Step Right Up!

There was a time when even the most fashion-conscious of men winced at the thought of having to buy new shoes. Unless a chap were privy to a master customizer, he faced a doleful session of "breaking in." Throughout history, men had to do the best they could: the elegant English monarch James biffed around the palace in his slippers rather than hold court in a pair of new patrician pumps. But soft leathers, modern materials and sophisticated new stylings have come to the rescue, and "breaking in" is now something more appropriately left to briar pipes and cow ponies. Today's foot-loose fellow leaves his beefy brogans for tramping an occasional moor while he goes for smooth slip-ons and soft suedes, now as at home at the conference table as at the cabana. Even in formal evening shoes, you'll find the cobbler has done his awl to make them comfortable from first fit to final frug. Seen here, artfully conjured alone and then photographed in action, are some of the newest styles in modern footwear--the softest shoes since Eddie Foy.