What the Casual Sneaker Says & Doesn’t Say About You
There was a time in history when Kicks only served one useful function, to exercise in or play tennis. That was it, no more, no less. Jump to the year 2015 and you now see prominent billionaires, celebrities, athletes (Off the field smart Ass), businessman/women, CEO’s, entrepreneurs, tech gurus etc… Anybody who shouldn’t be wearing casual sneakers, are well, wearing them. Not just wearing them, but wearing them to board meetings, Sales pitches, work, parties, formal dinners etc… Why? What does that say about you, someone who wears casual sneakers everywhere?
I think you will be happily surprised to find out what it says about you!
You know that amazing feeling you have deep inside about yourself right before you leave the house? After you have looked in the mirror (full body mirror for an overview of the outfit) and see you look nice, sharp, you feel confident and ready to go tackle the world. Confidence, this my friend is what matters more than anything else when it comes to how you dress, your confidence!
Your confidence defines how people perceive your appearance, if you look confident in what you’re wearing, people will have confidence in you!
If you follow these simple rules then you will not have any problems wearing your causal sneakers (fly kicks) anywhere, and only exuding confidence and professionalism.
Use common sense, this is probably the best advice I can give you. Obviously if you are going for an interview as a financial analyst at a big firm or as a real estate agent at a prominent Realtor it is probably not a good idea to where any kicks, since this is frowned upon. When your told to dress business formal or business casual there are rules to follow. Now, if you own the business in question and your going to a client meeting or pitch, wear whatever you want! Remember, you write your own ticket and draw outside the lines. This is why you’re a business owner. Once again use common sense.
Here are the rules of thumb that will keep you safe:
- Interview – always ask what is the expected attire – Business formal/casual or just casual (Tech jobs hate ties, sales positions usually call for it)
- Business meetings/pitches – if you work for the company just make sure you are up to speed with the employee handbook. Check what it says about attire when attending meetings in or out of the office.
- This also depends on your position, if you are the VP of new Business Development, I am pretty sure a tie and some Oxford shoes are called for. If you are the Senior Web Developer a nice pair of casual kicks might just fit the bill.
- Always ask, it never hurts to ask.
- If you’re the owner/founder/partner/ninja/guru, wear it nice and proud, you’ve earned it!
- Formal/informal social events – unless it specifies a black tie event (Want to really stand out, wear some kicks with your tux), in my opinion you can pair up your casual kicks with a sports jacket or any other nice attire and look just as nice as anybody else at the event. Wear it with confidence and be yourself. If you wear it and are unsure, then this is the vibe you will put out.
- Keep it simple, clean and not loud. (Don’t wear hot lime green kicks so they scream I am wearing kicks, pair it up so it matches)
- Last but definitely not least, NEVER and I mean NEVER wear dirty kicks, I do not care if they are $500 Gucci kicks, if they are dirty they might as well be from the 2nd hand store and only cost $1! Stay sharp!
Well there you go, basically unless it is specified that you cannot wear casual sneakers, then you can wear casual sneakers whenever you want. If somebody sneers at you for it, just say, “look it’s not my fault I have the confidence to pull it off and you don’t!”
Check out the latest casual kicks we have featured here at Get Fly Kicks.
