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Best shoe color

Miguel Antonio

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What is the traditional british shoe color for gentleman?. Someone told me it's black. Problem is that black doesn't match with brown suits, right?.
 

alliswell

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The British wear black shoes in town - and they avoid the problem of matching brown suits by not wearing them. Navy or grey only, please.
 

MunnyGuy

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I am just figuring this out too. I always paired Black shoes with all suits (sorry no brown suits here). But have started to introduce Brown, and considering Cordovan shoes as well.
 

Britalian

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Black shoes with anything but the darker toned brown suits always strikes me as very discordant. That's just me. I'm English. I've certainly become more inclined to brown footwear.
 

DocHolliday

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Originally Posted by Britalian
Black shoes with anything but the darker toned brown suits always strikes me as very discordant. That's just me. I'm English. I've certainly become more inclined to brown footwear.

What about a light tan cotton suit in summer? Black shoes and a black grenadine look very smart, I think.
 

Gus

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From a traditional perspective, it was always black shoes with grey or navy and formal. Brown shoes were for casual clothing and suitings originally for wearing in the country and not in town. So you wore brown shoes with your brown, tan and green suitings.

Today, it is a different story and it depends so much on your personal style. Brown shoes look wonderful with a navy suit if you have a stylish manner. It doesn't really look right at a serious or somber occasion but a truely stylish guy would instinctively know that, right? So, go ahead and wear brown shoes with navy or grey. But, keep brown shoes to wear with a brown or green suit.
 

Britalian

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Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy
From a traditional perspective, it was always black shoes with grey or navy and formal. Brown shoes were for casual clothing and suitings originally for wearing in the country and not in town. So you wore brown shoes with your brown, tan and green suitings.

Today, it is a different story and it depends so much on your personal style. Brown shoes look wonderful with a navy suit if you have a stylish manner. It doesn't really look right at a serious or somber occasion but a truely stylish guy would instinctively know that, right? So, go ahead and wear brown shoes with navy or grey. But, keep brown shoes to wear with a brown or green suit.


A couple of my favourite combinations.
 

lasbar

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The English scene has evolved since i did come to England in 1997....
I do remember looking around Canterbury and Bluewater (a massive shopping mall) a few years ago for a decent pair of navy or burgundy shoes and only finding black /brown shoes on offer...

Now ,London is full of tan ,burgundy ,dark brown,mid-brown,navy and other colours under the sun...
The continental influence is slowly and surely pushing out the all black brigade ...
People want personal shoes with a twist and colour are exploding everywhere...

The brown is for farmers is also redundant except for the older generations...
With JM WESTON,Berluti,Lobb and so many Italian shoe makers present in England ,the younger Profesional crowd is slowly pushing the boundaries of the fashion etiquette...

The tan fad is receeding and thanks God for that....
 

lasbar

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Tan shoes with everything.................
 

luk-cha

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i would vote for burgundy or even a vintage cedar/ mid dark brown as there pair well with both navy's and grey in all shades
 

sully

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Originally Posted by luk-cha
i would vote for burgundy or even a vintage cedar/ mid dark brown as there pair well with both navy's and grey in all shades
Yes a rich mid to dark brown is a very versatile colour.I find the lighter tan shades, especially if in a very exaggerated last shape can look a little comical if worn with too dark a colour. One needs to be tall and on the lean side to carry off some of these combinations. Dressing well is as much about wearing what suits your bodyshape as is the quality of what you wear.
 

jml90

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Originally Posted by DocHolliday
What about a light tan cotton suit in summer? Black shoes and a black grenadine look very smart, I think.

I disagree. I think black shoes with khaki just looks bad, but this could be because I se it done so horribly so frequently.
 

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