Chips & Beer

Being a guy isn't always about being dashing and suave. In fact, some of the best fun you can have is when you give up on that completely. Enter Eponymous Trenchmouth's bowling shoes, called "Strike". Seeing as we seem to be on something of an Eponymous Trenchmouth "streak" lately, I thought I might as well throw in this review of one of his best pieces of work to bookend his interview.

The Strike is a marvel in that it captures an element of male character that isn't exactly right off the pages of GQ, but has a certain charm and (in a hard-to-describe way) some sex appeal. What could be more symbolic of the American male icon than a pair of bowling shoes... bringing to mind chips, beer, the sound of crashing pins echoing through the room...? It's one part of American culture that's worth preserving and wearing as your own.



The workmanship of these shoes is absolutely stunning. As is typical of Trenchmouth's work, the textures are so well-made that to look at it you can almost feel the leather under your fingertips. The shoe comes in black & red or blue & red (blue & red is really the cool one, if you ask me). Honestly, you could not ask for finer work than this... not just in the stitching (which is perfect) and the laces (which are so realistic that you can almost touch them), but the shoe even has the patent leather sole for crying out loud. This shoe will go exceptionally well with casual wear, especially when you're "in character" with a circa-1950's shirt and even a loud pair of slacks. At first, one might think there's no real sex appeal to it, but I disagree; geek chic is very hot right now and if you can wear it with some confidence I think you'll find the impact is excellent.



Unfortunately, the shoe suffers from some mild problems with "muffin top" shaping, i.e. that the top of the shoe kind of "puffs over" the bottom. It's a very subtle thing and hard to see, but it's there. You'd be nuts to turn down a great shoe like this for a trivial flaw of that sort, but... very close examination will reveal the limitations of prim-based shoe building.



Part of good male style is understanding that humor and flare is as important as fit and fabric. These shoes communicate great style and taste while being a bit bold as well. Put them on for a friend's house party or a night out with the boys. Wear them with confidence and they'll make you look fantastic.

Strike bowling shoes at Jeepers Creepers.

Other stuff:
Sofia glasses from Etch'd
Shirt from from Artilleri
Slacks from Zen Abyss
Hair from Petrelli