Shoes

Some of you readers know me personally, but many more don't. If you're in the second group, there's something you probably don't know about me: I have almost no interest in material possessions. In fact, the less stuff I have, the less I have to worry about the stuff I have. However, every so often, I'm pretty much forced to get... stuff. And things.

Anyway, as previously referenced, I have to be at a trade show every January, and among the many things I don't like about trade shows is the expectation that one should dress as if one didn't just get out of bed and put on the closest and most comfortable thing one finds, as I tend to do during the other 350 days of the year that I'm not doing trade shows. Back when I was a young and ambitious corporate weenie, I would wear suits to trade shows. But those days ended long ago (I'm coming up on my seventh year as an independent businessman), and nowadays I try and do a hybrid of the businesslike and the casual. It fits my personality better, in any case.

More importantly, when you know you're going to be standing eight hours a day, and walking miles and miles around a convention center, there's nothing more important than good shoes. While I already have a couple of nive pairs of dress shoes, it really is torturous to have those hard soles under your feet all day. So, I went out with Kat and my son over the weekend and did some shopping. I bought a bunch of stuff, but I was happy to stumble across a couple of pairs of shoes that I thought were a nice bridge between being dressy and comfortable. Since I'm refusing to wear anything but jeans (albeit with a dress shirt and sports jacket), these should look pretty good and not hurt my precious feeties while I romp around the Anaheim Convention Center this year.

Cole Haan Zeno II Slip On


The only thing I know about shoes is that it's an area of apparel worth spending money and worth being brand conscious. There's a reason why Cole Haan has a long-standing great reputation as a shoe maker... their stuff is good.

Rockport Chartley


Again, Rockport has a reputation for being high quality and comfortable, and these may look a wee bit geeky, but since it's probably going to be raining this week, I wanted something that won't have me going ass-over-teakettle as I stroll around Anaheim. These look like they'll work. Besides, I never seem to have brown shoes, and I invariably find I need them occasionally.

So, there we have it. I no longer need to worry about walking around a trade show in my Nike Air Force 1's or my Vans skateboard shoes. That's probably a good thing.