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Is it OK to wear brown shoes at night?

post #1 of 19
12/11/11 at 6:13pm
Thread Starter 
So my question for the totally ignorant.. Is it OK to wear brown shoes at night? For Dinner? What about suede?
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post #2 of 19
12/11/11 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strictly-4-my-pimps View Post

So my question for the totally ignorant.. Is it OK to wear brown shoes at night? For Dinner? What about suede?

Tell us why not.
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post #3 of 19
12/11/11 at 6:38pm
What kind of 'dinner'? Formal or informal?
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post #4 of 19
12/11/11 at 7:07pm
facepalm.gif Can you give a little bit of context? It's like asking if it's okay to wear a blue shirt.
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post #5 of 19
12/11/11 at 7:55pm
Why wouldn't you wear brown or suede shoes at night, for dinner or not?

Depends on what else you are wearing, don't you think? What is the background on your question?
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post #6 of 19
12/11/11 at 8:06pm
There is an old and well established rule that brown shoes after 6pm are inappropriate. That only black shoes are acceptable at night. However, this rule is not practiced as widely as it once was.

It is still the norm for all very dressy occasions after dark (any time you can expect the females to dressed in cocktail attire or 'dinner dresses'.

If you are attending a business dinner or other not so formal occasion it has become common to see brown shoes at such occasions in some locales - particularly in the US and Italy. In London you won't see many brown shoes worn with suits even during the day and essentially none at night.

Know your context or wear black would be my suggestion.
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post #7 of 19
12/11/11 at 8:06pm
Depends on the setting. I think brown suede is okay for casual settings or bars, brown leather lace-ups are okay for most other events including most dinners. For formal occasions at night, I would definitely go black though.
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post #8 of 19
12/11/11 at 9:04pm
I prefer black shoes at night. My reasoning may not be accurate but here it is. At night, I'm going to be seen in artificial lighting. Chances are, this lighting will not let others accurately see the color of pretty much anything I am wearing. Brown suede shoes may look like brown suede... or they may look like something quite differently depending on what street lamp is nearby, or what restaurant lighting is in place. So, what I will tend to wear more color-neutral items. Blacks, grays, etc.

This would be my rationale behind the unwritten rule that Gdot mentioned.
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post #9 of 19
12/12/11 at 12:36am
Thread Starter 
Not formal just dinner at a restaurant. Wearing chinos and shirt.
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post #10 of 19
12/12/11 at 4:42am

well then it makes sense to pair them with brown shoes.

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post #11 of 19
12/12/11 at 5:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strictly-4-my-pimps View Post

Not formal just dinner at a restaurant. Wearing chinos and shirt.

If it is not a formal or business event , wear suede , brown and even brown suede if you wish.
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post #12 of 19
12/12/11 at 2:01pm
Good Lord, here in "Slovenly California," I would expect a lot of the patrons of even a really good restaurant to be in sneakers or horrible shoes of cheap leather, with square toes and thick rubber soles. A stylish, elegant pair of brown shoes would far surpass what the vast majority of diners would be wearing.
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post #13 of 19
12/13/11 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JLibourel View Post

Good Lord, here in "Slovenly California," I would expect a lot of the patrons of even a really good restaurant to be in sneakers or horrible shoes of cheap leather, with square toes and thick rubber soles. A stylish, elegant pair of brown shoes would far surpass what the vast majority of diners would be wearing.

Agreed.
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post #14 of 19
12/13/11 at 1:50am
You should not wear them with evening dress to state the obvious but as a rule yes. Some will refer to some antiquated idea that only black shoes could be worn after 1800 (6pm) but that never made a lot of sense and makes none now. It probably had its origins in the tendency of certain classes to wear evening dress for dinner at night even at home. They however had a retinue of servants and were not 'normal'.


Just get on with it, remember that brown shoes do not go with every colour of ensemble but don't worry.
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post #15 of 19
12/13/11 at 3:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GBR View Post

You should not wear them with evening dress to state the obvious but as a rule yes. Some will refer to some antiquated idea that only black shoes could be worn after 1800 (6pm) but that never made a lot of sense and makes none now. It probably had its origins in the tendency of certain classes to wear evening dress for dinner at night even at home. They however had a retinue of servants and were not 'normal'.
Just get on with it, remember that brown shoes do not go with every colour of ensemble but don't worry.

No brown in town and the all etiquette is gone out of the window...

People are expressing themselves more and more through their clothes and pushing the boundaries...

As society did evolve , the rest did also follow.
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