Old School Kicks

This big trend I've been seeing lately- and a really fun one that I hope sticks around, at that- is the ressurgence of old school style shoes, for both men and women. Saddle shoes, Brogues, wingtips, oxfords, basically anything that we would once have ruled out as 'old-looking.' But think, what makes them old? Yeah, they were often worn by business men MadMen style back in the 50s, but in all honesty, they are really versatile shoes that require solid construction and often posess a high degree of artisanship.

What I really like about this trend is that this retro style of shoe can be found at pretty much any price point. If you want to splurge, Prada has definately been brining back the perforated leather wingtip, but you can also run out to any Salvation Army and probably end up finding a similar looking shoe for a fraction of the cost.

Old School shoes are really versatile, too. Get a nice pair of caramel colored wingtips or saddleshoes in a brown color palette and you can pair them with a grey suit for the workplace, or some cuffed jeans for a new-meets-old-meets-casual-meets-formal look.

This style of shoe is also totally acceptable for the ladies as well. I've seen some great adaptations with heels if you want the feminine/masculine/blend look, like these from Pedro Garcia:

With the right attitude you could totally rock these out sexy-librarian style!! Just make sure if you are going to be wearing this masculine-inspired shoe that the rest of your outfit does incorporate some feminine details. I would pair this shoe with a ruffled blouse. Or drape-y sweater.

So, kids, the moral of the story is don't worry if something looks old or not, because chances are it will come back into style eventually. And, according to the cardinal rule, it's not what you wear but how you wear it.