“Forget about the car he drives, the suit he wears or even the company he keeps. If you want to judge a man, look at his shoes,” writes Daniel Costello in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“Just don’t look at ours. While we don’t like to think of ourselves as complete style victims, a quick look toward the floor shows otherwise — and according to our fashionista friends, we aren’t the only ones.”

“With warm weather finally here, we decided to put a spring in our step and pick up what the uber-stylehounds tell us is the perfect summer shoe: loafers. (We aren’t sure we are ready for this, but they even tell us that the ‘Miami Vice’ sockless look is back.) To keep up with the times, we went for smooth-front models — no pennies, please — and, to make sure the shoes could do double duty on weekends and at the office, we bought them only in black.”

“Within days, we were subjecting our purchases to the urban-jungle test, with extended wearing at the office and out on the town. We evaluated them by objectives close to our heart, which we’ll call the ‘Three Cs.’

“First, no creases. Too often, shoes bend right down the middle and look old even after just a few minutes of wear. Second, of course, we looked for comfort. Finally, we were determined to find shoes that managed to sidestep our biggest worry of all: clown feet. Ever notice that some footwear designs make even modest feet look immense? After all, if you are going to climb the ladder of success, you don’t want to do it in giant shoes.”

“The topstitched polished dress loafers by Banana Republic looked classic and dependable. Although a crease popped up just about an hour into our day, and the cut was a little ‘last year’ — it had a slightly square toe — they were comfortable and looked good. But they also looked big (though thankfully short of clown-sized). Another demerit: The sole in the front started rubbing away after only a few wears.”

“We found another pair, Coach’s New Evan loafers, to be equal on the comfort front, but a lot more stylish. With a sleek molded look and polished calfskin, they looked formal enough for the office but the full sole (read: no heel) gave them a modern enough look to make casual jeans and a button-down shirt look spiffy. Plus, although they weren’t the priciest shoes in the bunch, you couldn’t tell. ‘They look expensive,’ one chum cooed.”