The Guide: Perfect Leather Shoes

We men have been wearing leather shoes practically our whole lives. We wore them on our first day to school, our high school prom, our college graduation, and every single day we go to the office. That is why despite all the time we have them on our feet, it is an utter mystery to me as to why so few of us get it right.

My usual problem when I look at a man's leather shoe is the cut. I don't know whether it's something in the water, but a lot of men gravitate towards square-toed shoes. Instead of highlighting the slender shape of one's foot, these bulky foot-weights make your feet appear larger than they are. And, no, what they say about large feet does no apply here. No matter which woman you ask, that is not sexy.

The Square-Toed: Avoid at all costs!

At the other end of the spectrum are the overly pointed shoes. While hailed by some as fashionable, I on the other hand call them tacky. Like their square-toed counterparts, they do not flatter your feet, but rather elongate them abnormally, making comparisons to Dopey and Grumpy quite unavoidable. Hearing the "nakakamatay naman ang sapatos mo" comment over and over again alone should get you thinking about getting these oversized spikes. Have some self-respect and reserve those retorts for your girlfriend's stilettos.

The Overly Pointed Shoes: If looks could kill...

As with all things in life, moderation and balance are key in finding the perfect leather shoes. It is a compromise of the bulkiness of the square-toed and the severe slenderness of the pointed. I'm talking about shoes cut close to the foot and with a sharp rounded toe; no buckles, no studs, no nothing. Yes, it's that simple. The best thing about it? A lot of local stores already sell these from Zara to Diego to Traffic. My personal favorite though is the one from Marc Jacobs in Rustan's Makati (pictured below). Coming in different price ranges from the very high to the very reasonable, this leaves no excuse to seeing men in hideous leather shoes ever again.

The Perfect Leather Shoes as interpreted by Marc Jacobs