There’s a natural order to shoes. Well-heeled shoes stay useful and youthful into the ages with light duty; they enjoy pampering and sometimes a bit of a nip ‘n tuck to an entire undercarriage overhaul. Athletic shoes live only for their sport. Specialty athletic shoes are rendered useless in as little as one season or until they are retired as new agents are brought into the club.

It’s a quirky topic that can hook any straight man who mows their own lawn, “lawn-mowing shoes”.  There’s no such thing as new shoes for mowing lawns.  One starts with a pair of casual shoes – with use, the passage of time, and the purchase of new shoes there comes a point where these shoes are still viable albeit not presentable.

My trusty shoes that walked the halls of the Vatican, skipped along the canals of Amsterdam, and walked up an off-ramp on the Philippine National Highway after being dropped off by a PARTAS bus… now bear the green hue of lawn care. Though hardly the vision of the designer who labeled and marketed the shoes, it’s a testament to how versatile a fashion shoe can be. Though I doubt that the Milanese style houses realize where casual shoes go to die; I’m sure that there will come a time where a roughed canvas, grass stained rubber, worn-soled shoe will grace the glossy pages of magazines.