Driving Shoes

Since I started practicing driving a manual transmission (MT) car, I’ve come to realize that “shoes really matter”. When I first took off my automatic-only license restriction and drove an MT car on public roads, I didn’t think about shoes at all and wore just flat shoes. Then, every time I operated the clutch, my shoes almost slipped off, and being distracted by that made it hard to practice properly.

Later, I tried wearing sneakers, but the heels were too thick to slide smoothly. I even tried driving in indoor shoes like elementary school kids wear… At one point, I just said “Enough!” and drove barefoot in socks. (But honestly, driving barefoot was surprisingly easy, haha.)

So unfortunately, I still haven’t found “the one!” driving shoes for myself. Plus, stylish women’s driving shoes tend to be quite pricey, so I’ve thought, “It’s a bit of a waste, and I don’t really need them that badly…” and haven’t bought any.

My Husband’s NEGRONI

On the other hand, my husband, who has been driving MT cars for a while, has always said, “The shoes you wear when driving are super important.” He once considered buying PUMA driving shoes but didn’t because their design screamed “classic driving shoe”, and he wanted something more subtle, like sneakers.

“I want something that doesn’t immediately look like driving shoes. Something I can wear casually like sneakers.”

Since he rarely wears suits for work and usually dresses casually, he was looking for driving shoes he could wear every day—even with a jacket. That’s when he discovered NEGRONI.

*Image source: NEGRONI official site

NEGRONI is a Japanese brand specializing in driving shoes and leather goods. (I had assumed from the design and company name that it was an overseas brand.) They offer a wide variety of colors and styles, all stylish and perfectly suitable for everyday wear. My husband bought his first pair a few years ago and has been loyal to NEGRONI ever since.

According to him, driving shoes have rounded heels that allow smooth sliding during clutch operation, making driving easier. NEGRONI shoes have soles that are thin enough to give good brake and accelerator feel but not so thin that walking becomes painful, which he finds just right.

They’re also durable, holding up well even with frequent wear (they don’t wear out easily), and if they do get damaged, the soles can be replaced. Best of all, he can wear them to work with a jacket without any problem.

However, because he’s so particular about having driving shoes he can wear every day, I once asked him:

“Why don’t you just wear business shoes to work and only put on driving shoes when you drive on your days off?”

He seriously replied:

“What if a client suddenly says, ‘I have an urgent matter and need to catch the Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka in 30 minutes’ during a meeting? Even then, if I’m wearing driving shoes, I can jump into my Boxster and, with smooth MT shifting and steering like in the movie Transporter, get the client to Shin-Osaka on time. I always want to be ready to drive perfectly, no matter when.”

When I asked if that had ever actually happened, he said:

“No, not yet… (-_-)”

I thought, “No, no, it probably never will happen,” but apparently, he won’t compromise on this point, haha.

Once, a client did notice his shoes and said, “Oh, those are driving shoes!” and they had a great conversation about cars. So that kind of thing does happen.

Our NEGRONI Collection

By the way, here are the NEGRONI shoes we currently have at home. (They look a bit worn…) I checked the model names on the website, but some designs differ slightly from the latest versions, so apologies if I got any wrong.

FIORANO

IDEA CORSA

IDEA

WILD PENNY

My husband usually buys NEGRONI shoes at Daimaru Kobe, but NEGRONI has over 50 stores across Japan, mainly in department stores from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Unfortunately, there are no women’s stores, but if you visit their Tokyo factory, you can order custom-made shoes. I’m starting to want a pair myself, (though traveling to Tokyo might cost more than the shoes, haha).