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Men's Style

My honest review of Grenson shoes

chanman · Nov 7, 2017 · 2 Comments

I’m a big fan of Grenson shoes. I own three pairs and I think that they’re the best shoes that you can buy in England in terms of looks and beauty. (I’ve written before about resoling a pair of my Grensons in this post)

There are better known English shoes such as Churches and Crockett & Jones, but Grenson are designed for aesthetics. Check out the site here.

Look at these Grensons that I own:

grenson review

Beautiful aren’t they.

The pros

  1. We’ve said it above: they’re beautiful. People do look at them and compliment you on them. You also catch yourself looking at these yourself when wearing them.
  2. They are classic English shoes from Northampton – in other words they have pedigree.
  3. They aren’t as expensive as other fine English shoes. They retail in the £200s, whilst Churches and Crocketts are in the £300s.

The cons

  1. They definitely aren’t as robust as I’d hope. I’ve had the heels fall off the back of a pair before. The heel was only attached by a bit of adhesive and a few very short tacks (nails). This is not good for shoes that cost so much.
  2. The shiny finish scratches quite easily. Most models of Grensons ship with a high polish, which unfortunately can catch scuffs and nicks if you’re not careful.
  3. They aren’t that comfortable. I have quite wide feet and the aesthetic of these shoes is quite slim. The soles on the leather soled shoes are also quite thin (for the aesthetic again) and you can definitely feel the bumps underfoot when walking.
  4. They are expensive. More expensive than Loake and Barker.

Overall

I love Grenson and I will continue to be a customer. They are expensive and they aren’t robust but for me their supreme looks trump all these considerations. My next pair will be ones with a robust sole. I like the look of these boots (Fred with commando sole):

Or these:

Let me know your experiences of Grenson in the comments below. What shoe brands do you love?

Is resoling quality English shoes worth it?

chanman · Jun 17, 2017 · 3 Comments

I’ve got three pairs of Grenson shoes. One pair got completely ruined on my first date with my now wife.

I was wearing a blue blazer, red trousers and these brown, half-brogues and the date was going swimmingly. We were in Soho, London, when suddenly there was torrential rain. The narrow streets of Soho were flooded and in our walk to Tottenham Court Road Underground Station, my shoes got literally soaked. They were underwater.

I was careful when drying them not to let them near heat sources like radiators because that could crack the leather (something I learned from schoolboy football).

Nevertheless, they were totally buggered.

I’ve had them in my wardrobe ever since then, with the intention to get them restored.

Last month, I took them to my local Timpsons. Timpsons is a shop for shoe repairs, leatherwork and watch repairs.

Here’s what they looked like beforehand.

Totally buggered right?

Timpsons quoted me GBP 70 for a leather resole which included a cream treatment of the uppers or I could opt for the full resole which would give me all of the above but also a new heel. This would be GBP 90.

GBP 90???? At this point, you might be thinking, ‘Why don’t you just buy a new pair of shoes?’

GBP 90 could buy some decent shoes, couldn’t they? Or even if not, that GBP 90 could be put towards the cost of a new pair of shoes?

In my head, I knew that the cost of a new similar pair of Grensons is around GBP 200.

I also love the shape of these half-brogues. They look slimline in all the right places and the view from above is very satisfying.

The thinking around quality English shoes (shoes made by certain brands: Cheaney, Crockett and Jones, Churches, Loakes, Grensons etc) is that, as long as there isn’t too much damage to them, they will be able to be restored i.e. resoled and refurbished.

I bit the bullet and went for the full resole and refurbishment at GBP 90.

Here’s the result:

What do I think?

If I’m honest, I don’t love them anymore.

I was disappointed with the level of shine. They’ve definitely lost their lustre.

Brand new, these shoes have a high-shine finish. Now, they don’t.

This isn’t Timpson’s fault.

It was mine for letting them get ruined in the first place.

Would I resole again?

Absolutely for minor damage like the leather sole getting a hole in them. You’d still have a great shoe and it would be wrong to throw them out for such minor damage. You’d also save GBP 100 on not buying a new pair of shoes immediately.

But for the level of damage my shoes had, I wouldn’t do it again because I’m not happy with the results. Timpsons did the best they could but they have lost their magic.

The under-discussed ingredient of a GREAT first impression

chanman · Sep 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment

Do you ever think about the first impression you give?

I’m guessing not very often. Maybe you might think about it for a first date or a job interview.

Most of the time though, I bet you never think about it.

You might be thinking right now ‘Ed, why does it matter? Shouldn’t people be caring more about substance? Shouldn’t we NOT judge a book by its cover?’

We shouldn’t do…….but the cold, hard reality is……….we do.

Come on. Admit it.

You judge on first impressions. We all do.

Look around you on your daily commute. People in your coffee shop. On your your lunch break.

Who’s making a strong impression on you?

Who’s stood out as someone who you’ve noticed, in a positive way?

Who’ve you noticed in a negative way?

You’re judging everyone you see whether you know it or not.

Let’s embrace reality

Scrap that comment above about it being a cold hard reality and let’s embrace this fact to our advantage.

It’s said that people make up their mind about you in the first 7 seconds.

I’d say it was WAY less than that.

This article says that actually it’s a tenth of a second.

Think about dates you’ve been on.

I remember this one date and the girl looked so far different to her profile pic. That date was over from the first ‘good to meet you’.

Think about interviews you’ve given.

How many times have you decided in the first ten seconds that the person was just unsuitable? Harsh? Maybe. But that’s how the world works.

Knowing this and not doing something about it is like handcuffing yourself before going to a fist fight.

Unnecessary self-sabotage.

Now that we’re agreed on the need for a strong first impression, what does this look like?

Let’s start with what it’s not.

It’s definitely not doing what adds up to a weak first impression.

Things like:

  • bad posture,
  • greasy hair,
  • bad clothes,
  • a limp handshake,
  • a meek smile,
  • a soft voice etc.

Eliminate these first.

What do you think a strong impression looks like?

For me, I like a friendly, open confidence.

I want someone to look good, like they’ve made an effort, with a warm smile, good eye contact and a strong handshake.

I want that person to be interested and fully engaged in our interaction.

The magic ingredient of killer first impressions

All these things however pale into insignificance against the most important ingredient in a killer first impression.

That ingredient is warmth.

This was present in absolute spades with the best and most memorable first impression I’ve ever experienced.

This was from my soon-to-be mother-in-law.

I had come back to the flat in the early hours from a particularly heavy night out, much to Angelique’s anger. (She was burning with rage.)

Stephanie landed in London from Sydney a couple of hours later at 5am.

The door bell rang at 6.30am and as soon as I opened the door, she flung her arms around me and gave me a huge hug!

We’d never met before in person but I’ll never forget her warmth in that moment.

I’ll always remember that.

It’s made such a lasting impression on me, that I’m telling you about it now two years later.

Isn’t this what we mean by a GREAT first impression?

It reminds of a quote from the late, great Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Make someone feel like you’re DELIGHTED to see them and you’ll make the best possible impression you can.

Let me know what you think a strong first impression is in the comments below!

‘Be Better Than The Gap’ – 4 Things Men Can Learn From Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love

chanman · Aug 22, 2015 · 1 Comment

be better than the Gap

Yes it’s a rom-com, but there’s plenty that a man can learn from Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Steve Carell plays a family man whose wife has admitted she’s had an affair with a guy called David Lindhagen. Carell moves out and seeks solace at the local bar telling everyone how depressed he is and feeling sorry for himself. Needless to say he becomes a very sad case.

Enter Ryan Gosling’s character:

be better than The Gap
Crazy, Stupid, Love shopping scene

Gosling plays an accomplished ladies man. He’s super-confident, well-dressed and a natural at picking up women. He charms the women each night and more often than not leaves with them on his arm.

Gosling takes pity on Carell and takes him under his wing, brandishing his tough love approach to educating Carell.In a memorable line, he tells Carell that the reason he lost his wife is not because of David Lindhagen, but because he lost sight of who he is as ‘a man, a husband and probably as a lover’.

Ouch.

Lesson #1: Don’t lose sight of who you are as a man.

Remember that you are a man.

Don’t blame others for your misfortunes.

Take responsibility for your actions and for who you are.

Don’t whine and don’t make excuses.

Lesson #2: “Be better than The Gap”

The standout scene in the movie is when Gosling takes Carell shopping. Carell starts the scene in terrible clothes, symbolising how he has let himself go and descended into ‘dad’ clothes. He looks bland and invisible in clothes that don’t fit. He’s meek and submissive. He has no style of his own and has no impact on anyone around him. The contrast with Gosling is huge. Gosling’s character is sharply dressed. He doesn’t care so much about what people think and he is a much more confident personality who goes after what he wants. He knows the importance of good style and a strong personal appearance on how you are perceived in life. A strong impression helps you succeed in life.

Like Gosling says, “Be better than the Gap”.

Here’s the clip where Gosling says the line:

Lesson #3: Details matter

A recurring theme on www.howtobedapper.com is that details matter. People who know, know. From the clip above, check out Gosling tearing down New Balance sneakers, jeans from the Gap that give Carell a ‘mom-butt’, Carells’ Supercuts hairstyle and Carell’s velcro fastening wallet.
Details matter.

Lesson #4: Attitude and Confidence are everything

The way at the end of the scene when Gosling is confidently flirting with the hairstylist and he asks if she’d sleep with Carrell and she says ‘well, yeah!’. Contrast this confidence with the instant shock from Carrell that anyone would be interested in him. She starts to doubt whether she’s attracted to him anymore. Gosling points out the problem with his lack of confidence; everything was going well until Carell opened his mouth.

Be better than The Gap.

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