Businessman wearing purple shoelaces

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This morning the train was, as usual, full of commuters. Business people, students, shoppers and tourists too. Standing by the door waiting for his stop I noticed a tall man. He was sharply dressed, wearing a well-tailored but understated dark suit. With greying hair and aged about fifty-something, he was nicely groomed and exuded a subtle kind of elegance. When I looked down I noticed that his shoes, classic black leather dress shoes, were laced with bright purple shoelaces. That was kind of a surprise, a bit unexpected! A touch of humour or a little dash of individual style? In any case, it broke with his otherwise classic business look.

It was just a small detail but the splash of colour was enough to make a difference. In my mind this suited businessman stood out from all of the other suited businessmen stepping on and off the train. I got to thinking about individual style and how it is expressed. Very often a seemingly insignificant detail can have the power to turn a fairly humdrum or run-of-the-mill look into something a lot more exciting and special. And this time it was a pair of coloured shoelaces.

And that got me to thinking about shoelaces. We don’t often give our shoelaces much thought do we? They are mostly black or brown and as the shoes we buy come pre-laced we don’t have to think about them unless they need to be replaced, if and when they break or snap or fray. Given that most of us have far too many pairs of shoes and that we rarely wear the same pair day in and day out even the possibility of a laces becoming worn or used is quite unlikely. They tend to last as long as the shoes do! So perhaps replacing laces today is more about customizing, having fun, playing with colour and creating a point of interest?

TheHouseOf Laces.com is specialized in high-quality French-made shoelaces. They stock a great range of styles such as waxed, round, wide, flat and cord and all of these are available in a rainbow of bright and cheery colours. The site provides a wealth of information about the different styles of laces and what types of shoes they suit. It is also full of useful suggestions about how to mix and match, contrast and harmonize colours in order to create the best effects on polished leather, suede or canvas.

The key to creating a more individual and personalised style is simply to get creative. Try out different colours and styles on a range of your footwear. Check out the contents of your wardrobe and see where you can mix and match and make the best of details such as stitching on cuffs, collars and buttons. Look at your accessories, ties, scarves and belts and decide what colour combinations would make them come into their own. Remember that a touch of colour can do wonders. The overall look needn’t be flashy or extravagant. You could try a dark purple tie on a black shirt with a dark suit and dark purple laces on your dress shoes for example. Just have fun with it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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