At what age should one stop wearing...

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by kitonbrioni

No Speedos after 18.

I agree, at 18 you're ready for the sheer luxury of a RLPL thong.

 

[di Robilant]

Dear Britalian :

I am intrigued : why did you insert the Latin word "sic" in the second paragraph of your post ?

Now, let us talk about trainers (or, if you will, sneakers) . I abhor, generally speaking (of which more below), the inappropriate - i.e., qua street-wear - use of trainers ; infact, during the course of a newspaper interview concerning my shoe collection, which I gave some years ago, I went so far as to state that I shouldn't give a woman a second glance if I discovered that she was wearing trainers (outside the gym or track, obviously) . My feelings of disgust are due, I must confess, in large measure to the fact that having been transplanted (kicking and screaming) by my cruel parents from Rome to London when I was 15, I have been forced to endure decades-long visual pollution and the most egregious sartorial crimes imaginable, all perpetrated by a belligerent and barbaric people known as the English . Oh, how I've suffered (and continue to suffer) . I cannot, for example, think of the 80's, without being transported to an Oxford Street positively formicating with a vast sea of ugly people, wearing ugly clothes and eating ugly fast food . It seemed that every man under the age of 35 wore a brown antiqued leather jacket, white T-shirt, (horror of horrors) 'snow-washed' jeans and, yes, ugly, white, scuffed trainers . The final touch of authenticity was accomplished by an acne-scarred face .

Worse was to come : for reasons best known to themseves - I do not, unfortunately, hold a degree in deviant psychology - parents and grand-parents joined in ! No weekend was complete without the sight of 'leisure-suited' couples at retail malls - often in matching 'shell-suits' . (The horror, the horror .)

Having said this, I whole-heartedly approve of so-called 'hybrids' ; you know the ones - half shoe, half trainer - particularly when made by upscale Italian shoe manufacturers such as Pantofola d'Oro, Santoni, Etro, et al . I have enjoyed for at least the last six years the eccentric classiness of mating lounge suits - not the most formal, of course - with brown (antiqued calf or reverse-calf) hybrids . But then, I enjoy striking at least one dissonant note in my ensemble : that dissonance might come from wearing (simultaneously) two pochettes or wearing a linen scarf instead of a tie or wearing a summer (linen or cotton) suit without hose .

What is important is to : (1) know the rules (the classical canon established in the 30's) ; (2) know when and how to break them ; (3) always do it with 'taste' .

 

[skalogre]

I only have ONE pair of what would be defined as :sneakers" - a pair of New Balance running shoes. Pretty no but functionally they atre bloody great. I don't run anymore (shin and boredom problems) so I rarely wear them. I do wear my Bexley Santa Monika brown leather sneaker-like casual shoes and Puma Futurecats in teh summer (see the thread initiated by Soph). WIth jeans for me it is always boots, full brogues (and occassionally wholecuts).

 

[someoneNew]

I don't like the look of sports shoes (nike, adidas, etc.), and I wear my one pair only when jogging.

But I have to wonder if the increasing popularity of "comfortable" clothing is a decline of fashion or a desire to be comfortable?

After all, 30-40 years ago sneakers weren't really that comfortable. Anyone who wears Chucks can attest to that. They are simply foot coverings, nothing compared to the support and comfort of today's ugly moon shoes. So it's possible that there is this large demand to wear sports shoes because they're actually comfortable nowdays? And this could follow clothing as well, whereas you could find fashionable traditional clothing in the past, finding comfortable casual clothing seemed much less likely.

Either way, as far as the title, if you can pull it off without looking like you're "trying to pull off a look" then it's fine. You always read the can't wear; jerseys, shorts, concert t's, long hair, cargo shorts, etc. etc. but older men often do and often look better than kids in their 20s wearing the same clothes.

However, once one wears socks and sandles, they should stop wearing this combination after the first ridicule.

 

[skalogre]

P.s. I would NOT wear anything other than more casual outfits with my "sneakers". If I am wearing a suit or a sharper outfit I am wearing nice laceup shoes, heat be damned

 

[life_interrupts]

Sneakers/trainers/whatever should be worn with a purpose. I wear mine to the gym (1 pair), to do yard work (another pair), and on shopping expeditions to Home Depot or the like (see the next line). I have a pair of Steven Madden "trainers" which could no more handle any real exercise than there's a man in the moon. There are too many well-designed and stylish shoes made with all the support and comfort needed for those who prefer trainers to not dump the New Balance trainers that never work out, but are kept around.

All this being said, as a kid I never had less than 5 pair, two for school, one for yard work, plus those for whatever sports I was playing (track and field, football, basketball).

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by kitonbrioni

No Speedos after 18.

The age thing is irrelevant. I think it should be no speedos unless you actually compete (I did competitive swimming until midway through my freshman year). Otherwise, bathing/swim shorts, even if you're working out.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I agree, at 18 you're ready for the sheer luxury of a RLPL thong.

thanks for bringing that memory back...

 

[GBR]

At death.

it is irresponsible to even suggest that any particular adult garment CANNOT be worn at any age. If you feel comfortable and if it is an appropriate occasion then do it.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by kitonbrioni

No Speedos after 18.
Brazilians and Europeans disagree.

I have never seen any of those cultures wear what Americans wear as bathing suits.

 

[JLibourel]

Originally Posted by Vintage Gent

Around the time of my mid-20s I stopped wearing excercise shoes for anything but exercise. More so than almost anything else, the ubiquity of athetic shoes is an emblem of the declining standards of dress in our age.

Well said, Gent! There is also the salient fact that the vast majority of these shoes are the most garish, gawdawful looking things imaginable...except maybe for those hideous "croc shoes" that have recently come into vogue

 

[acidboy]

what about casual sneakers? not the athletic type, but the likes of adidas sambas, converse jack purcells and onitsuka mexico 66? i for one do like to wear dress shoes and loafers all the time (i'm in my 30s btw) but there are times when you have to step out and wearing a c&j would be inappropriate- like going on a weekend trip outside the city.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

what about casual sneakers? not the athletic type, but the likes of adidas sambas, converse jack purcells and onitsuka mexico 66? i for one do like to wear dress shoes and loafers all the time (i'm in my 30s btw) but there are times when you have to step out and wearing a c&j would be inappropriate- like going on a weekend trip outside the city.

Those shoes you mentioned were the grandaddy of sneakers a few decades ago. They've just been replaced with steriod injected grandchildren. As athletes get stronger and faster, they demand shoes that can keep pace with their prowess. Imagine Vince Carter or Shaq playing basketball with Chucks today. They'd destroy a pair half way into a game, not to mention breaking their own ankles. I still wear my hi-top Chucks today, but mostly on lazy jeans-and-sneaks days. My Nike basketball and New Balance running shoes are mostly relegated to the court and the gym, respectively. Once in a while, I do wear jeans with running shoes, particularly on casual days when I expect to do a lot of walking.

 

[Britalian]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

what about casual sneakers? not the athletic type, but the likes of adidas sambas, converse jack purcells and onitsuka mexico 66? i for one do like to wear dress shoes and loafers all the time (i'm in my 30s btw) but there are times when you have to step out and wearing a c&j would be inappropriate- like going on a weekend trip outside the city.

re. my 'sic': the final nine words above give you an idea. Also, possibly: slobbing around ones house and back yard etc.: wearing trainers in ones usual public stomping ground might not be feasible for some folks.
Somewhere, someone wrote that in certain social circles one may be risking ones reputation, ones kudos if inappropriately attired.

 

[GBR]

Death!

If you feel comfortable wearing any garment and the circumstances are appropriate then do so.