It can seem a bit silly to recommend a way to tie your shoes, but some knots are just more secure than others. For decades I have favored two specific shoelace knots: Ian’s Fast Knot and Ian’s Secure Shoelace Knot. Ian’s Fast Knot is done so effortlessly as to look like a magic trick, and Ian’s Secure Shoelace Knot has never failed me.
But who is Ian? Ian Fieggen, who also goes by “Professor Shoelace,” is the guy who runs Ian’s Shoelace Site, the internet’s prime destination for learning how to tie your shoes. His website is simple, intentionally focusing on common vernacular over standardized knot terminology, and has been operating as a discrete section of his personal site since 2003. Ian’s Shoelace Site does not need to change; it is perfectly functional the way it is, and people have been discovering his many knots and lacing techniques for decades.
I can’t quite remember when or why I ever first visited that site. My brain wants to tell me it was in the years leading up to my Abitur when I got myself a pair of combat boots and wanted to be more quirky with the lacing than what they initially had. Either way, Ian’s site really is the best and I’m never wearing shoes without using his Secure Knot or at least the fast knot (for the few laces that hold together that way or just aren’t long enough for the secure one). When the site eventually goes down, I’ll be so sad.