Toning down my style and Casual clothes with "fancy" shoes

I work in a semi office environment. Most of the people in the office wear casual clothes, and most are purchased at places like Costco. No one really has much of a fashion sense, and when I transferred from the warehouse to the office, I started wearing office clothes. Most of my pants are somewhere between casual and dress. No slacks per se, but some Dockers flat front pant. Most of my shirts have buttons. I am the best dressed guy in the company. More style and more professional looking than out executives and owner.
This does make me feel a little bit awkward. I have thought about toning down the pants a fair but. If I were to pair the shirts with some pants that are much more casual (colored jeans or the like) I would probably feel a little more comfortable, as well as making some of my coworkers feel more comfortable.
I like shoes, a lot. I have a couple nice pairs and a couple cheaper pairs. Almost all are loafers and one pair of Derbys.

Is it bad taste to wear a nice oxford cap toe or wing tip, with colored jeans and a button shirt? Is it bad to have too fancy of a shoe with casual clothes?

The answer is that it depends.

Wearing a black captoe oxford (what you call "balmoral" in America), one of the most formal mens shoes, with a pair of jeans, one of the most casual mens pants, is not a coherent look, and yes bad taste if you ask me.

However, something like a lighter brown full-brouge oxford can work with jeans if that is absolutely what you want to wear.

Short answer:

Formal shoes with jeans: Bad idea
Fancy shoes with jeans: Better idea

Choosing Dockers over jeans is hardly pushing the envelope. There isn't really an environment I can think of where they'd need to be "toned down".

You should see the office I work at. Everyone wears khaki pants and blue button down shirts. It's really quite sad. Most wear black reebok or Adidas lace up shoes.
Remember in dockers and button shirts, I am the best dressed guy in the company. That should tell you volumes.

In case you are a real poster, there is hardly a difference in formality or style between Dockers and your average khaki pants. Trust me, you aren't offending anyone or calling attention to yourself in the slightest. While overly sleek shoes would be out of place in your workplace (not to mention outfit), you are free to spend as much as you wish on comfortable, hard-wearing, and sensible shoes.

Now a question - what is this button shirt you keep mentioning?



HughJ said:

In case you are a real poster

Now a question - what is this button shirt you keep mentioning?

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Yes, I am a real person and I really have some n00btastic questions. I don't know a whole lot about style and I am trying to figure out some things.

Button shirt, one that has buttons from the collar down. Like a dress shirt. Not a polo shirt.

I apologize, but your question was a bit out there. My answer stands, and I'll add that when not wearing a jacket, I generally prefer button-downs to dress shirts. This is probably a North American thing, though.



Beancooker said:

Yes, I am a real person and I really have some n00btastic questions. I don't know a whole lot about style and I am trying to figure out some things.

Button shirt, one that has buttons from the collar down. Like a dress shirt. Not a polo shirt.

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probably



GBR said:

probably

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Google search my username. It has been the same for years, on many forums.