Conventional wisdom states that black shoes are the best all-around shoe as they go with everything. We disagree. True, black shoes hold an important place in your wardrobe for formal occasions and the most important of meetings but our go-to choice for an everyday shoe is brown.
The brown dress shoe, for all intents and purposes, is every bit the staple as the traditional black. In fact we find brown shoes to be more versatile than what is traditionally accepted. The reason for this is simple. The black shoe - especially the traditional cap toe oxford - is the most formal type of shoe. In addition, black is generally the only colour of shoe that should be worn with a black suit (some exceptions can be made with oxblood and dark brown shoes but that's another post altogether). And since black suits are typically reserved for formal events, such as weddings, funerals and soirees, our advice is to reserve your black shoes for these occasions.
For most of us, our Monday to Friday daytime wardrobe primarily consists of blue and grey suits. Of course black shoes can be worn with these colours but doing so is a little predictable. It's easy to project a more dynamic image of yourself by simply wearing a pair of stylish brown shoes with your smart navy suit. By making this quick switch you can easily inject a touch of personality into your work persona.
The same goes for your grey suits. While the obvious footwear choice is black we find that pairing a brown shoe adds a little something special to your outfit. As you can see in the image below, the brown wingtip looks quite sharp with the grey suit (red power tie optional!).
What are your best outfits for brown shoes? Let us know in the comments below.
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