft, leather lace-up they had some years ago. Now they seem to be all really sensible looking, some with higher heels, but........
Easy Spirit tries a little harder and I have some black, raw silk heels that are as comfotable as sneakers. Mmmmmmm.
Most ladies' shoes are overpriced junk, I think. I've paid as much as $250.00 for shoes that made walking an exercise in torture, but looked fabulous. Fair trade, if I'm drinking and dancing, but not if I'm working and walkin'.
How do women wear "slides" with high heels, all day at work, if they walk around all day??
Answer me that!!!

Jimmy Cantiello · June-14th-2003, 06:08 AM

I see that Uli wears moccasins. So he's the other guy who wears those dorky things. I knew there was one other guy besides me that wear them. I'm sure there's not many people who wear them anymore. I have a pair of Minnetonkas that I recently picked up in Nevada. I also have a pair of L.L. Beans which are very hard to kill. Moccasins are great for sombody who doesn't like to wear shoes. I even wear them in the dead of winter. Best pair I ever owned were Cole-Hahn that I picked up in NYC for a mere $125.00 and that was about twenty years ago. Maybe that's why I like Ballys so much. It's like wearing slippers. I probably would have been very happy if I was born in the back woods of Tennessee..........

patricia · June-14th-2003, 09:27 AM

Those who have seen my pic in Innerviews can actually see my favourite shoes.

If I have to wear shoes, then my first choice is my red, velveteen Adidas, followed by Doc Martin lace-ups. Of course I can't wear either with a business suit, so I try and find heels that won't kill my feet.
My mother said virtually the same thing as Monte's father. She told me that I would only be given one pair of feet and that good shoes are as important as looking after my feet. Her feet were as pampered as her hands.

Fred K · June-14th-2003, 11:59 AM

Timberland
Johnston and Murphy

shrugs · June-14th-2003, 12:21 PM

Rockport
Birkenstock
Asics(one size too big for running)
Bass

Jazzooo · June-14th-2003, 12:26 PM

Looking back over the shoes I've worn and loved or hated throughout my life, this turns out to be a more interesting question than I considered it at first.

I spend most of my days right now at home, working in my studio and playing with my dogs. I usually wear either nothing or my favorite pair of flip flops--I've got to go get the name, but they are a specialty importer and the flips look as if they are made from basketball leather (they are rubber, though). I alternate with a pair of leather Timberland sandals and Rockport deck shoes.

When I dress up, and when I go on the occasional business call that requires it, I tend to wear a beautiful black suit that seems to look great at any weight. After years of never really getting used to black dress shoes from many makers--Florsheim, Johnston and Murphy, Clark (once my favorites), I bit the bullet and bought a pair of Mephistos--most expensive shoes I'd ever purchased, but honestly well worth the money. They fit perfectly and my feet take about three times as long to get tired in them.

My big find, though, was a pair of elastic mesh things called Arcopedicos. They have a thick rubber soul with a mesh top, and come in several colors. They are AMAZINGLY comfortable--I will be wearing them as I tour around through Montreal this year.

Jazzooo · June-14th-2003, 12:30 PM

I forgot to add that I bought a pair of Cole Hann (sp?) loafers on sale in NYC years ago, and they are the handsomest shoes I've ever owned. They are definitely not comfortable, but I wear them on special occasions, like business-casual type things.

And my hiking boots are Hi Teks!

Squaredancecalling Steve · June-14th-2003, 01:22 PM

Brian -- Daniel wears a 14 now, a size almost never stocked in the stores.

I alternate two slightly different pairs of Sauconys for running, by far the best ride (for me) of the dozen or so running brands I've tried.

I wear those black New Balance cross-trainers for dress shoes, because so often at work I'm demonstrating dances and need the cushioning and heavy-duty soles.

And I wear Addidas sandals around the house.

Usually I buy everything through Road Runner Sports.