We recently received an inquiry about leather v. rubber soles. (you, know, the bottom of your shoes). Most menswear blogs loathe rubber soles; they’re new, a-traditional, and less expensive. Menswear, in all its own horn-tooting, is all about tradition and craftspersonship (because let’s be honest, your “hand-formed” leather soles were probably made by women who were being exploited). Rubber soles fly in the face of tradition and “craftspersonship” because they’re produced by machines. We say this: know your clothes and do what YOU want.

LEATHER

Barker Grant Calf Leather Brogue Shoes, Cedar

The Good

Leather soled shoes literally have leather for soles. These soles are thin, low-profile, traditional, and delicate. Leather soles are great for the traditional vibe; they are beautiful and classic.

The Bad

Leather soles, however, cannot withstand a lot of wear, especially outside and double-especially rain, snow, etc. Leather soles require new soles somewhat frequently. New soles run $15 and up. (Note: If you walk around on wet concrete or stone in leather soles, you will bust your ass! My brother suffered a concussion from slipping on slick marble on Christmas Eve!) 

You can also buy rubber overshoes for your leather soles, and your weather problem is solved. 

[Update, Jan 3] Ooops… left this out: leather soles are also bad because they come from baby animals, and animals are so much better when they’re alive and not slaughtered/on your feet. So if you must buy leather, buy vintage, because otherwise it’s brutal, inhumane, and wasteful of our precious resources to continue the exploitative and inhumane economy of leather production.

RUBBER

Calvin Klein Men’s Felix Oxford, featured recently on AnnMarie at her WEDDING

The Good

Rubber soles are infinitely more comfortable and more flexible than leather soles. They are thicker and made for exploring the wilderness. Rubber soles range from hiking shoes to vibram soles to crepe soles. 

The Bad

However, rubber doesn’t breathe at all. You will have to wear socks with these shoes. Also, rubber soles are newer than leather soles; they’re thicker and not as classy nor seen as classic. When you finally have to resole these babies, you may have to send them back to the makers (like, for Red Wings Boots, resoles costs $100…), or you may not be able to resole them at all. (However, this is a minute point; it should take years to wear out serious rubber soles.)

As for which one you should buy…it’s about aesthetics and your pocket book. If you really like leather soles and you can afford the upkeep (new soles, leather treatment, etc.), go for it. If you want a pair of shoes you can wear wherever, whenever, get some rubber soles!

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Anonymous asked: Hi there, I have a couple of really girly mini skirts (some with ruffles, some with lace, some with floral patterns) and I would love any suggestions on qwearing them up a bit (I already only wear skirts with converse, lol). thanks!

I’m glad you asked about this, because I love mini skirts and I need more of them in my life. (Not on me, but on cute queers for sure.) I think the key to queering things is to be yourself, be confident, and penetrate other queers on the street with sexy knowing eye contact.

Anything with a vintage, homemade, or with a burlesque style will lend a hand to queerness. Effingdykes (Thanks!!!!) observed in her latest post that femmes these days are really into bandannas tied on the head, liquid black cat-eye liner, lip and monroe piercings, high waisted skirts, wedge heels, anything with leapond-print or polka dots, outfits that mix sweet and nasty, and undercuts. Obvi you don’t have to do any of these things to be femme or look queer, (nor do you have to identify as femme to wear a mini skirt.) But I think these styles are a great thing to check out when you’re exploring your queer identity, since they are awesome and badass and give a nodd towards queer history and culture. But in the end, totes be yourself. Even if that means carrying a Coach purse. (Ok guys, I’m sorry for making fun of Coach and saying it was only for straight people.)

Now you’re thinking vintage, burlesque… eye liner… oy. Much more to think about than your average tank from the Gap. But as always, we learn best from example. Let’s see what Fit for a Femme does, shall we?

Nothing says femme better than studded ankle boots and leather. (source: fitforafemme.com)

Let’s look at another gay icon, Kristen Stewart. (I mean, what?)

You can see a peek of the red converse, and with the 80’s sweater look and everything put together… any queer could totally rock this look. Oh, Kristen… (source: team-twilight.com)

I don’t know who this is, but I love their style:

It’s kindddda punk, (apparently inspired by Sonic Youth?) but totally a different interpretation of the whole mini skirt thing. Also with Converse…. and that hair… yum. (source: www.gastrochic.com)

Related posts: Ugly Sweaters, Skirts With Street Shoes