Dress shoes with jeans.

Originally Posted by pinoy

Click to expand...

I'm with Josepidal on this one. Sleekness is key if you're going for a dressier look. C&J, RMW, and EG all make great, sleek shoes. Boots are also an excellent option- check out the WAYWT thread for ideas. You could go with a chunkier boot like AE for a more masculine, rugged look or Chelseas for a sleeker, dressier look.

I tend to feel exactly the opposite. I think sleeker shoes are only going to work if you hem to the point of zero break, like GS does on some of his looks. If you have any stacking, JL/C&J etc is going to look dainty and out of place. Even without a break, I still think sleeker thin soled shoes look off. Vass U-last with double sole are certainly sleek but look a lot better with jeans IMO.

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Click to expand...

It's because of the thin leather sole, I think. They just look like they're meant to be worn with suits, and not with jeans. The last shape may have a lot to do with it as well. Italian shoes tend to be fine, though, IMO, just not english.
I'm not sure this explains why people have the perception. First, there are rubber-soled shoes that do not look chunky and look almost as dressy as leather-soled ones. Second, there are English shoes that look as sleek and even as "dainty" as Italian ones, and Lobb, for example, is pushing a more modern look in its latest catalogs. Marquee models like the Vale and the Luffeld (Casino Royale shoe), for example, push sleekness and a plain toe that showcases leather quality.

Regarding stacking, maybe I'm different in that I'm not tall and thin, and I have a small shoe size relative to my build. I'd have to get a considerably slimmer jean (and I wear New Standards already) or even one that tapers considerably more to stack; otherwise, the hem will just drag on the ground. I also thought stacking looks better on thinner guys.

This may explain why I go for the sleeker dress shoes for this look.

I agree with drizzt - I never wear my EG's or C&J handgrades with denim, since both are single sole shoes. Denim is a "heavy" fabric, and it calls for a heavy shoe. AE's are great with denim, especially due to the bigger heel which helps balance the look. In many ways, wearing EG's with denim is like wearing triple sole shell cordovan's with a lightweight 180's suit - an incongruity which can spoil the look if not done well.

Almost the shoes I mentioned above either come with double leather soles (the shell cordovan back strap shoe) or with some sort of rubber sole (black chelsea, black AE monstrap, and brown jodhpur)

the black zip-up boot is a single layer leather sole shoe (it's an AE york), and of the 5 I mentioned, it by far gets the least amount of wear with denim (maybe 2 or 3 times in my life so far - i tend to wear it more often charcoal dress pants). But it does have a much bigger sole profile than my EG's or C&J weymouth, which is better with denim from my perspective.

There are a lot of other variables (such as shoe material), so these aren't absolutes.

Wait a minute, mind if I ask what jeans you two wear? Denim is generally a heavy fabric, but I think cut is a bigger factor in pairing jeans with shoes.

Originally Posted by josepidal

Click to expand...

Wait a minute, mind if I ask what jeans you two wear? Denim is generally a heavy fabric, but I think cut is a bigger factor in pairing jeans with shoes.
I have about 40 pairs of jeans, the vast majority of which are raw, in differing cuts, but mostly slim ones. Leg openings range from 8-10". All of my jeans are dark, and I hardly ever wear any dress shoe lighter than cognac with them. There are about 3242309809823098 pics of me wearing dress shoes with jeans in the WAYWN thread.

...and what's your shoe size?

I don't usually browse this forum, so I'm not current on WAWYN. Could you just repost some pics on this thread?

Originally Posted by josepidal

Click to expand...

...and what's your shoe size?

I don't usually browse this forum, so I'm not current on WAWYN. Could you just repost some pics on this thread?

My shoe size is 11.

As far as finding the posts...

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Click to expand...

I'm not fond of wearing EGs or JLs with jeans, although I do it from time to time, as I feel the shoes look too dainty. I like AE and Vass with jeans more, and for more sleek looks, paul smith makes some nice "dress" shoes with interesting details.

That would seem to depend on the shoe, obviously. Certainly a double-monk with double sole, for example isn't going to look dainty, nor are a number of other styles.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Click to expand...

That would seem to depend on the shoe, obviously. Certainly a double-monk with double sole, for example isn't going to look dainty, nor are a number of other styles.

That's true, but most of the "popular" Lobb pieces are single sole and quite sleek. I would never wear my Jermyn IIs with jeans, for example.

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Click to expand...

That's true, but most of the "popular" Lobb pieces are single sole and quite sleek. I would never wear my Jermyn IIs with jeans, for example.

My perspective is probably skewed because the only pair of Lobbs I own are these, in dark brown with the double sole. Definitely not dainty.

Originally Posted by josepidal

Click to expand...

Wait a minute, mind if I ask what jeans you two wear? Denim is generally a heavy fabric, but I think cut is a bigger factor in pairing jeans with shoes.

Here's what is currently in my rotation:

1-5) Five Earnest Sewns: 1 Filson (Maz Dark 3d), 2 Fultons (Line Dry Selvage, McQueen), 2 Hutches (?Milk Blue?, Badlands). Filson/Fulton are slim straight legs, Hutch is a slim boot-cut.

6) Nudie Straight Sven One Wash (you can see it on denimbar - you can also see the ES Fulton in Line dry).

7) BYA Aiden - basically, a loose bootcut. Not great, but decent.

Here's what will be in my rotation after summer - I'll wear the same shoes with them:
1) Chip & Pepper (twin city japanese selvage, low rise straight leg, mauro gave it a good recommendation in a previous post)
2) Corpus Morphy Bootcut
3) assorted 575 stuff
4) 7FAM standard in Munich (slim straight leg).
There are probably a few others. I have a RRL slim bootcut (sanforized selvage) which I may have altered to fit me better, or I might just flip it on ebay.

Here's what is in my knockaround pile - Lucky, Gap, J Crew, DKNY - all at least 4 years old except for the Lucky.

As for shoe size, 10.5D. One other thing - I rarely wear tapered jeans, unless the tapering is so slight. Never liked the excessively tapered look.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Click to expand...

My perspective is probably skewed because the only pair of Lobbs I own are these, in dark brown with the double sole. Definitely not dainty.

yeah, that would be skewed. i could wear those with jeans, although i probably would pick something else.

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

Click to expand...

My perspective is probably skewed because the only pair of Lobbs I own are these, in dark brown with the double sole. Definitely not dainty.
I own Jermyn II, City, Westminster, Vale, and Canonbury, which are all pretty sleek and dainty with jeans IMO.

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Click to expand...

I own Jermyn II, City, Westminster, Vale, and Canonbury, which are all pretty sleek and dainty with jeans IMO.

You must be gay, then.

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

Click to expand...

That's true, but most of the "popular" Lobb pieces are single sole and quite sleek. I would never wear my Jermyn IIs with jeans, for example.


You should try them. I'd never wear cap toes etc with jeans, but the Jermyn II's look like boots when worn. If I still had mine I'd definitely rock them with jeans. Most any plain toe shoe works with jeans.

I've a pair of those Williams that Lawyerdad posted and I do wear those with jeans, that would be the sole exception to my no cap-toe with jeans rule.