Mahogony shoes -- what color suit?

[DPDNYC]

Just made my first foray into non-black dress shoes with a pair of mahogony split-toe lace-ups bought on sale at cole haan. Any opinions w/r/t what color suit would go best with this color shoe?

 

[dah328]

That's one of the great things about mahogany/cordovan shoes -- they go with almost anything.  Gray, charcoal, navy, black.  While black goes with everything, too, I think cordovan shows a little more individuality.

dan

 

[LA Guy]

It would help if you posted a picture, but off the top of my head, a navy or charcoal (or grey) pinstripe would work best, followed by solids and chalkstripes, then by windowpanes, and finally by solids. The split toe detail works best with a suit with a bit of visual detail itself (thus the pinstripes), but not so much that it constantly competes for attention itself (windowpane suits can be very difficult to match).

Of course, the exact shade of the suit depends very much on that of the shoes. Is this a very red mahogany, or is it closer to chestnut?

In the summer, you could also try them with a tan suit.

 

[DPDNYC]

Thanks for the input; i'm particularly thankful since every suit I own is either navy or some shade of grey. The shoes are more of a chestnut -- very little red is evident to my eye at least.

 

[PeterMetro]

I hope you bought a cordovan belt to go along with it.

That's one of the great things about mahogany/cordovan shoes -- they go with almost anything.  Gray, charcoal, navy, black.  While black goes with everything, too, I think cordovan shows a little more individuality.

I agree with this, with a couple of exceptions:

1 - I don't agree that cordovan goes with black.  I've seen some people attempt it with misplaced confidence.  If you're going to wear a black suit, wear black shoes.

2 - I don't think black goes with everything either.  In particular, earth tones and black looks terrible to me.  That includes any hue of brown or khaki.

 

[mistahlee]

And a cordovan watch band.

 

[VMan]

And a cordovan briefcase.

 

[LA Guy]

How about a mahogany pocket square? Wait, you'll probably need a brown, semi-precious stone in your cufflinks to match. Seriously, enough with the cordovan. Matching the belt and shoes is necessary. Any more matching is just anal retentive. Go with a crocodile watchband. Also, don't carry a briefcase unless you positively must, in which case, have just 2, a hard black case for formal meetings, and a soft brown case with a detachable shoulder strap to trundle papers around in.