Young guy needing professional watch and shoe advice

[Philosophy Student]

Hey all,

This fall I will be starting my journey into the legal field. I expect to be wearing suits quite often and am looking for a watch that is professional looking, suitable for interviews. I am looking for something which can be worn with a suit or when im dressed up to go out. So, having no knowledge about watches or what is suitable I hope you guys can point me towards appropriate styles or watches. I would like to try and keep this fairly reasonably priced as I am not yet working rather just headed to school.

Secondly, I am looking for classic yet simple leather soled black leather shoes to wear with suits. I prefer something like a squared off toe to a pointy or rounded one. What are some good brands/shoes to keep an eye out for? I currently wear a pair of florsheim causal oxfords (which are now discontinued) they are comfortech and really comfy, but I found the inside heel to tear at the seam and the sponge material is exposed. So im weary of florsheim. Also they dont have anything that looks suitable for a 24-25 year old. I like the look of these but I am not sure about the quality or the style being appropriate. http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=6854&vid=1&pid=514469&scid=514469002



Thanks for all your advice. I look forward to all of the suggestions.

Thank you

 

[Sam]

Philip, your budget may determine a lot of the advice we give.

Shoes: I do not recommend square off toe. Look at the people whose job you WANT TO HAVE. Judges, senior partners, none of them are wearing squared off toes. I say a pair of Allen Edmond Park Avenue will be good to go in any occasion where you need to wear a suit or even sports coat. Go to www.askandyaboutclothes.com and read around. You can get a pair of AE on sale on ebay or at their factory stores sometimes around $200 and at Jos. A. Bank, a corporate card will get you 20% off.

Watch: Leather band, simple face. A Hamilton is a great watch, and there are many, many others. You can even get a tool for like $8 to switch watch bands from black to brown to sporty and even metal. www.timezone.com, you can learn of some sellers and try to get a nice used one for an even better deal and better than the crap shot on ebay.

Just a start.

 

[Newfie]

Philip, shoes I can't help with, but if you would like to meet for coffee, I'll show you my watch and you can try it on to see how it feels and looks.

~~CLICKY ME~~

 

[BigHairyGuy]

Definitely do not get the squared-toe shoes. What law school are you going to? I'm a recent law grad, and right now I'd suggest getting something cheap that looks good superficially. You won't be walking much for interviews and you can invest in something nice with your firm signing bonus, assuming you work at a firm. Law school debt is crushing people, and every dollar you save is helpful in the long run. What legal field do you want to enter?

 

[MichaelG]

The general consensus is that one should wear a dress watch with a suit. Having said that, a lot of guys wear sports watches with suits - something like a Rolex Submariner.

If you want to stay conservative, you should definitely go with a dress watch. A dress watch is anything with clean lines, of reasonable size - maybe 40mm diameter or less, either gold or stainless steel and on a leather strap.

Many watch guys consider this the ne plus ultra (like how I though in some Latin there ) of dress watches - the Patek Philippe Calatrava. It's a Rolls Royce brand, but lots of watch brands sell similar watches at all price points.

A more affordable alternative would be something like a Nomos - a well-regarded German brand - here's their Bauhaus-inspired take on the dress watch.

Stowa is another German brand that sells Bauhaus-inspired watches but at a less expensive price point than Nomos.

Even if none of these are appealing, in general, those are good options.

Just stay away from chunky, trendy watches or G-Shocks, etc., with a suit.

Hey all,

This fall I will be starting my journey into the legal field. I expect to be wearing suits quite often and am looking for a watch that is professional looking, suitable for interviews. I am looking for something which can be worn with a suit or when im dressed up to go out. So, having no knowledge about watches or what is suitable I hope you guys can point me towards appropriate styles or watches. I would like to try and keep this fairly reasonably priced as I am not yet working rather just headed to school.

Secondly, I am looking for classic yet simple leather soled black leather shoes to wear with suits. I prefer something like a squared off toe to a pointy or rounded one. What are some good brands/shoes to keep an eye out for? I currently wear a pair of florsheim causal oxfords (which are now discontinued) they are comfortech and really comfy, but I found the inside heel to tear at the seam and the sponge material is exposed. So im weary of florsheim. Also they dont have anything that looks suitable for a 24-25 year old. I like the look of these but I am not sure about the quality or the style being appropriate. http://bananarepublic.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=6854&vid=1&pid=514469&scid=514469002



Thanks for all your advice. I look forward to all of the suggestions.

Thank you

 

[_MementoMori_]

I could be way off base here, and I mean no disrespect to anyone, but something tells me the OP isn't in the market for watches as expensive as economy cars. Didn't he say something about "reasonably affordable" in his first post?

OP, I'd say study the aesthetics of those fabulously expensive watches and see if you can find something in your price range that looks like them. It'll be fun scouring the internet!

 

[rjt65]

Allen edmunds (or more expensive than less expensive edmunds would be ALDEN).

The executive line is gr8 --I got one pair (rubber soles-but appear like classic wood leather). I have a pair Aldens with double wooden leather soles, also comfortable and excellent. Both shoes on the expensive side, but these are restorable and can be rebuilt, re-shined etc by the manufacturer for around 100$ so over 20 years these will be less expensive. They are having a sale starting in 3 days--or u can find a factory store that has a monthly special on a certain shoe -pot luck --that is how i scored the $285 Executive for like 150$ if I would have known i would have gotten in black as well.

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/cati_Shoes_1_40000000001_-1?searchOccassion=123803

What are you willing to spend on a watch? Upon accepting a job (I manage IT infrastructure teams) at one of the top 20 global law firms I bought myself a beautiful (IMO) Baume & Merciere Classic Executive line. I am on a watch forum too. and have a watch phobic community that I can refer you too!

Pricey but a gift for myself!

PS depending upon your size (I am Big weightlifter and tall) so a 42 or 44 MM watch looks fine on me.

good luck in your career

 

[Kcaps]

Just finished 1L at U of C law school here in Calgary, and am working at a good sized firm here for the summer. I interviewed at quite a few firms and from what I saw they don't really care if you have $300 dollar shoes, a $1000 suit or a pricey watch. I had an internal conflict last August as I got ready for school, trying to justify my expensive taste with starving student budget. My advice is to find the cheap way of looking nice for the next couple of years and slowly build your wardrobe over time. I REALLY wanted to buy custom tailored suits, but decided to get a few off the rack suits and have them nicely altered. NO square toed shoes. Start with a pair of conservative shoes. The Allen Edmonds are great looking, but if you can't afford it, go for cheaper shoes that have the same look. You will only really need them to last you for a couple of years before you can replace them with something of better quality. As for a watch, do NOT spend a mint trying to impress people in the legal community. Firms don't care. Sure they want you to look polished and well put together, but an expensive watch is overkill if you can't afford it. If you've got the money, by all means brother TREAT YOURSELF!! I have a few bids on vintage Tissot Seastars right now on the bay trying to get them for under $100.

PS what school are you going to? 1L is tough, but worth it! Good luck!

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'd recommend investing in a good pair of hard-soled dress shoes. I bought a good pair of Florsheim Royal Imperials about 20 years ago and I'm still wearing them. They're no longer available, but a good pair really holds up. I like the offerings from Alden, Brooks Bros., and a number of English brands like Loake and Barker. Avoid trendy square toes. Get a plain black Oxford or blucher. The simpler the better. You can have them resoled for a lifetime.

As for watches, avoid gigantic, bulky watches. They were fashionable for awhile, but you don't want to draw attention to yourself. I'd recommend looking at vintage dress watches. I wear a vintage gold Zenith handwound. Got it for around $200 and put a nice lizard band on it. It's in the same, plain and elegant style as a Patek, Vacheron or Audemars, at a substantially lower cost. Zenith isn't a half bad brand, either, and it runs great. Aside from that, I wear a couple of Sinn watches that I really enjoy.

Some nice vintage brands to consider are Zenith, IWC, Hamilton, Eterna-Matic, Omega, Longines, Illinois, and browse around for other vintage American and Swiss watches. Beware of the service costs of new watches. Some of them will pop you $400 or more for a routine cleaning. It isn't worth it. Most of the older ones can be cleaned and times for $100-$150. Also look out for watches with complications - those can be ridiculously expensive to clean or repair. If you really need timers, etc., just use your cell phone.

And congrats on getting into the legal field. I've been a lawyer since '98 and it's a good field to be in.

 

[Mike Schutz]

You can't beat Allen Edmunds for durability and serviceability. I have a pair of Park Ave. that is now about 25 years old and has been resoled at least 5 times (by AE) and they still look and feel great. They may seem a little pricy unless you live near one of their outlets and can pick up seconds. But they're worth every penny. On top of that they're made in Port Washington, WI. None of that cheap Italian stuff that can't be serviced. (although they do carry some Italian shoes, stay away from those.)

 

[mouscacha]

I agree with everyone's consensus about tipped vs. square toed shoes and slim vs. bulky watches.

Funny thing is, I'm wearing both of those items right now. Squared off ecco shoes and tag links watch, but that's because I tend to be more on the trendy side of things. My clientele tends to be a little more trendy as well, so no detriment to the business.

You need to seperate fashion vs. function...

 

[joebob2586]

what about a simple movado watch?

 

[MichaelG]

I wasn't suggesting that he buy a Patek. I said it's the epitome of a dress watch and that many manufacturers sell similar watches at various price points - some very affordable. It was meant as a guide as to what a dress watch looks like.

The Nomos is not as expensive as an economy car, but it is a nice watch. The Stowas are very affordable watches - in the $600 range.

Again, they were meant as a guide - you can buy a reasonably nice dress watch for under $200 - something like this Seiko.

QUOTE=_MementoMori_;2168121]I could be way off base here, and I mean no disrespect to anyone, but something tells me the OP isn't in the market for watches as expensive as economy cars. Didn't he say something about "reasonably affordable" in his first post?

OP, I'd say study the aesthetics of those fabulously expensive watches and see if you can find something in your price range that looks like them. It'll be fun scouring the internet![/QUOTE]

 

[Stubblefield]

If you have the money, buy a pair of Alden's all-weather walkers.

Watches? No one cares. A Timex with a black leather strap will be fine.