Mens Shoe Blog

Men's car shoes could add an extra pair of practical footwear to the typical male driver's wardrobe - closing the gap on his female counterparts' wealth of sandals, boots and high heels.

According to female car insurance specialist Diamond, the average woman has 19 pairs of shoes - 12 more than she actually regularly wears.

Most of these are high heels, and 36% of women will wear shoes that are not comfortable, because they like the way they look.

The insurer is now running a competition promising over £3,000 to spend on shoes for one woman who takes out one of its car insurance policies - which include cover for handbag contents as standard - before the end of April.

While that is enough to buy at least 70 pairs of shoes, based on the average price paid by the women surveyed, men are often more practically minded.

As such, they are less likely to opt for the discomfort - and potential driving risk - of a large heel while at the wheel.

Instead, men's car shoes provide a comfortable footwear option that can be kept in the vehicle, with a good amount of feeling for the position of your pedals too.

Modern-day handmade leather shoes offer excellent levels of comfort, with ergonomic designs calculated by computers to support your stance and cushion each footfall when you walk.

However, the psychological process when you buy handmade leather shoes could hark back to the early days of human civilisation, according to a retail analyst.

A report from Intellima explains that many of the products we buy satisfy fairly primitive urges that have evolved over the generations, but can still be traced back to our caveman days.

These fall into three broad trends: to conform, to explore, and to seek reward.

For example, we tend to cherish classic designs and timeless elegance - and men's designer shoes certainly seem to support this proposition.

We also like to feel good in ourselves, and look good to others.

At the same time, we seek to cross new boundaries and blur cultural lines, such as wearing men's Italian shoes as everyday footwear in the UK.

Finally, the search for a sense of reward seems to fit with the concept of retail therapy - and a really good new pair of shoes can be a wonderful thing the first time you slip them on to your feet.

Buying casual shoes online can offer a much lower-stress experience than shopping for footwear on the high street.

In a recent opinion piece from Verdict Research, clothing and footwear analysts Kate Ormrod and Honor Westnedge give contrasting opinions on whether high street retailers should move to an online business model.

And while they disagree in principle, they agree on certain aspects of the high street shopping experience - such as the stress levels involved.

Ms Westnedge says this actually helps some real-world retailers to sell more, because stressed shoppers hurry through their stores, grabbing items in the rush to leave as quickly as possible.

But Ms Ormrod adds: "The online channel provides a relatively hassle-free shopping experience, which would encourage shoppers to browse for longer."

And if you buy casual shoes online, there are no queues once you have chosen the style and size that you want.

Combined with sensible, no-stress returns policies, these reasons make shopping online a compelling proposition for anyone who's been left with a headache by uninviting high street stores in the past.

The latest update from IBISWorld on the leather boot industry shows growing demand across the board - which is likely to include handmade leather shoes as one segment of the market.

In figures relating to the US market, the analyst reports annual growth of 0.6% each year between 2008 and 2013, which is positive news when considered against the global economic turbulence of the past half-decade.

The figures show some particularly American trends, with sales driven in part by demand for cowboy boots, while specific markets like equestrianism are also strong growth segments at present.

However, translating the data into a European context, it is clear that demand for good-quality footwear continues despite the economic conditions seen in some markets.

Whether that means a sturdy pair of men's Chelsea boots, or a stylish pair of handmade leather shoes, the market has enough variety to satisfy even the most specific of demands.

Thanks to the innovation of online retail, it is also easier than ever before to buy from overseas designers - making desirable items like men's Italian shoes a little easier to get hold of within the UK.

Many people's search behaviour is being revolutionised through the use of tablets - and that includes shoppers buying boots for men online.

A tablet combines the screen size of a netbook with the convenience of a touchscreen display and ultra-portability, making for a best-of-both-worlds solution that many technophiles have already embraced.

This is apparent in the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, compiled in collaboration with Google, which show the surge in search activity within the retail sector that can be traced back to tablet devices.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, total retail search activity grew by 14% year-on-year; but tablets saw a massive surge of 238% in search activity.

Clothing led this trend, rising by 273% compared with the fourth quarter of 2011 - and if you searched for boots for men or women, or any other kind of clothing, from a tablet in the run-up to Christmas then there is a good chance that you are a part of that statistic.

Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC, points out that international searches coming into the UK retail sector grew by 25% year-on-year too, highlighting "the increasing importance of having a foothold on the global stage" and the strength of the UK as an ecommerce destination.

Men's Chelsea boots are a good investment for anyone who has found themselves ill-prepared for the return of wintry weather across the UK.

Several parts of the country - particularly through the north-west, West Midlands and into Wales - have already seen heavy snowfall, and Met Office forecasts are for this to continue into the start of next week.

Men's Chelsea boots offer several features that are ideal for such heavy weather - not least the protection given to the full foot by being well encased in soft, comfortable leather.

The ankle support as the boot's upper extends upwards at the base of the leg could help to plant your feet more confidently on icy ground, or on uneven surfaces disguised by snow.

And the elasticated side panels can help to keep snow from entering the boot itself, when compared with more open designs such as lacing.

Many of these benefits apply equally well in the rain as they do in the snow - making Chelsea boots a good long-term investment for the months ahead, which are likely to be fairly inclement.

If you're looking for men's boots in the January sales, you could be in for a better real-terms bargain than in many previous years.

That is because footwear as a whole hasn't grown in price for ten months - yet has still shown signs of its post-Christmas seasonal drop in prices in 2013 so far.

Overall, non-food price inflation "stayed flat in December", according to Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium.

This follows a 0.3% drop in prices in November, while food prices continue to grow relatively sharply at rates of over 4% in each of those two months.

Ms Dickinson says the flat rate of inflation in non-food goods is "thanks in no small part to electricals, footwear and clothing".

These, she adds, are perennially popular categories among Christmas shoppers - but have shown a consistent rate of price deflation for almost a year.

For January sales shoppers, that means special offers are coming off the back of prices that are already low in real terms - and could make that perfect pair of men's boots even more affordable.

The coming year is likely to see a significant proportion of Brits splash out some of their savings on men's designer shoes, as footwear and clothing are among the most popular areas of expenditure in consumers' New Year plans.

According to building society Norwich & Peterborough, holidays are the single greatest priority as 40% of people are saving towards a getaway in 2013 - rising to 67% of the population in the north-east.

But clothing and footwear rank second on the list at 13% of all people, indicating continued demand for women's and men's designer shoes and boots.

Other areas of expenditure making the top five include clearing debts, buying a car or motorbike, and putting a deposit down on a house, all scoring 8-12% of the vote.

While a holiday can help you to de-stress, it is perhaps the most frivolous purchase on the list, while debts, a new car and a mortgage deposit can all be purely practical destinations for your savings.

With new men's shoes or boots, however, you get the best of both worlds - a treat that shouldn't break the bank, and a practical replacement for damaged shoes that didn't make it through the heavy weather of the winter months.

Men's designer shoes don't have to cost the Earth if you buy online, but Sainsbury's Bank has still told householders to work out just how much their wardrobe contents are worth.

Already, the average household's combined clothing and footwear comes to an estimated £1,891 - and that doesn't include new additions made during this winter.

If you're giving men's designer shoes as a gift, or just buying a new pair of car shoes to keep your feet comfortable during winter drives, you could add a little extra to that total.

Combined with gloves, woolly jumpers and winter coats, this is expected to see the total household wardrobe value rise to around £2,237.

Buying online is one way to cut down on the amount you pay, as online retailers typically don't have to cover the same costs - such as business rates, heating and lighting - that are faced by bricks-and-mortar shoe shops.

And with generous returns policies, there's no unnecessary risk associated with a new pair of shoes not quite fitting properly, as you can always just send them back if they're not quite right.

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Shopping for men's designer shoes has never been easier than in this age of order-online, home-delivery internet purchases.

But if you've got men's designer shoes on your Christmas shopping list for a much-loved friend or family member, your smartphone could be your best friend.

A recent post on the Nokia Conversations blog highlights how the Nokia Lumia range of Windows Phones can be used to create a simple checklist of items to buy.

By listing, for example, men's Italian shoes in the included OneNote application, and marking them as a 'to-do' item, you're given a checkbox to tick once you've placed your order.

From there, it's a short hop to your phone's web browser to place your order, and a return to OneNote to tick it off once it's confirmed.

But you don't have to be a Nokia user to shop for men's Italian shoes online, or to keep track of whose presents you have and haven't bought yet.

While OneNote is included as standard on Windows Phones, you can get apps with similar functionality for iOS and Android handsets too - or, of course, you could just place an order via your PC, laptop or tablet.