About Shoes

I think a uniform gives children pride in themselves and their school.  They have something to identify with.  All the top fee-paying schools have a uniform and it gives the students something to have pride in.

A uniform and smart school shoes also makes children come to school - ready to work.  This is a good preparation for life.  Dress standards are necessary in many walks of life.  You wouldn’t go to a wedding in jeans, T-shirt and scruffy hair - there is an acceptable dress code.

It also saves parents the problem of how to dress the children every day for school.  And children will not be competing with each other over who has the best jeans or T-shirt or trainers.  It is a level playing field - everyone is the same.  Most parents like the idea of uniform and school shoes, providing they can obtain the items at a reasonable price.

On the sports field children readily accept a uniform if they are playing football, rugby, cricket, netball or hockey.  They feel part of their team.  It is the same with school uniform - they feel they belong to the school.

I don’t think that children should be allowed to wear any shoes to school, rather than particular school shoes. At school, it is a good idea to have a uniform, and this should include rules on the type of shoes that should be worn by pupils. Children are at school to learn. It is not the place to be wearing different fashions. There will be time for that outside of school and when they grow older. I do not think that school uniform shoes should be exactly the same for all pupils, though some schools do have a very strict and particular uniform policy, but they should be similar to those worn by others. Sensible, flat shoes, in a dark colour, that are well fitting and a decent quality, are the main requirements for children’s school shoes.

Another reason for children to all wear school shoes that look similar, is that it will reduce jealousy and bullying if there is anyone who has expensive shoes that may be the latest fashion, or cheaper shoes that may have been handed down from an older sibling and are therefore second hand. If everyone is dressed and wearing shoes that look vaguely similar, hopefully they will get on with their education and not be thinking about what others are wearing. There is too much emphasis on materialism these days and keeping up with the latest trends. This can prove to be very costly for many families, and it is not a good message to send to children. Children should be given the opportunity to choose which school shoes they would like, from a selection of appropriate options.

In my opinion, closed shoes are far more practical to wear than open toe shoes when hiking and climbing, purely from a safety point of view if nothing else.

If you wear open toe shoes and you stub your toe on a rock, or trip up then you could be in all kinds of trouble, causing yourself a cut or an injury of some sort to your toes, or possibly falling over if you get your open toe shoes caught up in anything as you are climbing or hiking. A toe injury alone can cause a great deal of pain, and can make it very uncomfortable to walk with. It is much more sensible to cover your toes and have them protected if possible by Craghoppers UK hiking boots, but if this is not an option, then a sensible pair of flat boots or sturdy shoes.

Closed shoes are more likely to withstand the environment of countryside walking and climbing as they are more robust. Open toe shoes could easily split or get damaged, therefore exposing your feet to the same dangers. On the whole, most open toe shoes do not offer the same standard of grip on the bottom that many closed shoes do either, as they are designed for casual use and are not intended for walking or climbing in. It is common sense to know that you do need some kind of grip on shoes for hiking and climbing in.

Closed shoes are more practical as far as the weather goes too. If it is raining while you are out on your hike or climb, then it would be very uncomfortable to continue with wet toes. Even if it is not raining, there are often places out in the countryside that are wet, such as puddles and dewy grass areas and you may come across small streams that you need to cross. It is not a practical idea to walk through water with open toe shoes on.

Keep your open toe shoes for casual use at home or on holiday and stick to sensible closed shoes for hiking and climbing. It makes good sense.

With the exception of trainers, there is nothing more comfortable than hiking boots. Contemporary hiking boots are built very much along the line of trainers and embody many of the qualities encapsulated in the trainers design. Hikers used to wear traditional boots, but these are starting to be replaced by lightweight, low cut hiking boots. They may not offer the ankle support of the earlier models, but they make walking vastly more comfortable. When you have to cover a lot of ground, comfort is the single most important thing.

Can you imagine walking 20 miles in a pair of work shoes? It is bad enough going out to fetch your lunch, let alone going for a long walk. Shoes simply aren’t designer for comfort; they are designer primarily to look smart. Some are beautiful examples, but the fact remains that they tend to cut your heels to shreds and force your feet into a mould. This fact isn’t helped by so many people trying to squeeze into smaller sizes as small is more in vogue. You also don’t get the kind of cushioning that you do with a hiking boot. This means that your feet are vastly more likely to blister on the soles.

Some hiking boots aren’t as comfortable as the lighter weighted versions. Full-length hiking boots are built with stability and ankle support in mind. The last thing you want is to lose your footing and injure yourself on some rough area of terrain. Consequently, there is a price to pay for this stability in terms of overall comfort. Like shoes, hiking boots are designer for a reason and you can choose which is most important to you. Is that reason support and stability or overall comfort? You could also choose a compromise between these two extremes.

Many hiking boots are unisex. This can make it difficult for women to buy a shoe that is right for their feet. Walking over a distance of ground with your feet slipping about can cause a great deal of damage to your feet. They certainly aren’t comfortable. However, more recently, manufacturers are starting to designer hiking boots that are designer with the female in mind. An example of this Brasher boots. These shoes are comfortable and provide support, but the weight of the boots tends to be heavy, which is an inconvenience for most people to carry around.

There is a definite trend towards the lighter, less supportive boot. This clearly indicates that consumers are favourite comfort over any other factors in the hiking boot market. This is also evidenced in the market for work shoes as Hush Puppies and other similar brands start to claim an increasing share of the market.

No matter if you choose shoes or hiking boots you still have a degree of autonomy in terms of whether you seek comfort or style. A lot of the reason why manufacturers still favour stylish, uncomfortable shoes is because vanity often wins the day at work. The consumer market for hiking boots and shoes are very different animals. Hikers don’t tend to be nearly as obsessed with appearance and do what they do for the love of it. People still care more about what people think than their own level of personal comfort in the market for shoes.

Very few companies will permit their staff to wear hiking boots to work. You will, however, find that some have a more liberal interpretation of what is acceptable, particularly on dress-down days. If the business tends to have customers inspecting it on a regular basis you can expect formal shoes to be a requirement every day.

A lot of people see dress down day as a chance to strut their stuff and impress the lady’s (in the case of men) in the office. For me, this cannot be the case.

Dress down Friday is all about chilling out and, as I believe it was introduced for, making workers feel more comfortable in the workplace. On Friday people just want to look forward to a fun weekend, and finish their work feeling as comfortable as possible. This competition element helps nobody.

So, I’m more inclined to wear a standard pair of jeans and a white shirt (with some bland stripes) - un-tucked to emphasize how casual it is. This is all capped off my smart loafers and maybe a sideways baseball cap (just kidding).

We need to recapture the community of the workplace, and one way to do this would be kicking out the over-egotistical chumps whose sole purpose in life is to belittle (further) the little guy.

A formal shirt is a shirt worn for a wedding or for any formal occasion. Or is it?
A casual shirt is worn with jeans for a day at the park. This is the excepted norm for such attire.  This is not necessarily the case. The difference between the two styles is all dependant the clothes that are worn.

A formal shirt is formal when worn with a suit and tie. But as soon as the jacket comes off, the cuffs are unbuttoned and rolled up and the tie is removed it becomes casual. Wear a formal shirt with jeans and it becomes casual.

The reverse is not always the case. A casual shirt is one that is multi coloured, unlike the mono-toned formal shirt. A casual number could be one with a pattern or a logo. Match up a coloured casual shirt will a suit and tie and it looks like a suit and tie with the wrong shirt.

A formal shirt is formal when it needs to be, but when dressed down it is allowed to be casual.  A casual shirt is always a casual shirt regardless of the whole ensemble.

The best fashion accessories are ones that can be used with many different items of clothing.  The more versatile the better!  Items that can be used as a variety of different accessories are also great.  For example a scarf could be used as a belt on a pair of jeans to give them a different look.

Its also good to try and get fashion accessories in colours which match a wide variety of your clothes.  This will mean that you can wear them with many different outfits.  It helps to try and get accessories in lots of different colours that match your clothes and keep them organised by colour.

Useful accessories are also great.  Large handbags look good and are great for carrying round everything that is needed for your day out!  Sunglasses are a great accessory as they go with almost everything and are obviously quite useful!

Fashion accessories are made even better if you can get them bargain prices!  Bargain fashion stores such as Primark are great for stocking up on accessories when fast changing fashions come around.

There are various differences between formal and casual shirts, relating to styling, colour and fabric the shirt is made from.  The most formal colour for a shirt is white, followed by sober blues or pinks.  Brighter colours such as reds and greens, especially if patterned, are chosen for casual occasions when jeans or cut-offs are worn.
Formal shirts usually have a ‘wing’ or turndown collar, especially when wearing a bow tie.  Casual shirts often have a button-down collar, which is usually left open.  This looks great when worn underneath a jumper and wearing a leather jacket.
The sleeve cuffs can also differ, depending on whether the shirt is casually or formally styled.  Formal shirts often have three buttonholes, although some have none, just spaces where cufflinks can be fitted. Casual shirts usually have just one button hole.
Formal shirts are often made of expensive silk or poplin while casual shirts can be made from twill, polyester or less expensive materials.
Either type of shirt is great – just be careful to dress up or down depending on the occasion.

Nowadays a handbag isn’t just something you carry around to help you with your shopping, it’s something you wear when you go shopping. It is a statement, of who you are and where you’re headed.

Big, small, long, short, designer, high street… they’re are so many different types walking into the cheapest high street store is a shopper’s paradise! But with an unlimited budget a trip to a Harvey Nicks would be a must.

Do you buy Gucci-the upmarket designer label for the sophisticated lady amongst us, Dolce & Gabbana for the stylish luxury-laden woman, Chloe for the trendy fashionista, Prada for the latest must-have buy or Balenciaga for the bag that will inevitably ooze glamour.

For me, there’s only one designer that i’d fight my way to the checkout for and that’s Balenciaga-a slight newcomer in the fashion magazines thanks partly to the growing phenomenon of the WAGs but by far the best for up-to-date trends that will leave you looking fabulous all summer!

When it comes to tennis looking good is half of the fun.! Everybody wants to think they look good whilst playing the sport and with a nice set of tennis clothes you could have more confidence than most, but what makes good tennis clothes?
Well, keep in mind that you will be playing sport in them, so you don’t want to be over encumbered, also playing tennis one is bound to sweat, so try and avoid purely cotton shirts as these show the sweat the most.
So, do you really have to fork out a lot of cash for specialist tennis clothing to look good on the courts, no. Remember that the majority of clubs have a white dress code but this shouldn’t be a problem. For a range of nice, lightweight sporty shirts just shop around, you can find a good collared, shirt sleeved, nylon shirt in many shops and often for a nice price. Specifically, la coq sportif have a good range of clothes suitable for tennis in, including very fashionable white shorts and shirt combos.
Tennis is an increasingly popular sport and if the idea of shopping around for clothes doesn’t appeal to you just head to the internet. There are many shops out there dedicated to tennis clothing and they’re all just one search away!

There are many factors to consider when choosing your tennis wardrobe, years ago tennis clothes were virtually identical, nowadays there are varieties on style and colour as well as fabrics. Tennis attire for the 2000’s is not only based on fashion, but also practicality, with modern designs allowing the player to move in a fluid, yet fast paced motion. Today’s tennis clothing are well fitting, but with a loose cut to allow players to twist, swing and jump in comfort.

Clothing needs to be lightweight, with the ability to remove moisture from next to the skin, in order to keep the athlete cool and dry. The best tennis clothes, are those which help the player to feel comfortable, while at the same time allowing them to play at optimum performance levels.

If you join a club and play as a team together, or as an individual, you may need to purchase a uniform, the club may also have a strict colour code that must be adhered to e.g. white only.