Brown wingtips with blue suit for wedding

[Blown01NJ]

Whats up...I have a wedding coming up and I am planning on wearing a blue suit (lighter than navy blue) with a purple gingham shirt and grey herringbone tie. I am In the market for a new pair of brown shoes anyway so I figured I might as well go with them as opposed to black for the wedding.

So my question is, would a decent pair of brown wingtips work? As opposed to a cap toe? I'd like a shoe versatile enough to wear with a suit as well as a little more casual. Thoughts?

 

[BespokeBrooklyn]

It sounds as if, depending on your suit, the wingtips might be the dressiest part of your outfit. I've always preferred brown wingtips to black, and I think they would work with that outfit you described. Just be certain to get a pair with all leather soles, because any rubber on the bottom would make things difficult once you hit the dance floor!

 

[Blown01NJ]

Can I wear an open laced wingtip with a suit? I'd like to be able to wear it with a suit as well as with jeans or slacks.

 

[bellyhungry]



Whats up...I have a wedding coming up and I am planning on wearing a blue suit (lighter than navy blue) with a purple gingham shirt and grey herringbone tie. I am In the market for a new pair of brown shoes anyway so I figured I might as well go with them as opposed to black for the wedding.

So my question is, would a decent pair of brown wingtips work? As opposed to a cap toe? I'd like a shoe versatile enough to wear with a suit as well as a little more casual. Thoughts?

I can't get past the purple gingham shirt with grey herringbone tie combo. Do you have pic?

 

[Blown01NJ]

I don't have a pic with the suit but I wore that shirt and tie with light khakis and a blazer before. Here it is without the blazer

Not sure if you can tell its a herringbone tie from that pic.

 

[Veremund]

It's your wedding, you can wear what you like.

 

[OliverGauffe]

Um, I don't think its HIS wedding... you're just a guest, right?

To be completely honest, I am not sure brown shoes would be the best choice with all the other colours going on... The shirt and tie combo is nice here with the khakis, but with an ink blue suit plus brown shoes.... I am thinking they must be a dark Brown... But yes, wingtips, why not... If you are looking for something versatile, Ted Baker and Ben Sherman have some models that are affordable and can be worn with almost anything...

 

[Veremund]

Oh good, I was afraid he was going to wear that outfit to his own wedding!

Since you're a guest, the brown shoes will be fine.

 

[Blown01NJ]



Um, I don't think its HIS wedding... you're just a guest, right?

To be completely honest, I am not sure brown shoes would be the best choice with all the other colours going on... The shirt and tie combo is nice here with the khakis, but with an ink blue suit plus brown shoes.... I am thinking they must be a dark Brown... But yes, wingtips, why not... If you are looking for something versatile, Ted Baker and Ben Sherman have some models that are affordable and can be worn with almost anything...

Shoes would be a bit darker than whats in my pic above. Think black is a better choice? As noted, I am just a guest. I can do a black cap toe with this combo (closed lace) or an open laced brown wingtip. I just wasn't sure if open laced is ok with a suit. You think the brown would make everything too busy/flashy with the rest of the combo?

Planning on wearing a PS as well.

 

[Blackhood]

There are wto schools of thought on Shoe:Suit mixes [the following is a rough guide and in no way a final declaration on cultural norms]:

English: A blue suit requires black shoes for any occasion more formal that a walk into town at the weekend. The origins of "no brown in town" come from exactly this; one should not wear a business suit with brown shoes.

Italian: A blue suit requires a brown shoe, as black is to be worn only after 6pm or for hyper-formal events such as funerals.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

We are now in the days where neither is correct or incorrect, and even the cultures that spawned them have relaxed the rules. In my opinion your outfit is already too flamboyant to be reliably considered classically English. As a result I should chose a brown shoe. I would recommend a darker brown than Tan; allow your shirt to be the boldest choice, do not make it compete with the shoes. Something like the following would be acceptable:

Or if you feel that they aren't modern enough then consider these:

 

[Blown01NJ]

Thanks for the good info man. Maybe I should tone it down with a less 'loud' shirt?

 

[unbelragazzo]



In my opinion your outfit is already too flamboyant to be reliably considered classically English.

Have you ever seen what Nick Foulkes wears? There are (at least) two different strands of British dress - one is very conservative, particularly in the city, and follows rules set basically in the late 19th century. Always white shirts, black shoes, grey or navy suit, sedate tie.

There's another thread - I'd suggest started mostly in the 50s/60s kind of growing out of Carnaby Street but then becoming a part of Savile Row too - that often incorporates brighter colors. A purple gingham or striped shirt with a dark suit would be faithful to this aesthetic. You may consider this not part of "classically English" but if you walk around the Row you'll see plenty of people working in classic SR houses that are dressed like this.

Both of these looks I'd call "sharp" - for instance, almost always including black shoes - and distinguish from the Italian palette, which uses more browns and creams.

The OP's outfit is kind of an American bastardization of this Italian style, of which GQ and J. Crew are strong proponents.

 

[Blackhood]

^Oh absolutely. I would consider myself to be one of those more flamboyant English men, though I have stopped short of cropping the trouser to show my socks with loafers.

I was only referring to English within that particular rule of thumb, which I still consider to be a helpful starting point when determining shoe colour.

 

[Blown01NJ]

By the way my suit is blue but not Navy, maybe a little lighter. If I get a closed lace oxford can I wear that with suits AND more casual or is that reserved for suits only?

I may just give up and go with black.

 

[mhdena]

^^^^^^
Good idea