I need some style help...work clothes.

[ASH556]

Hey guys, I know some of you are pretty stylish so I'm hoping you can help me. I'm beginning my second year in outside sales in the industrial valve market. My primary customers are paper mills, power plants, and chemical plants. I deal with everything from buyers and engineers to mechanical and electrical maintenance techs, so the attire has to be nice enough for the office, but dressed down enough to relate to the techs. I've been doing the khakis/polo thing mostly and it works out pretty well. I sometimes trade the polo for a button down and the khakis for navy slacks if I need to dress it up more. Now, I'm not afraid to wear a suit, but it just doesn't really fit the environment usually.

All of that said, it's mostly the footwear that's tripping me up. Some areas require steel toe boots, so that's not a problem but sometimes I find myself wishing for something more substantial than my Rockport Penny Loafers when walking through production areas that may have fluids on the ground, but don't require steel toes.

I was thinking about maybe some upland style chukkas as being "dressy" enough but more substantial than loafers. This is in the South, so mostly the Southern Frat Boy style (Costas, Cablz, Carharrt) thing works well.

Thanks for your thoughts and input.

[blues]

You can check this page at LL Bean to see if any of the chukkas they offer appeal to your sense of style...

[mc1911]

Hey, I work in industrial HVAC sales so I'm in the same situation. My general day-to-day attire sounds like yours. My daily footwear is Skechers Murilo. Got them at Rack Room for $50.

I have steel toed shoes in my car along with safety glasses and ear plugs when needed. This is my second pair of these Skechers. They are comfortable to wear all day and tough enough to handle different environments, but also have a decent look regardless of whether I'm in the boiler room or C-suite. I can throw on boots if I know I'm going to be spending a lot of time on ladders and rooftops in a given day, but for general day-to-day stuff in both commercial and industrial environments, these work well for me.

[Bratch]

Olukai makes some nice leather shoes that work well with khakis, I also have an old pair of Keen boots that are super comfortable that should work as well.

Not sure if it's your style or would be comfortable but I've seen a lot of guys use nice (Ariat, eat ) steel toe cowboy boots as full time footwear.

[Shellback]

Small world. I've worked for Masoneilan now for the past year, desk jockey now, and previously worked for CCI for 8 years in field service.

If it were me I would always rock the steel toes. Reason being is that you show up on site ready to go check out a problem valve, walk through production areas, etc., rather than having to go to your car, change shoes, etc. and making your site contact wait on you.

Any plant manager, or engineer, worth their salt is going to look past any sort of work attire and judge you based on your knowledge, not appearance. They also work with mechanics and techs everyday and don't think twice about dudes getting dirty.

I've been with enough outside sales guys, who had the typical sales outfit on, and didn't know shit versus the dude's who look like your average mech and were solid on service conditions, valve sizing, how to calibrate a positioner or I/P and knew the right questions, etc. Know your shit and people will look past what you're wearing.

Thorogood are made in the U.S.A. and are a great boot if you want to check them out. I have a pair of these and they're super comfy, have held up well, and you can rock them with some khaki action and go from office to field with no issues: http://www.weinbrennerusa.com/dspNav...102&prodid=568

[JTQ]

You can check this page at LL Bean to see if any of the chukkas they offer appeal to your sense of style...

I buy a lot of stuff from LL Bean, and they are a joy to do business with. Their shoes tend to run a little small, in my experience, though it could be just in specific styles.

Recently, I've found Clarks to have a lot of good options for comfortable shoes. My experience with them is they've been a little more true to size than my experience with LL Bean's shoes.

Clarks http://www.clarksusa.com/us/c/mens

[LOKNLOD]

I'm your customer. Not literally, but you know what I mean. Boots are definitely the answer.

[JohnO]

The most comfortable safety shoe I have found is the Timberland Pro series work boot with the titanium alloy toe. They have a generous toe box that does not feel cramped at all. I use them when I go in shops that require safety shoes. So comfortable I forget I'm wearing them. The one drawback I found is the tread pattern/sole is terrible in snow.

[RevolverRob]

Go with a classic style workboot. Leather, with a good sole. Keep 'em cleaned and polished and you'll look fine with your dressier clothing look. FYI; Duluth Trading is doing more biz-casual fits of their Firehose pants now which could add some variety to your clothes ensemble.

White's Semi-Dress Boots would be a good choice - http://www.whitesboots.com/index.php...ategory_id=446

Red Wing Iron Rangers - http://www.redwingheritage.com/us/US...ber-8111-08111

Buy once, cry once, on this front. I've had a pair of Iron Rangers for 7-years and they aren't even broken in yet...

[karmapolice]

Danner's, lots of styles.

http://www.danner.com/men/lifestyle/...-piedmont.html

Mountain pass or lights could work too.