John lobb with jeans

[Proleet]

I don’t object to shoes in even odder colors than I have - I just genuinely couldn’t see those shoes work with regular pants colors. You find green shoes terrible - I get that - but color wise it’s a fine match for blue or brown pants and according to how I see color matching a better fit than the aforementioned dark brown boots with light washed dad jeans. You can argue those brown boots are better suited for classical outfits but plenty of people aren’t wearing them with that (and frankly don’t care..). As I said before I agree with your main premise but feel you sort of objectivize odd colored shoes as well (without considering how they could be worn as they don’t fit your notion of CM)

 

[dieworkwear]

As I said before I agree with your main premise but feel you sort of objectivize odd colored shoes as well (without considering how they could be worn as they don’t fit your notion of CM)

The problem is that no one ever posts photos of them wearing these strange shoes. They only post photos of pant cuff + shoe, which may as well be a product shot. There's never a photo of a full outfit, so the discussions become completely theoretical.

Here's a photo of a pair of brown shoes with "light washed dad jeans." These jeans are from The Gap. Although the shoes aren't chukkas, they are loafers, I think you can swap chukkas into this outfit and it will still look great. Can't say the same about green shoes.

 

[Proleet]

The problem is that no one ever posts photos of them wearing these strange shoes. They only post photos of pant cuff + shoe, which may as well be a product shot. There's never a photo of a full outfit, so the discussions become completely theoretical.

Here's a photo of a pair of brown shoes with "light washed dad jeans." These jeans are from The Gap. Although the shoes aren't chukkas, they are loafers, I think you can swap chukkas into this outfit and it will still look great. Can't say the same about green shoes.

View attachment 1756664

utah navy loafers would look fine here as well….i assume at least people don’t wear those with suits.

regarding what people post: that applies mostly across the board - few full outfit shots and therefore even less shots with oddly colored shoes but wouldn’t that also make your objection theoretical as well then? ;-)

 

[dieworkwear]

utah navy loafers would look fine here as well….i assume at least people don’t wear those with suits.

regarding what people post: that applies mostly across the board - few full outfit shots and therefore even less shots with oddly colored shoes but wouldn’t that also make your objection theoretical as well then? ;-)

I don't think so. JFWR once posted photos of someone wearing blue shoes and the outfits looked exactly how I thought they would look -- pretty awful.

 

[Jax]

I'm actually glad someone brought this up as it's something I am noticing as well.

It is incredibly frustrating when you are looking for color combinations for shoes and all you can find are shoe/boot and pants pictures. Without seeing what shirt or sweater is going with that outfit you're left with an incomplete idea of how a color of shoe/boot can look good. Even Google images can be useless depending on what you are looking for. Example below.

I can match a brown or black boot pretty easily. But I have trouble figuring out what to do with my color 8 boots. Throwing on denim is the easy part, but what color(s) do I put above the waist? Grey or green chinos are probably a simple combo with color 8 boots but what shirt color do I add to that combo? For green chinos probably grey shirt/sweater? I don't know honestly. For all the talk I see around here about cordovan shell I rarely see many examples of full outfits for the various colors it comes in. Google "color 8 shell boots" or some variation of it and you won't get many examples either. It's all just promo shots with the typical shoe/boot and pant cuff. Color 8 is a great example of something that can be difficult to pair because the color changes so much based on the type of light hitting it. I'm sure there are other colors of shoes that are just as hard or harder to match. Luckily, my next pair of boots are whiskey cordovan shell so it'll likely be easier but I'd still like some ideas of combinations.

Also, I do see a lot of bad pants/denim with some very nice looking shoes around here. No idea why. The Allen Edmond's thread is a great example but I guess the brand caters to that crowd and the problem does span across the forums.

 

[dieworkwear]

I'm actually glad someone brought this up as it's something I am noticing as well.

It is incredibly frustrating when you are looking for color combinations for shoes and all you can find are shoe/boot and pants pictures. Without seeing what shirt or sweater is going with that outfit you're left with an incomplete idea of how a color of shoe/boot can look good. Even Google images can be useless depending on what you are looking for. Example below.

I can match a brown or black boot pretty easily. But I have trouble figuring out what to do with my color 8 boots. Throwing on denim is the easy part, but what color(s) do I put above the waist? Grey or green chinos are probably a simple combo with color 8 boots but what shirt color do I add to that combo? For green chinos probably grey shirt/sweater? I don't know honestly. For all the talk I see around here about cordovan shell I rarely see many examples of full outfits for the various colors it comes in. Google "color 8 shell boots" or some variation of it and you won't get many examples either. It's all just promo shots with the typical shoe/boot and pant cuff. Color 8 is a great example of something that can be difficult to pair because the color changes so much based on the type of light hitting it. I'm sure there are other colors of shoes that are just as hard or harder to match. Luckily, my next pair of boots are whiskey cordovan shell so it'll likely be easier but I'd still like some ideas of combinations.

Also, I do see a lot of bad pants/denim with some very nice looking shoes around here. No idea why. The Allen Edmond's thread is a great example but I guess the brand caters to that crowd and the problem does span across the forums.

I think it starts with the aesthetic. What is the aesthetic you want to achieve? Workwear? Trad? Avant-grade? Minimalism? Etc etc etc.

Once you have an idea of the aesthetic you want to achieve, it becomes much easier to figure out the right shirt, pants, jacket, shoes, etc.

I think in the beginning, a lot of guys don't have an aesthetic, so they think of things like a color chart. "Blue goes with green," so they wear blue with green. Or "sleek shape goes with sleek shape." Some will go as far as "dressy goes with dressy."

But these are very discombobulated ideas about dress, and it would be better if people started with cultural aesthetics. If you want to dress trad, Color 8 shoes come very naturally:

- Brown tweed sport coat
- Light blue OCBD
- Grey flannels
- Shell cordovan no. 8 penny loafers or tassel loafers

This aesthetic makes sense as a form of tradition and visual language. It's a "look."

Alternatively, if you want to dress in a more rugged, workwear way, you do

- Olive milsurp field jacket or blue denim trucker jacket
- Grey sweatshirt or white tee
- Blue jeans
- Shell cordovan No. 8 work boots

In this way, the colors aren't just harmonious because of some idea about color theory. They are harmonious because they speak a language. The first expresses something about trad; the second is a workwear look. These are cultural "costumes," if you will, and dress is ultimately about culture, not abstract paintings.

Personally think the best way to pick up on this language is to consume media -- movies, TV shows, Instagram accounts that are about full outfits (not just shoes), books about various cultural movements, etc.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

In this way, the colors aren't just harmonious because of some idea about color theory. They are harmonious because they speak a language.

Exactly.

 

[Spinster Jones]

But if you understand street culture, hip hop, sneaker culture, etc, then you will understand why some people used to wear Red Octobers or other sneakers with black jeans. That aesthetic is all about the shoes, so the highlight is on the shoes.

Maybe this sentiment is what's making waves into these shoe threads? They see a colourful sneaker culture, and they assume its transferable or applicable to more classic styles? Maybe this further overlaps with the fact that brown shoes are so uncommon in sneaker culture? And maybe this, as some of you are pointing out, is because people aren't sure what social status to represent anymore?

You're a blue collar in a traditional white collar job, but your friends are wearing sneakers - what do you do?