Textured Footwear Trend and Collections – Suede Sneakers

Im back. After a brief fashion sabbatical I am now ready to rock, roll and get into contributing to this great site once again.

Generally my articles will focus around clothing ideas for males in there late 20’s early 30’s and those that aim to dress in a way associated with that age range. Hopefully this piece, will be the catalyst of many more articles from me aimed at suggesting ideas to supplement smart, sophisticated yet simple looks that encapsulate the fashion holy grail for the older gent, understated style.

This article was due to be focused on casual adult footwear, the ‘grown-up’ sneaker. That article is now due to be published within the next couple weeks. While writing it, I came across the trend of textured footwear for Spring/Summer 2010 – namely Suede. In a time where we (men) now have more choice of footwear than ever before, that choice means one finds it that little bit more difficult to be individual in our selection of footwear. While a number of brands continue to release similar styles, a slim silhouette, canvas upper, vulcanised sole, one way to differentiate you from what others are wearing is in the texture of the upper. There is something about suede that is neat, versatile and is the perfect material to compliment that transitional Spring to Summer period that we are about to embark upon.

There are now a good number of what I call fashionable/cultured brands that have adopted and driven forward the trend and I for one have already embraced it. They are versatile and can be worn with denim, soon to be prevalent chinos and/or linen trousers. Team with a bold coloured cardigan or classic blazer and I think suede upper footwear’s real strength becomes clear. They are easily dressed up or down. To keep the upper fresh, invest in a suitable brush and/or footwear protector spray.

Examples below are lead by the aforementioned brand types but supplemented with some familiar brands also.

So here goes.

Pointer Shoes

These Pointers work so well because of the tone on tone use of different materials. The mix of suede upper with nubuck and leather creates a multi-panel shoe, showcasing detailed construction but remaining subtle because the difference in colour tone is kept to a minimum.

Veja Kicks

Keeping it High top, ethical and classy. Veja’s. The white vulcanised sole compliments the warm looking suede upper, so well. These Veja’s can only be described as EXCLUSIVE!

Puma Suede

I have a pair of these myself in a wonderful chocolate brown and caramel colourway. Puma Suedes/Clydes provide the wearer with an authentic shoe, with a great finish in sophisticated colours. These sneakers are available in limited numbers only so be sure to pick up a pair sooner rather than later. Keep an eye out for the salmon colourway that drops soon – they look better than you probably imagine they would! Also, the combination of a classic shoe in a colour & finish to get you noticed (for all the right reasons) is undoubtedly a winning combination. My understanding is that Puma will be releasing two colourways periodically over the coming months. You heard it here first!

Superga Suede

I think you all know that Superga’s are my favourite classic, no fuss, grown-up, casual footwear. Their take on the suede look… well… it just works!

Suede Vans

A classic shoe providing Suede/textured options, for those wanting to stick to a brand they know but still get on board with the trend.

See you next week – when I hope to highlight what I intended originally to share with you guys… grown up footwear for the fashion conscience, mature man.