The High Five is a series hosted by Great Lakes Prep that explores the five favorite things in a certain category. The following are Great Lakes Prep author Nick’s five favorite shoes. You can view my High Five post on his blog.
I’ll be the first to admit my shoe collection is seriously lacking. It stems from having large feet (size 15s) and the incorrect sizing of athletic shoes. You see early in high school I crossed the 15 threshold and ended up size 17s. Not realizing that a size 17 Nike is the equivalent of a size 15 in non-athletic shoes, I gave up all hope of ever finding shoes that didn’t belong in the gym that fit. It wasn’t until college that I took a shot and realized that lo and behold I was really a size 15. Of course years of neglect meant I was starting from scratch so I’m slowly building. Couple that with the fact that many companies still only make up to a size 13 and you’ll understand my difficulties. Here are my High Five shoes, the first three I own, the next two are purchases in the future.
1. Sperry Top-Sider Authentic Original Boat Shoe – I’ve got a beat-to-hell blue pair that still gets some use and a brown pair that I wear nearly every day.
2. Clarks Desert Boot in Beeswax Leather – For when the weather grows too cold for boat shoes.
3. Cole Haan Air Madison Plain Oxford – Plain and simple but they get the job done. Plus the comfort from the AIR technology in the sole is superb.
4. Oak Street Bootmakers Navy Beefroll Penny Loafer – These only go up to a size 13 but I’ve heard it’s possible to special order larger sizes.
5. Allen Edmonds Strand – I’m in serious need of a brown pair of dress shoes and these will do the trick.
Great collection, man. I could do a Danner combat boots, though.