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Never in a million years did I think I would ever get to see the fashion shows from New York Fashion Week live! And no, I am not special in this regard. Anyone can see them live online, streamed right to your computer for free!

I accidentally came across this discovery when I was watching the documentary, “The Tents” on Netflix. The documentary mentioned that now anyone can watch the fashion shows live online and that it has changed the nature of the fashion business. So I went Googling for the stream and came across the Mercedes-Benz fashion week website.

The Mercedes-Benz fashion week website is an interesting organizational study. There is a daily schedule of shows. You can sign up for a reminder or emails from your favorite designers. When it is time for a particular show, you just log on and wait for the show to start. There you are, front row!

Below are some of the interesting highlights from the shows.

Fashionably Late

The term “fashionably late” is justly deserved. None of the fashion shows start right on
time. For example, the official start time for Betsey Johnson’s show was 5:00 p.m. At 5:02 p.m., online viewers saw this.

At 5:16, we get a message that the show will begin “momentarily” yet from the image we can see that no one is in their seats.

At 5:21, the seats are starting to fill in.

At 5:28, we are watching people take pictures with their fashionably-dressed iPhones. Note to self: if you are ever on a live stream, do your best to turn to the person next to you and start an actual conversation or at least look around at the scene with interest rather than staring constantly into your smart phone or, worst of all, be shown in the process of taking a self-photo. (It’s practically impossible to look cool while taking a self-photo.)

Jada Pinkett-Smith admirably demonstrated how to be elegant at the Vera Wang show. Look like you are enjoying yourself and chat with those around you!

A glimpse of fashion royalty! Grace Coddington’s signature red hair seen in the crowd at Vera Wang!

At 5:36 they start rolling up the carpet to start the show.

A Show and a Performance

Fortunately, these shows are definitely worth the wait! Wow! They are not just fashion shows but also performance art pieces that make a statement about how the designer envisions the clothes should be worn.

Betsy Johnson’s “BJ kicks A” show began with models in bright outfits talking on their cell phones. After about 20 or so models came out, the models took their places on exercise mats on the runway, then “coach” Betsey Johnson came out and led them in exercises!

Coach Betsey!

Yes, actual exercises like push-ups and sit-ups! You had to be a really good model to make this trick work. How do you exercise in designer clothes? Very carefully so as not to sweat in them, I imagine!

Supermodel took on a whole new meaning at the Betsey Johnson show. These models had to look good while exercising.

Then the show was all over just 10 minutes later! Betsey Johnson came out and turned her signature cartwheel, then fell right into the splits.

At Marc Jacobs’ show, the models wore very sleek and modern clothes with almost no frills to them at all. Dresses and skirts were knee-length. The silhouettes were simple and streamlined. The colors were primarily gray with other tones like muted reds and blues thrown in.

Hair was a big factor in this show. The female models had long, big, teased, curly hair. Makeup emphasized dark red lips and pale skin. The male models had hair that was thick, long and tousled or mohawked on top but shaved close at the nape of the neck. It’s a great look but this is a style that is going to be hard for most men to pull off as an abundance of hair on top of the head becomes a rare commodity with age.

The menswear in this show was really well done. The general style was a tailored top (such as a form-fitting sweater or jacket) with a more relaxed, flowing pant. The pant length was either flood (about mid-calf) worn with a chunky sneaker or boot or extra-long, pooling around the mid-part of the shoe. Menswear is all about subtlety and Marc Jacobs’ rebellion against formal pants was shown in his choice of hem, leaving the rest of the line very classic.

The young models all looked depressed and robotic as they walked the runway. Strangely, this seemed to work with the vibe of the show. It was almost as though the clothes and the show was designed for younger people who are struggling to take on the responsibilities of life. Marc Jacobs seemed to say, “Yes, you are being asked to take on the responsibilities of your parents and grandparents but you are going to do so in your own way. It’s OK to be serious sometimes.”

Like the Betsey Johnson show, this show didn’t last very long, about 11 minutes! At the very end, Marc Jacobs made a super-quick appearance, just poking his head out from behind the backdrop, then disappearing right back behind it. The in-fashion crowd seemed to know that this was all they were going to get and they dispersed immediately after.

This morning was the Vera Wang show. The theme of this show seemed to be “one part shapeless.” In each beige and grey outfit, Vera Wang made one aspect of the outfit not conform in any way to the body. There were huge balloon sleeves, extra folds to widen the hips (you would have to be a 34” hip supermodel to wear this!), peplum, pregnancy-like drapes at the stomach, hoop-like hems on coats and skirts, and armholes slit to the hips. While you may think these looks are completely unwearable, there was one look that I thought really worked. Wang paired oversized capes and jackets that built up the wearer’s shoulders on top with slim miniskirts on the bottom. On the right person, this top-heavy look was fun, fashionable and gave a look of strength.

Vera Wang also showed some interesting black and metallic prints. Like Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang also went with tousled, wavy/curly hair, pale skin and dark plum/red lips for her models.

At the end of the show, also like Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang just barely peeked out from behind the stage to acknowledge the applause and the crowd immediately disbanded.

We are having a ball watching these shows! What a treat! They continue until Valentine’s Day if you are interested in logging on yourself!

P.S. Happy Birthday to my fashionable mom today!

P.P.S. I have no affiliation with any fashion designer or Mercedes-Benz fashion week.

My son's first suit. Wonder if T.M. Lewin would approve?

Since Father’s Day was yesterday, perhaps the tie-giving holiday of the year, I wanted to pass along a tip I learned just recently about choosing good ties.  In the past, I have professed my ignorance about choosing and styling ties.

In the United States, formal wear is something that becomes less and less popular each year.  Even in most workplaces, ties are becoming rare and especially so in the summer months.  So, for advice about ties, it should not be altogether surprising that the answer needed to come from a British source.

Enter T.M. Lewin, a British company which began producing shirts on Jermyn (pronounced “German”) Street in London in 1898.  According to their historical video, Jermyn is the “shirt street” of the world just as Saville Row is known for suits.

T.M. Lewin has a very simple rule for matching ties and shirts that anyone can understand.  You can watch it below.

The T.M. Lewin YouTube channel is so much fun to watch.  If you are a fan of British television, you will love this!

Here they are making over a young college graduate, showing how to choose a suit, shirt and tie,

Here they go to a private school to teach how to tie the “schoolboy knot.”

And here they are teaching us the finer points of menswear, showing some of the collar styles for formalwear shirts.  As with all menswear styling, the differences are pretty subtle.

There are a lot of gems here to learn how to select and maintain your formalwear wardrobe, including:

Know Your Size: Suits

How to Iron a Shirt

How to Press Trousers

This summer, while your suits may be taking a breather, it is a good opportunity to do some closet organization to review your formal wardrobe, clean and press it and refresh it for the fall.

*I have no affiliation with T.M. Lewin.

Ruly at your service! My Halloween costume this year.

In October at Ruly, we focused on the essentials of a good wardrobe. It was a fun month full of tricks and treats.

Treats

We started off with 3 strategies to stay sane during this holiday season.

Then we turned to the women’s closet, identifying classic items for professional and casual dress as well as hearing Ruly Ruth’s take on Fall 2011 Women’s Fashion Trends:

• Closet Essentials: Professional Women
• Closet Essentials: Women’s Fall Casual Wardrobe
• Ruly Ruth on Fall 2011 Women’s Fashion Trends

We had some great comments! From the sound of things, we are all going to be wearing a lot of turtlenecks over the next few months.

Ruth commented that my professional wardrobe choices looked a bit bland from a fashion standpoint. Truthfully, they probably are but sometimes that is the way “classic” pieces work.

diadia gave a great tip for saving money on professional blouses . . . shop in the men’s department!

“White or other color true men’s shirts make excellent shirts for me. The cost for each is usually under $30, poly, no iron. Buttons can be changed on the cuff to give a feminine dash–I use pearl or rhinestone. Also I move the cuff button to hold the shirt sleeve firm at the wrist.”

diadia also gave a comment on the casual clothing post, raising a question about a product I had never heard of before — socks or pantyhose with a separate toe for the big toe. She wanted to use them to extend the life of her summer thong sandals into the winter months. I have never attempted this but do something similar for my girls by having them wear turtlenecks and tights with their summer sundresses in the winter to extend their wardrobes. Diadia later emailed me an update, indicating that she had found the socks in question at eBay and that they are called Tabi socks. She also included a photo of her discovered look. I quite like the look and the ingenuity of the idea.

Winter sandals. Vogue's next trend?

Then we turned to the men’s closet, identifying staple items for professional and casual dress.

• Closet Essentials: Professional Men
• Closet Essentials: Men’s Fall Casual Wardrobe

My son received several positive comments behind the scene for his modeling debut in a thermal shirt.  Also, Ruth received a request on her Facebook page that she consider a menswear version of her commentary on the latest fashion trends.  Men, are you interested in this?

Refashioning Men’s Dress Shirts
I so appreciate all the kind and encouraging comments on this post where I turned my husband’s cast-off dress shirts into dresses for my daughters, particularly since they came when I just confessed my failures at the bake sale on the same day. My wonderful readers taught me a lesson on etiquette here. Whenever someone has a failure, the kindest thing you can do is let them know how great they are at something else!

Fashion and Finances
We contrasted the fashion spending habits of financial guru Suze Orman and fashion blogger Maegan Tintari. Readers provided some great money-saving options for clothes shopping:

Summer commented:

“I NEVER pay full price for clothes, especially clothing for children. I shop sales and clearance like crazy! If there’s something full price I want, I wait for coupon discounts like “friends and family” promotions or those “bounce back” type coupons that clothing stores are now doing (e.g. Gymbucks, Savings Cards, etc.) I also shop for my kid’s clothes at the end of a season and just buy things big for next year. I am totally that customer that walks in and goes directly to the back of the store.”

Ruth commented:

“I’ve been so blessed with amazing friends and my sister’s mother-in-law that love to shop and splurge on their kids’ clothes that my daughter has been lacking very little!! THANKS FOR THAT!! Now on occasion I’ve been very successful in finding out-of-season clothing for especially my son at Goodwill. Especially shorts–most people don’t sell or need them in November–we do!! Goodwill was a god-send then!”

Tricks

No life is perfect and there were a few bumps in the road this month.

Lessons from the Fall Festival Bake Sale
I shared my poorly organized attempt to contribute to the school bake sale and readers commiserated and shared some helpful suggestions.

Mary commented:

“I completely agree with you in that if they want Moms to contribute, then they better lovingly accept flat cupcakes with little one’s fingerprints, squiggled icing and gobs of sprinkles all over the tops of them. Plus, let’s face it, we aren’t living the lives of our grandmothers who stayed home and made goods from scratch on a regular basis. This stuff is out of our element! In closing, I praise you for your bravery and efforts but definitely think next time keep it simple and use that ‘extra’ time to play with the kids!”

Best Wishes Giuliana
My thanks to Ruth and Mary who commented and shared Giuliana Rancic’s breast cancer story with friends. Per the last public update, Giuliana’s surgery went well and based on her Twitter account, she is still going full steam ahead with her busy career! Bill Rancic has done an excellent job in his role as the supportive husband too.

In Praise of the Black Turtleneck: Remembering Steve Jobs
Life has continued on without Steve Jobs but I do find myself thinking of him from time to time and the hole in humanity that he has left behind.  I just read the beautiful eulogy his sister, Mona Simpson, wrote in The New York Times and recommend you read it too.  I love his last words.

Finally, I had a small Halloween celebration on my site yesterday with two posts about Halloween costumes. Again, many thanks for all the positive comments on the Halloween costumes! I am glad to see there are some Charlie and Lola fans out there too.

• Halloween Tribute to Lauren Child
• Halloween Outfits – How Many Costumes is Enough?

Last, I wanted to share my Halloween costume for this year. I spent so much time making costumes for everybody else that I had literally no time to make my own. I told my children weeks in advance that I would go as Amelia Bedelia– another of our favorite storybook characters. I made attempts at cobbling together a costume from a used dress on eBay (which I then forgot to bid on before the auction ended) and had plans to make Amelia’s characteristic apron but ran out of time. My girls insisted that I needed a costume for our trick or treating. So, into my closet I went and came up with the costume you see above. There was literally no expense and no sewing in this costume. The “apron” was the best trick. This is really a white blouse with ruffled sleeves worn upside down with a little clear packing tape to “hem” it. My neighbors had a great laugh when I told them how the costume came together.

It was actually quite fun dressing as the formal maid. On a quick run to the grocery store for candy, I was surprised to discover pride in wearing this outfit. I was not just a mom but a well-dressed professional for my household. I may have to remember this trick the next time I am lacking motivation in my own organizing efforts.

I hope you enjoyed the posts this month and that they have helped give you a new perspective on your own closet.

P.S. In other organizing news.

It was great fun this month reading the advice from South African “Organising Queen” Marcia Francois in her 31 days of organizing questions. Her last post in the series is especially great. Reality happens even to Organising Queens too.

Still following the Apartment Therapy 20/20 Cure posts designed to improve your home in 20 days with just 20 minutes a day. I have not been able to follow all of them to the letter due to the bustle of Halloween but am finding a lot of inspiration just from watching them.

"Fashion Fwd2011-89." Photo by Uptown Saint John. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

One of the biggest hurdles to dressing well is having enough money to afford the latest looks or the highest quality clothes.  Recently, two fashionable women weighed in in the issue of money and fashion, with answers you may not expect.

First, my favorite financial adviser, Suze Orman, talked about the issue on her show.  While the clip was primarily about whether women should be allotted more money in the family budget to take care of their appearance, Suze also weighs in with some fashion advice!

While I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Suze has a frugal approach to her clothes as she does with all things money-related, I was surprised.  I assumed that anyone in such a public role would require an enormous expenditure on clothes.  Now, I am certain Suze’s clothing expenses still dwarf all of ours, but it was interesting to know that even a celebrity can live on a clothing budget.

Second, one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Maegan Tintari, wrote a recent post on her blog . . . loveMaegan about how she spends money on clothes.  Maegan, who has the good fortune of looking like a beautiful, human Barbie-doll, posts photos of her outfits several times a week, if not daily.  While she achieves so many different looks, often she is recycling the same wardrobe pieces all the time.  She also adds in these really clever, simple, but very cool DIY projects that adopt high fashion runway looks for pennies.  Yet, in the post that was so interesting to me, she reveals that she is not necessarily about budget fashion and that she does spend a lot of money when she wants to and that she is picky about certain items.

Clothes are one area we try to save money on in our household budget.  When you are dressing children who are constantly changing sizes, you have a lot of clothes to buy–not to mention accessories like shoes, boots, pajamas and coats.  We haven’t had a lot of luck thrift store shopping but we do patronize a lot of discount stores, browse clearance racks, buy online, request clothes as gifts for birthdays and holidays, share hand-me-downs with younger siblings and sometimes I sew or knit things as well.  We also try to buy classic things in the off season sales to wear the following year.  I don’t have a set pattern for what I splurge on.  It’s more of an “I’ll know it when I see it” sort of test.

Where do you stand on fashion and money?  What items are you willing to spend a lot on and where do you try to save money?  Do you save elsewhere to splurge on fashion instead?  Please share in the comments.

In the last post, I shared with you the staples of my husband’s professional wardrobe. His style is also simple and classic for his casual clothes. Like every wife, I interfere with his wardrobe choices every once in a while but for the most part he does his own shopping and sticks to choices that are comfortable but not frumpy.

Men’s fashion generally changes at a glacial pace.  The classic men’s fall casual wardrobe is very easy to assemble and consists of just 2 types of pants and 3 types of shirts.

Pants

Unionbay Men's Cotton Twill Survivor Cargo Pant at amazon.com.

Calvin Klein Mens Relaxed Straight Jean at amazon.com.

The only pants in my husband’s fall casual wardrobe are cargo pants (khaki-style pants but with a huge pocket on the side) and straight leg jeans. While the cargo pants look a lot like his work pants, he goes a bit more wild with the color selection (olive green . . . Gasp! or dark brown for example).

Shirts

The three types of shirts my husband wears with his cargo pants and jeans are: long-sleeved T’s, plaid shirts and polos. All of these shirts have the advantage of making the wearer look very warm and huggable.

Champion Men's Long Sleeve Tee at amazon.com.	Plain is OK in a long-sleeved tee but even better is a printed shirt that expresses some personality. This is a great item to pick up as a souvenir at your favorite vacation spot or receive as a gift for the holidays. My husband tends to have “geek shirts” (with references to computers) or motorcycle shirts. Other common choices are sports shirts, shirts with quotations, or art and photography shirts.
Carhartt Men's Midweight Flannel Shirt at amazon.com.	The button-down plaid shirt has been a staple of the men’s fall/winter wardrobe forever. My husband still sticks to his standard work color scheme when choosing his plaids (black, brown, grey, navy, brick red, burgundy, forest green, etc.) and when you stick to these colors you generally can’t go wrong. There are some very interesting plaids out there with primary or pastel colors but you need a good fashion sense to know whether these will work for you.
Nautica Men's Long Sleeve Pieced Button Up at amazon.com.	The long sleeved polo/rugby shirt is another staple. The best ones have colorblock patterns in primary colors or have a plain background with small stripes in a contrasting color. These are the shirts my sisters and I shamelessly stole from my dad’s closet during our teenage years. (I am not sure if he ever got to wear them himself. Thanks for sharing, Dad!) There are a lot of these polos out now with embroidered logos and other “stuff” printed over the stripes. These are not as classic but I’m sure the right person could carry them off. For most people, the plain stripes are the best choice.

Shoes

Dr. Martens Men's Saxon Boot at amazon.com.

For my husband, Dr. Martens boots are the classic fall/winter footwear choice. They look rugged and go well with both the jeans and the cargo pants. It has been funny to see over time how Dr. Martens boots are a signature style and people who love them bond instantly. A few years ago on a job interview, my husband was told, “I didn’t have much time to spend with you but you wear Doc Martens so I know you would fit in just fine.”

That’s it! Seriously. It’s just that simple. You may be thinking that I must have left something out.

Let’s see . . .

Fall/Winter Dress Clothes

See professional wardrobe. The clothes and shoes are exactly the same.

Sweaters

Columbia Men's Bridge Avenue Crew Neck Sweater at amazon.com.

Sadly, my husband’s fall/winter wardrobe lacks sweaters. He doesn’t like wearing them and says they are too hot (despite my desperate attempts to get him to wear them). A man in a sweater is extremely handsome and I think I would say that even if I wasn’t a knitter. In my humble opinion, every man should own at least one classic sweater or sweater vest.

My trendy pick for fall

Mens Volcom Cavity L/S Thermal at amazon.com.

This is probably not even a new trend but for my husband’s closet this will be a revolutionary change. I have seen so many cute thermal shirts (the same waffle-weave material they make long underwear out of but thicker and designed to be worn as outerwear) for men this fall. I picked up one for my husband to try (round neck with simple stripes) and to my great surprise, he didn’t hate it! We’ll see if this trend sticks around to join the other time-tested classic pieces.

My son in his grey thermal shirt.

Men, what are your fall casual wardrobe staples? What trends are you wearing this fall? Women, what are you buying for the men in your life? Please share in the comments.

Men’s fashion operates on completely different rules than women’s fashion.  I am not sure I understand them completely and I have had to learn how to shop for my husband through a considerable amount of trial and error.

My husband is not really interested in fashion but his personal sense of style aligns perfectly with all the general advice you hear about dressing for the workplace.  What better person to advise us on closet staples for men!

My husband did not want to participate and claims he is not an expert in this area at all.  However, here are a few things I was able to drag out of him.

First, my husband has a built-in set of rules about what he will and will not wear.  Three of the rules I have learned over time are:

1)      It’s all about the small details. Men like my husband are very tuned into very small changes when it comes to clothes.  If my husband picks out a shirt, for example, I will say, “It’s nice but don’t you have one just like that?” He will then point out to me how some very small detail like the shade of color, the thread used in the stitching, whether it has a pocket or not, or some very small difference in the styling, makes it a completely different shirt.  I run afoul of this rule all the time when I pick something that, to my eye, looks almost identical to what he owns and likes and he will point out the difference and explain why he doesn’t like it.

2)      Brands matter. Once my husband latches on to a clothing brand he likes, he is a very devoted customer.  There are certain brands for certain things that my husband requires.  Even if another item of clothing looks identical, he won’t consider it if it is not the brand he wants.  Shoes are particularly brand driven.

3)      Technology is as important as fashion. My husband loves to have technology in his clothes.  He is often looking for clothes that are moisture-wicking, cushioning, or wrinkle-free, for example.

The professional man’s closet is a relatively simple set of items compared to the women’s closet.

A nice suit

Jos. A. Bank Signature 3-Button Jacket at amazon.com.

Every man needs at least one business suit, and most likely it needs to be dark grey or dark navy.  There is no denying that most men look their best in a formal suit.  There are few workplaces left where men wear a formal suit every day and generally suits are reserved for very important business occasions, such as meeting important clients (or clients that dress formally, such as those in legal, finance or the military) or making presentations to the public. My husband indicates a preference for a single breasted 2-piece suit with a 3-button jacket and flat front pants.  The bottom line here, however, is that you should choose a suit style that looks really good on you. A double-breasted jacket can have a slimming effect for some men and may be more appropriate.

Navy sportcoat

Ralph Lauren Mens Single Breasted 2 Button Navy Blue Wool Blazer Sport Coat Jacket at amazon.com.

A sportcoat is a great way to create a suit look when you have to meet with multiple clients on the same day who dress in a range of styles from informal to formal.  My husband prefers a navy sportcoat over khaki pants.

A Tie (or Two)

Geoffrey Beene Men's New Natte Tie at amazon.com.

I have been told by both my husband and numerous tie salespeople that I am terrible at picking out ties!  It is a good thing I don’t have to wear ties!  There is such a huge selection of clever ties and this is one area where a person could express some individuality.  It is really too bad that selecting a tie can be such a fashion minefield! I asked my husband for guidance and he said, “Don’t ask me . . . I hate ties!”  All I could get out of him is “No bow ties” and “No novelty prints . . . preferably solid color or stripes.” I hope someone will chime in on the comments and tell us how to pick out a classic tie.  All I can suggest is that you look at pictures of what high-powered politicians are wearing or ask a male salesperson for help in a good department store or menswear shop.  Many of the ties that we asked someone to pick for us in stores have tiny, repetitive prints but look primarily like a solid color from a distance. Unless your job requires wearing a tie every day, you can get away with as little as 1 or 2 ties.

The everyday outfit: dress pants and collared shirt

Collared shirts

Nautica Men's Solid Non Iron Dress Shirt at amazon.com.

You need at least one plain white collared dress shirt to wear with your suit.  My husband will never wear a plain white dress shirt without a jacket.  For shirts worn without a jacket, his “approved” colors are light blue, French blue, navy, black, brown, grey, burgundy, muted red, forest green, and olive green as well as stripes, plaids and checks in these same general colors.  He strongly prefers the no-iron variety since he does the bulk of the laundry in our house.

Nautica Men's Stripe Non Iron Dress Shirt with French Cuff at amazon.com.

Eddie Bauer Relaxed Fit Wrinkle Free Pinpoint Oxford Blues Pattern Shirt at amazon.com.

Undershirts

Calvin Klein Mens Body 3 Pack Slim Fit Short Sleeve Crew Neck Tee at amazon.com.

Beneath your collared shirt goes a round collar undershirt generally in a thick quality cotton.

Pants

Nautica Men's Sportswear True Khaki Flat Front Pant at amazon.com.	Until you buy a pair of men’s pants, you have no idea how many shades of khaki and tan there are!  Black, light tan and dark tan are the colors my husband says coordinate with the majority of his shirts.  He insists on flat front pants (no pleats) and prefers cuffed pants.  Again, no iron is his favorite.
Dockers Men's Signature Khaki D2 Straight Fit Flat Front Pant at amazon.com.	Dockers Men's Signature Khaki D1 Slim Fit Flat Front Pant at amazon.com.

Jewelry

Suunto X-Lander Wrist-Top Computer Watch with Altimeter, Barometer, Compass, and Chronograph at amazon.com.

The conservative look for the office is no jewelry except for a wedding ring and a watch.  While a lot of people have stopped wearing watches, finally here is one area where you can express a little personality!  A conservative looking watch that does something cool besides tell time is a great conversation piece.

Belt

Dockers Men's 30Mm Reversible Swivel Buckle Belt at amazon.com.

A simple brown or black belt that matches your shoes completes the standard outfit.  You could even be a true minimalist and get a reversible belt that is brown on one side and black on the other.

Socks and Shoes

Dockers Men's 3-Pack Performance Dress Flat Knit Socks Socks at amazon.com.	Black socks always.  A simple Oxford-style lace-up shoe in black or brown is always a classic look.  Keep them in good condition with no scuffs.  My husband likes the Ecco brand as he indicates they have some sort of cushioning in the shoe that makes them as comfortable as athletic shoes when you have to stand on your feet for long periods.
Ecco Men's Boston Plain Toe Oxford at amazon.com.	ECCO Men's Helsinki Lace-Up at amazon.com.

What would you add or subtract from this list?  What are your favorite menswear staples?  Please share in the comments.