Let the soles talk
“I collect shoes like some women collect purses,” Hamilton said. He piles his collection neatly in boxes, and never wears them without socks. Hamilton is also meticulous about his shoe maintenance, cleaning his collection and making sure they are taken care of.
“My shoes have to look good,” Hamilton said. “My mom always told me that you can measure a man by his shoes. They don’t have to be expensive, but if they take care of it, chances are, the man has his head straight.”
One pair of shoes are hard to find these days and Hamilton has mastered the art of finding them affordably. He may not go to major retail stores, but it’s not about snubbing popular shoe stores.
“For me, my shoes fit my mood,” Hamilton said. “I also like for my shoes to show personality and that’s hard to find at a place where they sell shoes in bulk.”
But style and functionality aside, many of Hamilton’s shoes tell a story. One pair of shoes includes an authentic Native American moccasin boots with no soles that have traveled with him all the way to Russia.
“It’s definitely past a fashion statement,” Hamilton said. “My shoes help define my character.”
Jim Surber has always looked more mature than people his age. A senior Spanish major, Surber is mostly known for riding an antique bike to campus and corduroy pants. But perhaps his aging process is directly attached to one of his favorite pair he proudly dons: a vintage wingtip pair of spectator Oxford shoes.
Surber has been an aficionado of older fashions particularly those popular during the Art Deco movement that lasted from 1925 until 1939. The shoes generally waned popularity in the early 50s.
“I just really like the way they don’t look so cookie-cutter,” Surber said. “They aren’t shoes you see typically on college students.”
The vintage wingtips were first introduced to the public in the late 1800s and have evolved and gained popularity. Although most people generally see them as period shoes, Surber, has made it a daily part of his wardrobe.
“Shoes that everyone else wears are absolutely fine,” Surber said. “But for me, I just never like to be in a certain box and follow a cookie-cutter kind of standard.”
His shoes are definitely bridging generation gaps having the wingtip Oxford’s passed on from his grandfather’s generated to Surber’s generation.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 24 2008. Filed under Features.
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