Dress Shoes (For Men)?

[Mostly Random Dude]

I started a new gig recently and have to talk to investors a fair bit again (talk = kiss their behinds mostly, of course). Predictably, I was only able to find one of the two shoes I used to wear with the suit decades ago. That puts me at the horns of a dilemma that I'd like some communal input. I.e. I can go "new vegan" or "used leather".

By "new vegan" I mean go out and get myself brand new vegan dress shoes. It could either be pret a porte, e.g. something like this: https://www.nemanti.com/. I can even get them custom-made - most bespoke makers will accommodate requests like that (they bloody better, for USD1k+/pair). Alternatively, I can buy used but fancy leather shoes on Ebay, cheap(er) and easy.

I see pros and cons in both choices but I am not married to either one. What do people here suggest?

 

[TofuRobot]

Hello and welcome!

If I were in your situation and money were no object, I'd def. go custom-made or buy really high-quality vegan. I still own leather shoes - boots, mostly - that will probably last me the rest of my life so I'm going to wear them till they fall apart, but I'm not sure I would even buy leather second-hand. I do think it's better than buying leather 1st-hand, but it just feels like it's indirectly perpetuating the demand for leather. I would, however, take a hand-me-down, if that situation came up. I'd rather it go to me than into the trash or into someone's hands that didn't otherwise care.

OK - so after writing all that I clicked on your like. Those Italian shoes are really nice!! I am a 54 y/o woman who has a thing for man's shoes - as in, I wish they made shoes like that in my size! But it's practically impossible since I wear a US size 6/European size 36. If you know where I can find smaller, nice , men's shoes, please share!!

Edit: I just realized they have mens-like shoes in the women's section on that site.... *drools* Literally no one in the USA makes anything like that....... Sweet!

 

[Mischief]

If (and this is a big "if"), by buying a used pair of leather shoes you wouldn't increase the overall demand for leather shoes by one pair, then buying a used leather pair would cause less harm than buying a new vegan pair. (Because anything new we manufacture causes harm to animals somewhere along the line.)

That's the logical aspect of it. However, for me personally, I can't bear the thought of using the skin of someone who was killed because someone else wanted to use her/his skin.

My answer for myself is to buy secondhand nonleather shoes, but I have the luxury of not having to own high end shoes, for which I'm grateful.

In short, I don't think there's a clear cut "right" answer for you. Do what you think is best.

 

[Mostly Random Dude]

Hello and welcome!

Why, thank you!

If I were in your situation and money were no object, I'd def. go custom-made or buy really high-quality vegan. I still own leather shoes - boots, mostly - that will probably last me the rest of my life so I'm going to wear them till they fall apart, but I'm not sure I would even buy leather second-hand. I do think it's better than buying leather 1st-hand, but it just feels like it's indirectly perpetuating the demand for leather. I would, however, take a hand-me-down, if that situation came up. I'd rather it go to me than into the trash or into someone's hands that didn't otherwise care.

I can afford a new pair of bespoke shoes and was going to go down that road, but now I've thought about it and decided that from impact perspective used leather is best. My thinking stems from the fact that most unsold used clothing items end up in a landfill (fact,) and thus will cause no upstream increase in demand (conjecture, but it's not like the guy selling shoes off his feet and will run out to buy a new pair).

If (and this is a big "if"), by buying a used pair of leather shoes you wouldn't increase the overall demand for leather shoes by one pair, then buying a used leather pair would cause less harm than buying a new vegan pair. (Because anything new we manufacture causes harm to animals somewhere along the line.)

There are few arguments pro and con it in my mind. On one hand, as you said, manufacturing is a bad thing and causes damage somewhere in some shape (pro "used leather"). On the other hand, whoever is selling those shoes will probably go and buy himself another pair (pro "new vegan"). On the third hand, supporting a vegan manufacturer is a good thing cause we can use more good vegan stuff (pro "new vegan"). On the fourth hand, most of the used clothing and shoes end up in the landfill which is bad (pro "used leather"). Finally, if you assume that I have a budget (I sort-of do, cause my first inclination was to go bespoke), spend say 100 out of 1000 and give the rest to a good cause (pro "used leather").

In short, I don't think there's a clear cut "right" answer for you. Do what you think is best.

Actually, I think from the pure quantitative perspective (least impact) there is a "right" answer. We just don't have all of the information to make that choice. In any case, I was leaning towards new vegan early this morning, but after some consideration decided to go with used leather.

PS. Someone should build a website that would go through impact choices like that so I don't have to think - thinking is expensive
PPS. To be honest, best thing would be to buy nothing, but sadly that's not going to work considering the industry I am in

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum

Hope your head isn't hurting too much from all that analysing.

So I suggest you go with your $100 used shoes and then do so well at kissing butt that you can shortly afford the new vegan shoes whereby you can then donate your shoes back to a charity shop and all will be well.

Emma JC

 

[Lou]

Here are some more choices

The Best Vegan Dress Shoes for Men - Vegan Men Shoes

Plenty of vegan brands produce sustainable and animal-friendly shoes which can compete with leather shoes in terms of quality and appearance. See them here!

veganmenshoes.com