Introduction

You might not think it, but we’re nearly in May. The nice weather I’m experiencing as I write this is far too teasing for my liking – I’ll close my eyes for a second and when I open them it will be back to freezing winds and driving rain.

Planning for summer seems a bit foolish when you still find yourself in need of a winter coat. Although you know that if you don’t, the weather will change all of a sudden and you’ll be the silly idiot wearing jeans and a jumper whilst everyone else around you is in shorts and loafers.

I’ve always found summer footwear to be a particularly tricky facet of my wardrobe. Finding a versatile, comfortable and style appropriate all-rounder is something I’ve really struggled with, usually just resorting to my Vans or soft structured loafers. Sadly, neither of these fills the gaping hole in my footwear collection and the perfect crossover shoe continues to elude me.

However, I think I have found the solution. A shoe that fulfills all of my personal requirements and that I feel is also worthy of serious consideration by you guys. All the typical summer footwear: boat shoes, espadrilles, desert boots and sandals have their pros and cons, but I don’t think any silhouette adapts as well as the suede Derby.

A Good Foot Forward

For me the suede Derby is the perfect crossover shoe, serving both formal and casual styles in equal measure and looking just as good with a pair of rolled up jeans/chinos as they do with your tailored shorts.

Suede is particularly good at bridging the smart-casual divide because it doesn’t have the rigid formal connotations of leather. Suede is also much more temperature appropriate, being lighter and more breathable than leather. You should still invest in some invisible socks though – stinky feet are never attractive.