Summer Wardrobe Shopping - Male Edition

May 2, 2013 1:33 PM

So the days are getting longer and warmer, and I find myself in the need of some decent clothing, varying from casual to business casual. I'm on the heavier side and thus prefer darker, more muted tones, but am open to other options. I'm also not a fan of logos but will pay a premium for good quality and easy to care for clothing. An important consideration is that I REALLY prefer long-sleeve shirts and longer pants (i.e. I don't need more shorts), as I feel they make me feel more put together. They still need to be "breathable" though!

Extra challenge - if anyone can point out where I can find black walking/cross-training shoes in North America size 10 with width 6E (you read that right), I will kiss you. If you can recommend white shoes that meet those criteria, you get a hug.

I know that New Balance has nice white 10 6Es, but I live in Edmonton and there don't seem to be any New Balance flagship stores, which tend to be the ones that carry 6Es.

I spare no expense for shoes.

posted by Yowser to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

My spouse gets a catalog of all wide types of shoes, and they come in all colors. Will try to check at home and get back to you -- feel free to memail me if I don't come back by tomorrow night.
posted by acm at 2:35 PM on May 2, 2013

This may not be what you want to hear, but I properly wear a 4E+ and usually resort to sizing up a half (or even whole, depending on the shoe) size so I can buy a 2E. If you haven't tried this, it might be worth a shot--4E is common enough that most shoe stores stock it.
posted by pullayup at 6:51 PM on May 2, 2013

I think the "performance fabrics" of yore were linen, seersucker, and lightweight wool. The downsides are, linen wrinkles very easily and wool fine enough to wear on bare skin will be very expensive. (Think, at least a hundred dollars, more commonly two hundred, for a shirt, although you can always get lucky secondhand.)
posted by d. z. wang at 7:20 PM on May 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have these New Balance WW577 shoes in black. I live in the DC metro area and walk at least at least a mile to and from the subway and work every day. They are extremely comfortable- however, the velcro does tend to snag on my hemmed pants. Here is the corresponding Zappos link (I know Zappos does not ship outside the US, but the reviews are very informative). I think they also come in white.

Note- I have no experience buying from Sports Unlimited, it just seemed to be the best option that came up in my searches for stores that ship to Canada.
posted by invisible ink at 10:09 PM on May 2, 2013

Have you considered getting a bespoke pair of shoes?
posted by oceanjesse at 11:06 PM on May 2, 2013

Have you looked into parcel forwarding services? I know several fashion bloggers who live in Canada and order stuff online from US websites by having it shipped to a US warehouse that then forwards it to your Canadian address. Reportedly it's not super expensive, especially compared to international shipping costs for the sites that do ship to Canada.
posted by serelliya at 3:43 AM on May 5, 2013