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Select The Perfect Shoe Style For You
There's never been a greater selection of shoe styles than you'll find today. From comfortable and casual shoes to dressy or exotic shoes, find the right shoe style for you on eBay. Popular shoe styles include:
Athletic shoes: Designed for sport activities, athletic shoes have become popular for everyday use as people live more casual lifestyles. You may not wear Adidas, Nike, or Reebok sneakers to the office, but you might step out in them everywhere else.
Athletic-inspired shoes: Athletic-inspired shoes, like Diesel sneakers and Puma sneakers, borrow the style of athletic shoes but more for fashion than function. Colorful sporty-looking shoes are very popular, spurred by the vogue for vintage-look sneakers and the demand for comfort.
Boots: When designed for protection, boots such as cowboy boots, work boots, hiking boots, motorcycle boots, and snow boots may be made of a closely stitched material to prevent leakage. In fashion boots for women, you'll find all the styles you find in other women's shoes, including platform-soled boots, pointed-toe boots, and knee-high boots. For men, boots have moved from purely practical to highly stylish, with designers such as Lucchese creating ruggedly handsome cowboy boots and more.
Clogs: Clogs have a rigid, sometimes wooden, shoe sole. Once worn by factory workers for protection, today's clogs are a modern interpretation, typically trading the wooden shoe soles for cork soles, rubber soles, or plastic soles. Longtime favorites in Scandinavian countries, leather-upper clogs are widely popular now, and come in an open-back shoe style (also known as mules), sling-back style, or closed-back version.
Mules: Mules, such as those from Born and Taryn Rose, are closed-toe shoes that have an open back, and are available with heels of varying heights. Mules come in a variety of styles, ranging from casual and sporty to embellished and elegant. Mules typically look best when worn with pants or when worn for evening with long skirts.
Flats: Women's flats either have no heel to speak of, or have low, broad heels. Flats are primarily designed for street wear, although recently more and more embellished flats are showing up with evening wear. Flats such as Espadrilles and open-toed slip-ons go beautifully with loose, soft pants like palazzo and harem pants, as well as with shorts and mini-skirts.
Heels, pumps: Heels feature closed or open toe and back, range from sexy stilettos to trendy peep toe. Pumps are a classic women's low-cut shoe without ties or straps, with heels of varying heights and a closed back.
Loafers, oxfords: Women's loafers, or oxfords, are a classic shoe shape. Men's casual loafers are of a similar shape. First made by Native Americans, they're a moccasin-type of slip-on shoe made of soft leather that can have rubber soles, or can be made of a single piece of leather enclosing the foot with no outer sole. Oxfords, on the other hand, feature a lace-up front. Wear loafers or oxfords in casual and business settings and be perfectly stylish, especially in pants and long skirts.
Platform shoes, wedges: Originally popularized in the 1940s and again in the ‘70s, the height-enhancing platform heel is trendy again. The platform shoe falls into two categories: the wedge shoe, or wedgie, where the entire bottom is one chunky piece; and the true platform shoe, where the sole and heel are separate. You'll find a dazzling array of fabrics, color choices, and heel heights to wear to the mall, the office, or onto the dance floor.
Sandals: Popular with both men and women, sandals are famous for their open-air style and give an exotic flair to dress and casual outfits. Sandals can be made of rope, rubber, leather, or wood. They typically feature a strap or straps that attach to the sole and wrap around or between the toes and/or heel. You can wear sandals with any lightweight clothing and for activities ranging from sports to evenings out. Many women select strappy sandals for formal occasions.
Men's dress shoes: Suitable for formal occasions or business attire, men's dress shoes are a staple in any man's wardrobe. Styles range from loafers to monk straps, oxfords to slip-ons. Many men have begun to understand what it takes to build a shoe wardrobe and aren't shy about investing in a well-made pair from top-flight designers such as Prada and Ferragamo.
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