A guide for those of us who have no idea what the heck fashion is all about (but have the analytical skills to figure it out!)

1. An Analytical Method for
Finding the Proper Shoes
A guide for those of us who
have no idea what the heck
fashion is all about (but have
the analytical skills to figure it out!)
Andrew Lambert

2. Before going shopping, you need to
decide on your fashion item and
your “wear case.”
I need casual shoes ( ) for the
office and outside. They need to be
classier than tennis shoes ( ).

3. Go to a store with the broadest
selection of shoes.

4. Ask a store
assistant to bring
you very different
kinds of casual
shoes.

5. Store assistant’s responsibility
The assistant knows the possibility
space of shoes. By bringing you very
different casual shoes, you should learn
about the (theoretical) edges of the
space. This will help you find your
desired shoes quicker.
Store’s possibility space of inventory
shoes
casual
shoes

6. However, don’t trust
the assistant’s
recommendations as
they may be trying to
sell you high margin
items that might not
represent the true
edges of the space.

7. Share a picture of the shoes
together with 3 fashionably
conscious friends and ask which is
most appropriate for casual wear.

8. Pay attention to what your
friends say about shoe shape. You
will learn about the problems of
each shape, which will guide you
to an appropriate one. You can’t
wear those
with shorts,
bro!

9. Keep adjusting the shoes you grab based
on your friends’ feedback until your
friends seem to agree on the shape.

10. My friend found a shoe
shape on the internet
but my store didn’t
have it, so I went
elsewhere.

11. Once you’ve figured out what
shape to get, start looking for
more of these shoes. You can now
inject your preferences in since
you should be an expert in what’s
acceptable.

12. Final step: win.
(If you picked shoes that
happen to be on sale and you
didn’t notice it, then you’ve
earned bonus points.)

13. Analytical Method Summary
1. Decide (a) fashion item and (b) "wear case"
2. Visit store with broadest selection of item
3. Ask store assistant to bring you many different kinds
of the fashion item
4. Ask fashionably conscious friends which ones best fit
your wear case
5. Keep grabbing new items based on your friends'
feedback until there is agreement on the shape.
6. Once you've found the appropriate shape, you can
add some personal preference and make your
selection!