We teeter with our attitude toward dressing up. Too few men bring dedication and creativity to how they pull it together, but putting on a three-piece suit and leather-soled shoes every morning is extraneous. Where shoes are concerned in the quest for a well-curated shield, there are fine lines to walk. It all depends on the spikiness of the hair or his overall Kanye-ness, for instance, but sometimes a dude in a suit wearing high-tops looks like a real dick.

Find the right casual shoe for gussying with, however, and you are a comfortable killer.

A selection of shoes we might pair with fancy pants and blazers after the jump.

Hidden laces remind of skate shoes, and they tend to work well when the rest of a shoe bearing them hews to the pragmatic styling of something built to resist griptape. These Lacava’s from Creative Recreation have the proper balance of familiarity (classic vulcanized sole; low-profile silhouette) and surprise (those lace covers look like a crisp popped collar and who knows how your pants will react to the heel tab). Pulling inspiration from the more expensive Turino model (leather; made in Italy), these canvas floats retail for $62 with eight more color schemes in the wings, though it’s hard to imagine anything more eye-catching than the red and blue colorway. -jt

More looks in our gallery…

On initial look, the new Tucco shoe from Creative Recreation burned into my eyes a bit. Part of their Spring/Summer 2012 offering, the full-grain leather Tucco style features soles in mint green and sweater pink against brown and black leather uppers, respectively. But the more I look at them, the more they seem less of a novelty and more of a quick touch of color for a gentleman looking to set off his conservative wardrobe. Available exclusively at Barneys.

More looks after the click.

Creative Recreation continues to right the high road of succes with a new collection of shoes exclusive to Barneys for the forthcoming Holiday 2011 run. “The Zerilli’s were the result of Creative Recreation & Barneys wanting to do something unique with the classic wingtip design (Creative Recreation specializes in taking traditional footwear styles and giving them a “hybrid” twist). By utilizing genuine Horween leather yet in a bold color palette & studs, Creative Recreation achieved a genuine hybrid look for the low varieties, while the green style was blended with a classic Chelsea boot upper.”

More looks after the click.

Some proper offerings fro the Creative Recreation line. Their “high-end” Italo-made line of Turino’s in low and mid-top offer proper leathers and colors for the season. Choose from burnished, suede and tumbled leathers. Well done. Suede grey is the best.

More looks after the click.

Creative Rec delivers a couple of winter hikers for the market. The colorways work and follow the classic waterproof styling of field boots. They’re available in high (Satoro) and mid (Dio) models. Worth a look and more than likely available local to you as well.

More looks after the click.

Some new footwear from the Creative Recreation “Select” line. “One of the brand’s most comfortable shoes, the driving moccasin inspired Sacco is made of thin leather suede and finished with a flexible, light-weight rubber outsole detailed with a horizontal tread that allows for stability and cushion.  The Sacco is constructed without a heel counter which allows the shoe to mold specifically to the wearer’s foot.”

More looks at the Sacco from Select by Creative Recreation line after the click.

Creative Recreation updates their Turino model from “The Collection” with a mid version. “The Turino Mid maintains a sleek and sophisticated design with a hidden lace closure that has secured the Turino as the staple to The Collection by Creative Recreation.  The minimalistic construction of the shoe makes it extremely comfortable to wear, while still preserving a luxurious feel. The smooth black leather Turino Mid offers matching leather laces while the brown style offers a similar appearance in a short leather suede.” Find them exclusively through Barneys now.

For those not fond of the Barneys exclusives, Creative Recreation offers Saks clients a few new shades of the Turino. They’re part of the Italian line collection. Look for them in Saks doors  now.

Landing in Barneys Stores is their latest collection of store exclusives from Creative Recreation. A few sets of looks are found. We even have some clearer images from our (capsule) roundup last Summer. Get on them.

More looks at the Creative Recreation for Barneys Collection for Spring 2010 after the click.