May 25

May 25 BROWN SHOES GIVEAWAY AND BROWN SHOES BLOG

When to Wear Brown Dress Shoes

Brown shoes can be worn with almost anything, ranging from jeans to cavalry twill and corduroy to flannel, worsteds and tweed. Unlike black, brown comes in an endless variety of shades allowing you to create a distinguished shoe collection that is unique. Here are a few guidelines that you can adapt as you please – just take a look in the mirror and use your sense of style.

1. Business Suits

For 3-piece or 2-piece business suits, in the following colors, in solid worsteds or flannels, pinstripes or faint windowpanes or Prince of Wales Checks:

Black: Wear black shoes and avoid brown
Charcoal Grey: I prefer black over any form of brown. Maybe dark brown can work, but avoid tan.
Mid Grey: Black works but particularly dark brown or cherry is a suitable color. Avoid tan.
Dark Navy: Black works well but cordovan, tan and dark brown can look magnificent and dashing. Of course, you will stand out visually with light tan shoes and a navy suit – something to bear in mind.
Light Navy: Black often looks better than brown in my opinion, but it really depends on the cloth. With pinstripes, I prefer to wear black shoes and never brown.
Dark Brown: Pair it with brown shoes and skip black altogether.

Miscellaneous:

Since a 3-piece suit is more formal than a 2-piece suit, I have a tendency to wear black shoes more often than brown shoes with them.
If you wear a contrasting double breasted waistcoat in dove grey or buff, go with black shoes because it is a similar ensemble to the formal stroller suit.
If you want to play it safe, always choose a shade of brown that is darker than your suit color.
Of course, if you are confident enough, you can pair lighter shoe colors with dark suits but you will gather more attention that way.
Black remains the #1 color for business – so if you’re unsure, stick with black, and if you invest in your first pair of business shoes, go with a black captoe Oxford shoe.
If you wear belts, try to match the color of the shoe to the belt. Since there are so many shades of brown, it doesn’t have to be made of the same leather or the same color, just try to match it as closely as possible. If you wear suspenders, you won’t have to worry about this at all!

2. Casual Suits

Bolder patterns, material blends or brushed cotton, corduroy, etc.:

Green: Brown every time. I have no particular preference and combine it with all shades. Avoid black.
Khaki: Dark browns work well, avoid black.
Tan: Cordovan, cheery and mid brown are great. Avoid black.
white/off white: I love to wear brown, white spectators with it, but dark brown, mid brown or reddish brown works too.
Brown: Pair it with brown shoes and skip black altogether.

When Not to Wear Brown/Tan Shoes

If you wear formal morning dress (morning coat or stroller) or formal evening dress (white tie or black tie) you should not wear brown shoes – go with black. The exception for this exception could be a tuxedo in brown, as worn by Noël Coward, Nick Foulkes, or Lapo Elkann. In that case, a pair of matching velvet slippers could be an option, but that’s only for the very advanced clothes horse.

Don’t wear brown shoes with black suits.

Some would argue that you should not wear brown shoes to the opera. However, if you look at the general dress code at operas today, you will be likely dressed better in a brown pair of shoes than the other attendees.