Poor but picky man needs shoes both sturdy and stylish.

waltzing astronomers — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:23:39 -0800

Poor but picky man needs shoes both sturdy and stylish. The catch: I'm living in France. I'm seeking general recommendations as well opinions on a UK brand that I'm unfamiliar with.

Okay, so I'm considering these Kickers, in black. The problem with the Kickers, though, is that, although they look snazzy, they're near the high end of my price range, and I have no experience with the brand. Google searches are no help as far as evaluating quality goes, as no one has reviewed the shoes on the web. What I want to know about the Kickers is if the brand is generally known for it's quality and durability, and do the specific shoes I'm looking at have any arch support? I don't want to pay that much for them if they are flat on the inside, like, say, Chuck Taylors.

Also, do you have any recommendations for other brands that sell shoes of the style that I'm looking for?

I want something low profile, casual, dark, and preferably leather. 70 Euros is about where I max out in price, though I'd really prefer to pay less, and only want to pay that much if the shoes will last me over a year with daily wear. I need just a smidgeon of arch support (I've found that Asics Onitsuka Tigers have sufficient support), though I've found that I can get by by inserting insoles into shoes that lack structure (I don't want to resort to insoles, but am willing to do so if the shoes are inexpensive and stylin').

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Poor but picky man needs shoes both sturdy and stylish.