It's a catch-22. You can't really dance in dress shoes, and you can't get into fancy clubs with sneakers (or trainers for you brits). See the dilemma? What we need is a sneaker disguised as a dress shoe (or a dress shoe that wears like a sneaker if you prefer).
Think of the crossover possiblities... Instead of being uncomfortable at work all day in stiff, uptight dress shoes, you can bounce along in your new fancy hi-tech kicks.
They would need to be light, and probably made of high tech materials like carbon fiber, because everything is made of carbon fiber these days.
Somebody get me the phone - I'm calling NIKE!!
Responses:
"why you can't really dance in dress shoes" - I don't mean dance the waltz. of course you can shuffle across the floor, but a lot of clubs now play techno and have a dress code - kind of ridiculous - but the case nonetheless. Jumping in rigid shoes doesn't cut it, it will cut up your ankles though.
I've seen rockports - they look and feel like dress shoes or boring sneakers I've seen. My dad wears them. He's 60. Anytime you apply any sideward pressure, lateral, they become uncomfortable, they have no support in that direction, and aren't light to boot. no pun intended.-- djjosh1200, Dec 04 2002 Rockport http://www.rockport.comTry some of Rockport's products [half, Oct 04 2004] Nike ID http://nikeid.nike.com/Lets you design your own "sneakers". [my face your, Oct 04 2004] like this you mean? http://www.halfbake...a/Overshoe_20styles [po, Oct 04 2004] (?) Sergio Rossi pair made by Gucci http://cgi.ebay.com...Item&item=978863275 [krelnik, Oct 04 2004] (?) try these http://www.birkenst...ion=Footprints&ss=1Look at the black ones [Isis, Oct 04 2004] Cole Haan Nike Air http://www.colehaan...p?categoryId=300208baked! [calum, Dec 08 2005] I'm somewhat perplexed that anyone would go to a "fancy" (I'm taking the term to mean "upmarket") club with the intention of dancing. If you want to dance, surely there are plenty of more relaxed dancing-oriented clubs about?
But croissant for the notion because they'd be ideal for weddings etc.-- my face your, Dec 04 2002 That would be a usefull idea. Have a look at some of the Kickers range to see what they currently do.-- DRudge, Dec 04 2002 I found a pair of all-black leather Reeboks at a sports store. They even polish well, and are great for business trips -- less stuff to pack. Inexpensive, usually on sale, and kinda scarce, these aren't very popular, since they look just like a dress shoe...-- Amos Kito, Dec 04 2002 In my case, unless they're magic shoes, they just ain't gonna help.-- half, Dec 04 2002 [djjosh], this is a good idea. Welcome to the halfbakery.
If you want to reply to an annotation, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the word "annotate". rather than add to the main idea text. It reads better for anyone coming along afterwards.-- egbert, Dec 04 2002 So this is basically a dress shoe with an athletic-shoe sole? Or does the cut need to be different as well?
(Also, you can dance in dress shoes; it's just a different sort of dancing. Athletic shoes lend themselves to jumping and stepping, because you know you'll land fine; dress shoes provide less friction between sole and floor, and so lend themselves to more serene movements.)-- bookworm, Dec 04 2002 Baked for about 10 years at least. Very popular with folks who regularly must attend large trade shows, where many miles of walking ensues. See link for a pair by Gucci no less.-- krelnik, Dec 04 2002 You make *squeak* that dress *squeak* look beautiful *squeak*You ain't *squeak* bad your *squeak* elf, Mr. Fan-*squeak*-cyPants. *squeak* Hold *squeak* me closer *squeak*What, *squeak* this tux? You *squeak* know, I *squeak*...-- thumbwax, Dec 05 2002 re: my linky, I think this one is redundant - "half-baked", sorry. nice first post though and Hi.-- po, Dec 05 2002 See link: My fiancée works in sales and is frequently on his feet. I ordered him these several months ago and he loves them. They do look like dress shoes with a suit, but apparently they are quite comfortable.-- Isis, Dec 05 2002 hillarious response, thumbwax, but are you really that fidgety? If you have to pee, just go.
Music will normally be playing and drown out any squeaking, hopefully. Something I hadn't thought of. :)-- djjosh1200, Dec 09 2002 Many years ago there was a commercial for Easy Spirit dress shoes for women where the commercial jingle went something like, "It looks like a pump but feels like a sneaker" and then they showed a scene of a group of women playing basketball while wearing high heeled shoes.-- Jscotty, Dec 08 2005 I've heard there's someone - I think they're in Oregon - who will put wingtips on Converse. A hefty fee of course, but that kind of head-turning usually comes with a significant price tag.-- Joolin, Nov 13 2009 random, halfbakery