A New Shoelace Trend

Looking for a new way to dress up your wingtips, oxfords or suede bucks? Take a cue from some of the biggest names in fashion and give statement laces a try.

Brightly colored laces are being pushed on the runways and by top-of-the-line menswear labels as a new way to bring a fun and exciting bit of flair to your look. Across the pond, fashionable men from London to Milan and Paris to Tokyo have been sporting this trend for years. In the States, however, brightly colored laces only recently gained popularity as a street style, and are now slowly making the transition to dress wear.

Fancy laces are nothing new; they date back to the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries when upperclassmen first started wearing heeled shoes adorned with colorful bows and ribbons. No matter their long-standing history, colorful laces fit right in with the modern trend of spicing up your outfit with lots of fun details. With loads of gentlemen sporting brightly colored socks, one could argue the next natural step in the evolution of fashion is brightly colored shoelaces.

If you’re new to the trend, get your toes wet by picking a muted lace and pairing it with chestnut color shoes. The subtle difference will earn you major style points without attracting too much unwanted attention. For the bolder, attention-seeking type there are plenty of bright, even neon colored, laces for you to experiment with. Use care when adding your flair – don’t overdo it with patterned socks, suspenders and laces, especially if you are using particularly bright laces. Let them be your own and only statement piece.

Ready to get in on the colored shoelace trend? Check out Benjo’s feature in GQ for more on Ben Hertz, the man behind the company!