It started with the socks.
The year that the two teenage daughters gave their father some clever and classy socks for Father’s Day was the turning point. Although the dad, decades earlier, had worn plenty of fashionable clothes, his recent wardrobe had fallen flat. The classic look that he wore to work before the girls were born had slowly slipped away, and the dressy things that he used to wear to church had become even more worn. And while his two daughters always looked their best, dad was not.
In an attempt to subtly update their father’s look, the girls had selected 10 pair of socks that were fun but fashionable. The wardrobe additions did their job. Dad came home from work one day and announced that he needed to invest in some new shoes. With all of the attention that his socks were garnering, his shoes were getting more attention than ever.
Looking for two or three pairs of Italian leather shoes was fun, even if it was expensive. When the final decisions were made, though, it was not surprising that it did not make sense to be wearing the new Italian leather shoes with the worn khakis that filled dad’s closet. So, the new Italian leather shoes lead to new dress slacks, which, of course, let to new shirts. And just like that, the updated wardrobe was complete.
What is the children’s book that dad used to read to the girls all of the time? If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? The transformation to dad’s wardrobe kind of happened like that. The socks led to the shoes; the shoes led to the pant; and the pants led to the shirts.
Is It Time to Update Your Tired and Worn Wardrobe?
Whether you make the decision to trade in your old oxfords for a new pair of luxury leather loafers or you decide to just add a new pair of Italian leather shoes in a different color, the decision to update your wardrobe is a decision to invest in yourself, your career, and your future. How you look affects how you feel about yourself and how other people feel about you. The decision to purchase the top quality men clothing sends the message that you mean business. Psychology studies indicate that first impressions are formed within the first seven to 17 seconds of meeting someone, and that 55% of a person’s opinion is determined by physical appearance.
Consider some of these facts about the designer fashion industry, from alligator skin shoes to ostrich skin boots for men:
- Quality leather dress shoes can accommodate tens of thousands of flexes.
- the On average consumer will typically have at least four leather items on at any one time, including items like shoes, a wallet, a belt, and a watch strap.
- 6 % of the shoe market share is made up of men?s dress shoes.
- Between the years 2009 and 2014, men?s designer footwear showed a retail value sales growth of 39%.
- Between the years 2009 and 2014, men?s luxury small leather goods and bags grew by 40% and 24%, respectively.
- Derbies and oxfords are the two types of formal lace-up shoes.
- In an interesting turn, men?s spending on luxury also grew almost twice as fast as women?s in 2011 and accounted for 40% of global sales. In that year men’s accounted for 14% compared with 8% for wonen’s.
- Although they are uniques, exotic leathers, like python, stingray, or crocodile, all fall under the ?other? category, indicating that exotic leathers only account for 1% of all globally-traded leathers.
- Rotating shoes at least once every other day can help you protect your footwear investment. Footwear materials compress when the wearer walks, so rotating them will give shoes time to spring back to normal between wearings.
- 75 million people, roughly 23% of the total U.S. population, are ?millennials,? defined as those between the ages of 18 and 34, and millennial men are a key consumer base for all kinds of personal accessories.
Some studies show that visual cues are three to five times more powerful audio cues, so it just makes sense that if you want to get somewhere in today’s competitive business world you need to look the part.