The only shoe dilemma faced by many men used to be deciding between black or brown but now, eye-catching footwear is opening up a brave new world of self-expression. "There are studs, sparkle, print and colour everywhere," says Ed Burstell, managing director of London department store Liberty. "Men are now more trend aware – certain brands and styles hit the floor and they're gone right away. They're also prepared to spend more."
過去，許多男士所面臨的兩難問題通常是在黑色與棕色鞋之間進(jìn)行取舍，但如今推出的則是個(gè)性十足、標(biāo)新立異的鞋履。"如今的鞋上，各種飾釘、亮點(diǎn)、條紋以及顏色隨處可見，"倫敦百貨店Liberty總經(jīng)理埃德•伯斯戴爾(Ed Burstell)說。"男士如今越來越具有時(shí)尚意識——某些品牌與款式推出后被一搶而光，男士們愿意為此掏更多的錢。"

Witness the rapper Tinie Tempah in Jimmy Choo glittery slippers (no socks), paired with a dinner suit; DJ Mark Ronson in rainbow hues; Kanye West in Christian Louboutin's gold-studded men's loafers, and Black Eyed Peas star Will.i.am, in eye-catching high-tops. Yet while musicians have always embraced the more outre side of footwear, now they are no longer an exception.
英國說唱歌手蒂尼•坦帕(Tinie Tempah)堂而皇之地身著晚禮服，腳上卻穿著一雙Jimmy Choo發(fā)光拖鞋（而且未穿襪子?。?；DJ歌手馬克•羅森(DJ Mark Ronson)身穿五彩繽紛的服裝；坎耶•維斯特(Kanye West)穿著鑲嵌金色飾釘?shù)目死锼沟侔?#8226;婁伯丁(Christian Louboutin)樂福鞋；黑眼豆豆組合(Black Eyed Peas)中的嘻哈明星will.i.am則是穿著一雙令人咂舌的高幫鞋。音樂家總是喜歡穿稀奇古怪的鞋履，而如今他們也不再那么另類了。

"We're seeing a lot of customer interest in some men's styles," says Stacey Smith, menswear buyer for online retailer Matches. "Christian Louboutin and Pierre Hardy have waiting lists long before the product hits stores."
"我們看到很多消費(fèi)者喜歡流行的男款，" 斯泰西•史密斯(Stacey Smith)說，他是Matches網(wǎng)上零售店男裝部采購員。"克里斯蒂安•婁伯丁與皮埃爾•哈迪(Pierre Hardy)的產(chǎn)品上架前，訂單早已絡(luò)繹不絕。"

Indeed, due to customer demand, Christian Louboutin is opening a new dedicated men's footwear store on London's Dover Street this autumn, following New York and Los Angeles locations this summer, and Jimmy Choo recently launched a dedicated men's store in London's Burlington Arcade. On the shelves at Louboutin there will be peacock-blue calf-leather brogues with decorative zipper detailing, gold-capped leopard-print slippers and golden-studded tartan fabric loafers (£795). At Jimmy Choo, expect to find ponyskin army-print loafers and purple and pink suede shoe-boots (£350).
毋庸置疑，由于消費(fèi)者對所推出的新品趨之若鶩，今年秋天，繼今夏在紐約與洛杉磯開設(shè)分店后，克里斯蒂安•婁伯丁在倫敦多佛街(Dover Street)新開了一家男裝專賣店；Jimmy Choo近日在倫敦伯靈頓市場街(Burlington Arcade)也開了一家男裝專賣店。在婁伯丁新專賣店里，屆時(shí)孔雀藍(lán)小牛皮布洛克鞋會與點(diǎn)綴裝飾拉鏈豹紋拖鞋（鞋頭鑲金）與鑲嵌金色飾釘?shù)母褡硬紭犯Ｐㄊ蹆r(jià)795英鎊）同架銷售。Jimmy Choo新專賣店銷售的則是迷彩紋小馬皮樂福鞋與紫色及粉色山羊皮鞋靴（售價(jià)350英鎊）。

Prada has created lace-up shoes decorated with applique leather flowers and studs, alongside two-tone lace-ups where the bottom half looks like it has been dipped in cherry-hued paint (£870 and £620 respectively). Alexander McQueen has floral embroidered slippers (£615), and Pierre Hardy is offering leopard-print brothel creepers (£300).
普拉達(dá)(Prada)除了推出雙色系帶鞋（鞋跟下半部看上去像是在鮮紅色顏料中浸泡過一樣）外，還推出了裝飾皮質(zhì)貼花及飾釘?shù)南祹ㄊ蹆r(jià)分別為620英鎊與870英鎊）。亞歷山大•麥奎(Alexander McQueen)推出了繡花式拖鞋（售價(jià)615英鎊），而皮埃爾•哈迪推出的則是豹紋款超厚橡膠底鞋（brothel creepers，售價(jià)300英鎊）。

"The best men's styles are now easily on a par with their womenswear equivalents in price and the use of more luxurious skins and finishes," says Smith. "The secret is that they're not too costumey. They're fun but there's real workmanship and quality materials," says Burstell.
"最潮的男款如今在價(jià)位、奢侈皮質(zhì)用料以及打磨工序等方面與女款不相上下，"史密斯說。"奧秘就在于它們不是顯得太過奢華，相反卻設(shè)計(jì)奇妙、做工非常講究以及使用上等材質(zhì)，"伯斯戴爾說。

"‘Better-made shoes are more popular in general now," agrees Toby Bateman, buying director at men's online retailer Mr Porter, adding that hand-made classic John Lobb styles in particular are selling fast on the site.
"通常說來，做工考究的鞋如今更容易流行，" Mr Porter網(wǎng)絡(luò)零售店男裝采購部主管托比•貝特曼(Toby Bateman)對此持同樣看法，他并補(bǔ)充說手工打造的經(jīng)典款約翰•洛布 (John Lobb) 鞋在網(wǎng)店上尤為暢銷。

However, Lobb's handmade styles (around £600) offer years of wear while these new "directional" designs mimic the seasonal changes usually seen in womenswear and are thus a less reliable investment. Will they catch on with male consumers?
但是，洛布手工款鞋（售價(jià)約600英鎊）經(jīng)久耐穿，而這些新推出的時(shí)尚鞋通常也存在類似女款鞋那種季節(jié)性的變化，因而在經(jīng)濟(jì)上不太劃算。時(shí)尚男鞋能俘獲男性消費(fèi)者的"芳心"嗎？

One place that is particularly resistant to passing trends is the City of London. Says one City lawyer: "I wore dark brown lace-ups as a change one week and those were considered ‘statement' enough. I was mocked for weeks by my conservative colleagues, so I am not sure these would go down well. Perhaps in media ..."
對流行時(shí)尚具有"強(qiáng)耐抗性"的地方是倫敦金融城(City of London)。金融城一位律師這么說道："有一周，我換了一雙深棕色系帶鞋，覺得很是標(biāo)新立異。結(jié)果，我的那些保守朋友取笑了我好幾周，因此本人不知道這些另類鞋會不會流行下去，也許媒體可以大肆吹捧……"

Another Lloyd's broker adds: "I don't think the commissionaires would let me in to the Lloyd's building with them on and at the weekend my teenage boys say they wouldn't let me leave the house in them."
英國勞合社(Lloyd's)一位經(jīng)紀(jì)人補(bǔ)充說："我覺得自己若是穿這樣的鞋上班，勞合社的門衛(wèi)都不會讓我進(jìn)大樓；周末時(shí)，家里十來歲的兒子們說我若是穿這樣的鞋，他們都不會允許我出門。"

So why the sudden rush to bolder styles among the sartorially adventurous males? "There's a growing confidence among male consumers, who are becoming increasingly fashion literate and ready to be more playful with their wardrobes," says Smith.
那么，那些追求新潮服飾的男士為何會突然間青睞這種前衛(wèi)的流行時(shí)尚？"原因是男性消費(fèi)者的自信心越來越足，他們越來越了解時(shí)尚，希望嘗試一把歡快風(fēng)格，"史密斯說。

The trend started in spring 2011 with Prada's platform trainers, brogues and espadrilles, which became cult hits, and the reinvention of men's slippers in opulent fabrics. The growing embrace of brothel creepers has also encouraged men to be more experimental.
這股時(shí)尚風(fēng)肇始于2011年春季，當(dāng)時(shí)普拉達(dá)推出了厚底運(yùn)動鞋、布洛克鞋以及登山帆布鞋（很快被消費(fèi)者爭購一空）以及重新打造了華麗織布類男士拖鞋。超厚橡膠底鞋的盛行也不斷鼓勵(lì)男士一試為快。

"Trainers have also been a major driver," says Burstell. "There's been a huge string of statement, bright styles, which have been really popular, and worn by lots of famous people. It's encouraged men to be braver. These rare styles also appeal to the collector in men, which we've seen with sneakers for years. Shoes have become another geek pursuit."
"運(yùn)動鞋也是主要的推波助瀾者，"伯斯戴爾說。"市場上標(biāo)新立異、顏色亮麗的鞋應(yīng)接不暇，它們很受消費(fèi)者歡迎，而且很多大名人都喜歡穿。它們鼓勵(lì)男士更大膽地去嘗試新款。這些稀有款式還引起了男性藏家的深厚興趣（這幾年來，旅游鞋的收藏就是個(gè)明證），鞋成了社會另一大怪癖收藏之對象。"

At the same time, observes Bateman, "the statement shoe is much less scary than a statement jacket. Perhaps our bravery has migrated from our socks – it used to be these that the ‘classic' man kept as their subversive bit of fashion and now it's the shoe. A coloured shoe or a velvet slipper makes me feel slightly more rebellious."
與此同時(shí)，貝特曼注意到："相比標(biāo)新立異的夾克，標(biāo)新立異的鞋履不太會讓消費(fèi)者存有顧慮。也許我們的無畏源自以前穿襪子——過去的襪子款式多樣，以致于名人們把它視作顛覆時(shí)尚之物，如今則是鞋履擔(dān)此"光榮角色"。色彩艷麗的鞋或者天鵝絨拖鞋讓本人覺得有了"挑戰(zhàn)時(shí)尚傳統(tǒng)"的底氣。"