“If you want to know if a guy is well-dressed?
Look down” — George Frazier
Lace-up shoes are the most dressy with slip-on or “loafers”, boots and sandals best for casual wear. The exception is the… most formal shoe, the patent leather pump, worn with Tuxedo or White tie is a slip on! The simpler a shoe (lack of embellishments like perforations, tassels, etc) the dressier it is. The dressiest color is black and within the dressy lace-ups category, the balmoral is dressier than a Blucher. Suede and exotic leathers are not usually appropriate for traditional business wear.
Rubber or lug soles have their origins in sport’s shoes and are thus too casual for traditional business attire. Rubber does have several advantages over leather such as being more quiet, less slippery, more durable, and even provides a better cushion. And short vamps are too much like slippers to be worn for business.
COLOR: Only black, brown (light brown – tan, medium brown – chestnut, and dark brown – mahogany), or cordovan (this color is also called burgundy, or oxblood).
Black goes with black, gray, navy
Brown goes with all earth colors and is a sophisticated look with navy and gray.
Cordovan goes with just about all colors
In certain circles, brown shoes are not worn after 6 pm. Amongst those same circles, only traditional black shoes are worn with the more dressy double-breasted suit for the same reasons that the more “casual” button-down collar shirt is never worn with a double breasted suit (nor after 6 pm)!
More about Brown shoes! Brown shoes were popular with the aristocracy in the 1930s and were also championed by the Prince of Wales and Hollywood movie royalty.
After World War II, the conventional black shoe returned since that was the military issue for all uniform colors. The exception was among upper-class European men, who continued to wear brown suede wingtip styles with their business suits. The Italian industrialist Giovanni Agnelli popularized this Continental style of brown shoes in many shades for business and casual wear.
Material: AskAndy
