Chucks or sneaks? Picture by Jillian Sloan
Guys may not have an entire closet full of shoes (or maybe they do), but it doesn’t mean that their shoe choice doesn’t say something about their personality. From flip-flops to chucks, shoes can be a key element to learning something about the guys students do know, the guys they want to get to know and the strangers walking by their table at Einstein’s.
Flip-flops
A flip-flop-wearing guy is the ultimate laid-back male. Cool and savvy, these guys are so chilled out that they don’t even care to tie their shoes in the morning. Torrey Kolesar, a chemical engineering and business junior, says he wears flip-flops because they’re comfortable and easier to slip on. “It’s definitely more chill,” he says.
Be warned, however, that being laid-back easily translates to being lazy. Friends of the flip-flopper may find them to be flaky on occasion or lack motivation at times.
Trendy Sneaks
A guy with a room full of trendy sneakers (like Nikes or Adidas) could have a few simultaneous traits going on. He’s definitely trying to be put-together while still being seen as trendy or cool. This can mean a couple things: That he’s creative and independent, or that he’s just trying to impress everyone with his colorful and probably expensive wardrobe of shoes.
Chucks/Vans
Wearing Converse or Vans is typically a trait of the indie guy. Artistic and eccentric, this guy usually marches to the beat of his own drum (and probably the indie band pumping away on his iPod). Be on the lookout for posers, though; just buying a pair of Converse does not make you indie.
TOMS
This unique company gives a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair of shoes that customers purchase. This guy is sure to be sincere and cares deeply for the people in his life. A guy that’s confident enough to wear these, just so a little kid in Africa doesn’t have to go barefoot, is definitely going to be genuine.
Loafers
SPM admires the man who dons loafers because it’s a bold move of independence. “I think it’s classy,” Spencer Hanvik, a creative writing sophomore says. “It says ‘I care about how I dress; I thought about this,” he says.
Tennis shoes
Obviously there’s no dissecting a guy who wears athletic shoes: He either is an athlete or is dying to be one.
On a different note, while there’s something casual about the guy with no-name (or unmentionably named) tennis shoes, it could also mean that he just hasn’t quite figured himself out yet. Guys who pay no attention to their choice of footwear and throw on a pair of white shoes they’ve had since high school may not know who they are yet enough to pick a style of their own.
Crocs
Need we say more?
Whatever his shoe choice may be, SPM doesn’t advise judging a guy by what’s on his feet, unless of course he has some sort of strange fungus, because folks, that’s just gross.
Reach the reporter at wesmith1@asu.edu
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, please say more. I fancy myself a pair of breathable, comfortable, lightweight, fugly shoes. Although I’m married, I need to know what the ladies are thinking.
As a man with collection of expensive and colorful/rare sneakers, I have to say, I’m not trying to impress anyone. If someone notices my kicks, good. That kind of thing makes my day. And if they don’t, that’s OK too. I won’t cry. Well, maybe I will, but not for long.
See, Mel, I disagree. I think you do need people to notice your kicks. Why else would you wear them? You don’t walk around staring at your own feet all day, do you?
And Alan, please don’t wear Crocs. Just don’t. SPM doesn’t mean to be bias against those seemingly blind people who think it’s a good idea to strap red rubber onto their feet — but we are, nonetheless.
I agree completely with the tacky super-bright colors. But what if I told you that mine were an attractive, inoffensive shade of brown?