Boys/Teens...dress shoes vs sneakers?

[Jillie]

Question for my sister...she has 4 boys ages 19, 17, 15, 11. She is planning on only bringing sneakers for them to wear at dinner with their pants and shirts. Are dress shoes need?? My thinking is yes but she does not want to go buy them when they never wear them at home. Any suggestions/recommendations?? Thanks.

 

[Empire Day]

I won't be wearing dress shoes, 35yo, But I am on a four day with no formal night, with a formal night I would bring my dress shoes to wear.
I have black suade tennies so they look pretty nice as a casual dress, my DS7 has tan suade tennies that also do the trick (skater type shoes, vans/airwalk that arn't to flashy)

I'm sure you'll get alot of opinions on this one, (I'm curorious also)

My thinking is yes but she does not want to go buy them when they never wear them at home.

They may want to dress up at 17- 19 at least!
Do people really look at shoes? (outside of the ride cues at the parks????, My fav. activity for long lines!)

 

[kajohn]

I have 3 boys, 5, 7 and 9, and I had them wear dress shoes every night. My personal opinion is that boys older than toddlers should dress appropriately i.e. kahki pants, dress shoes and golf type shirts for casual nights, and at least dress shirts and ties or shirt/vest combo for formal nights.

That being said, no one will keep them out of the dinning room if they have tennis shoes on.

 

[mobetsy]

I haven't been on a cruise yet (sigh...still 11+ months to go), but I'm thinking we will take dark, new tennies along for sons 6 and 9 for formal and semi-formal nights. If I happen to come into some dress shoe hand me downs that fit, I'll bring those too, with some expectation that the 9 y.o. will wear them. But I am not going to go shopping for something rarely worn and quickly outgrown, nor am I going to enter into a giant battle about it; I want vacation to be fun. I recall someone mentioning in another thread about a son wearing black sandals and black socks with a dark suit; that's another option. I'd think the 19 and 17 y.o. might want to wear dress shoes when they dress up (formal, semi-formal nights), so maybe they will solve the dilemma on their own!

 

[mmouse37]

Well, my son forgot his dress shoes on one of our cruises and showed up to formal night dinner in his slippers.....at least he showed up to dine with the family.

MJ

 

[imgoingtodisney]

I had black sneakers packed for DS last Nov and will have a new pair of black sneakers packed for him this rescheduled cruise.

 

[cathie]

Our boys ages 15 & 11 both wore sneakers & looked fine with their khakis & tropical button down shirts. As long as the sneakers are fairly new & clean there's no problem.

 

[emmak]

I guess I am one of the few who disagree. I am bringing dress shoes for both of my kids, DS (4) and DD (2). My feeling is that if you are spending the money on dress pants and polo shirts than you should complete the outfit with decent shoes. You can get inexpensive shoes at Walmart etc.
My kids wear the shoes on holidays and special occasions. Especially with teenagers, I would think they would have parties, dances, weddings, etc. where they would wear dress shoes; and their feet aren't growing too rapidly at that age.
I think that sandals would be fine with khakis but if they are wearing dressier pants on the formal nights, dressier shoes would be more appropriate. IMHO

 

[Makaroni5]

Hello everyone - My take on this is: If you are going to bother to dress in a suit in the first place then why not take it all the way and finish it off with a nice pair of shoes. You can purchase a reasonable pair of shoes $9.99 at Payless Shoes or even at Wal-Mart and I think it would look nicer especially for formal nights than wearing sneakers or sandals. They can always change after dinner into other clothes and sneakers.

Having said that, I am sure they will not be thrown out of the dining room no matter what they wear other than no shoes at all. So enjoy and do what you are comfortable with. Myself, I don't really like to dress up, but when I do I don't stop at my feet, I go all the way. That's just me. Have fun!!!!

 

[miksicnarf]

My boys were 13 and 15 when we cruised. I bought suits for them, fortunately they already had dress shoes that fit. Well, shortly after we boarded the plane, they remembered that they forgot to pack their dress shoes (how convenient that they remembered once it was too late to do anything about it!). So they wore sneakers with their suits on formal night and I bet I was the only one who noticed. No biggie at all.
As for the other nights, sneakers appeared to be the norm. Your nephews will be fine.

 

[ducklite]

Wearing dress clothes without dress shoes is just plain tacky IMHO.

For $10 you can get a pair of boys dress shoes at Payless.

I don't care how new or how black they are, sneakers are still sneakers.

To me it's kind of like buying them a suit but having them wear just a t-shirt under it instead of a dress shirt.

You might also check around--maybe you can borrow a pair from someone you know? My sister and sister-in-law have boys very close in size and they've borrowed items from each other several times for special events.

Anne

 

[Fay Ray]

IMHO-- Dress shoes are the way to go....


Would you let a girl wear sneakers with a nice dress?
Probably not.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

We just went through this last Sat when I "made" the entire family head out on a shopping trip.

DS (15 will be closing in on 16 at time of cruise) has a daily uniform of jeans and t-shirts. But I insisted on ONE pair of dress pants and "decent" shirts for dinner (we're planning on renting a tux for formal/semi-formal because the expense of a suit isn't worth it, he won't wear it again). He WILL take (and I'll pack them) his black "choir" shoes to wear with the tux. They are standard black lace up shoes that he finds reasonably comfortable. For the rest of the evenings when he is in dress pants we purchased a pair of shoes that aren't sandals, but aren't conventional dress or deck shoes either. They are backless but that doesn't show when he has dress pants on and they are dressier than the usual sandal when he has shorts on.

Bottom line, they look like dress shoes, brown leather, etc. He finds them comfortable and will wear them.

And as others have said, IMHO if he has dress pants on he is NOT wearing tennis shoes or his hiking boots (his other standard uniform piece!)

Deb

 

[antmaril]

I have to vote for dress shoes. My son was 13 when we cruised and he always wore dress shoes in the dining room. I do not like sneakers with dress slacks or khakis. I agree with the other posters who recommend getting a inexpensive pair of dress shoes for the trip.

 

[Makaroni5]

Hi - I'm wondering how you would know that no one noticed the boy's wearing sneakers. I think most people are tactful enough not to come up to you and say they think those sneakers are inappropriate, but I am sure they noticed. IMHO if you can spend the money to go on a cruise in the 1st place you could certainly spring for a $8-10 pr. of dress shoes, which you could pass on to someone else later or wear for any dressy occasion you might have at home.

This upcoming cruise will be my 9th cruise and I have yet to see anyone wearing a suit with sneakers or sandals with socks, eek! Nor have a seen a woman wearing a dress or fancy slack outfit with sneakers. If you yourself feel comfortable with that type of footwear when dressed up, then I guess you won't mind what anyone else thinks, myself included. Good Luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[welovepoohbear]

We're just back from a 4-day. I never noticed what anyone else was wearing. I say wear what you want.

 

[mobetsy]

It's pretty obvious that the answer is that there will be all sorts of footwear on kids in the dining rooms, which means that no matter what your nephews wear, they will have company I love the story about the slippers!

The $9.99 Payless shoes are a great idea if they fit your child; unfortunately, both my boys have harder to fit feet than that (believe me, after many hours in assorted discount shoe places trying to convince them that one shoe or another really should fit, I've learned...plus some good advice from shoe sales people).

Another option might be the nice slip-on suede "mocs" that Lands End carries (and plenty of other places as well now); they are very comfortable and don't have a slick sole, but look nicer than a sneaker. Every kid is different, and has different areas of sensitivity; my two boys are totally opposite in their attitudes toward clothing, and I am quite sure it is innate. I am inclined to think that if at a reasonable price and not too much stress one can get them in dress shoes, that's great; if it's going to be a big cost or major issue, it's a battle I'll choose not to fight.

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

I can't believe I'm saying this but I can actually see both sides of the issue. My son always wears dress shoes with his dress clothes to dinner. No problem. It also has never felt like a waste to us as we attend church weekly and the cruise is always my opportunity to update his wardrobe.

Well all was fine and dandy until we moved recently. We built our home and the new home was not finished but our old home was sold so we had to move into a rental. In the first move, we lost his dress shoes. Even though it is only $10 to $15 to replace I really hate to spend money twice. I knew were in the rental house for only 2 months so off he went every week in his black tennis shoes. I agree it looked less than wonderful.

Well since then we still haven't found those dress shoes. I couldn't stand it any longer and did break down and bought him new shoes.

What I noticed though, was that I really think I was the only person who did notice. Maybe it was because it was for church and hopefully people were there for a reason other than fashion critique but I dare say that if you are comfortable with having them go in black sneakers then you are probably the only one who will REALLY notice. I can appreciate that paying for that many feet (even at a cheap price) gets more pricey than you'd like. I mean who wouldn't rather spend the money on something other than boy's shoes. They really are pretty boring!

 

[Empire Day]

So If I wear a $156 T-shirt, a $1799 Armani linen sport coat, black chinos, with $60 vans tennis shoes at Tritons I'll feel out of place?
I'm afraid not! i CARE ABOUTTHIS[]MUCH WHAT OTHERS THINK. As a musician, I have my own sence of style, and have been to places that most never even get a chance to; dressed the way I feel good! Am I going to pack nice black dress shoes? SURE mabe DW and I will go to Palo, a reason to buy a new suite
Class and Style are looked apon diferntly by everyone,

What I noticed though, was that I really think I was the only person who did notice. Maybe it was because it was for church and hopefully people were there for a reason other than fashion critique

I go to chuch at times wearing "SNEAKERS"did people talk? I'm sure, do I care? NO! I am there for ME and only ME. on the cruise I am there foir ME, DW,and DS if anyone has trouble with any of our dress that is there problom!!!!!
Sorry had to vent, on this touchy subject, as long as you are following the rules and feel good whats the deal????
Jillie
just have your sis follow her fellings! Only they know whats best for them (at that age the boys will know and have their own opinions anyway!) just follow Disneys guidlines, I myself feel deck shoes would be apropriate on a ship at all times, but wouldn't be caught dead in them!!

 

[Makaroni5]

On reading your posts and venting I feel the need to reply. If what you say is true about not caring what anyone thinks, then why dress up at all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and mine is that dress means dress, especially on formal night. Granted some of us dress more than others, from long gowns and tuxes to street length dresses and sport jackets, etc. When you rent a tux complete with everything, do they ever give you a choice of shoes or sneakers, I think not. The outfit comes with dress shoes for a reason.
Of course no one is going to ask you to leave the dining room no matter what you wear. I also think it depends on age somewhat. If we are talking about teenagers, they certainly will be able to wear dress shoes more than once to occasions, unlike small children whose feet grow faster and may outgrow them before using them again, if it's a question of cost.
The reason you would even ask if sneakers were okay, tells me that you were thinking maybe they were not, and if you are going to feel the slightest bit uneasy about it, then I would go for the dress shoes #1 choice. If you feel okay about the sneakers or, as you said, it will cause a big fight with your family member, then I would go with whatever is going to make this a happy vacation for you all. Enjoy!