# Brown shoes with charcoal suit?



## Vladimir Berkov (Apr 19, 2005)

Is it acceptable to wear brown shoes with a solid charcoal suit? The brown shoes are a mid-to-dark brown balmoral, plain cap-toe variety.


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## willysquared (Jul 26, 2007)

Yes, brown shoes are acceptable with charcoal, but shoes with a reddish tint (like a cordovan, chili, or merlot) are preferred.


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## Teacher (Mar 14, 2005)

I love pairing dark brown shoes with a dark gray suit. It's not a look I would sport at a meeting with the Board of Directors, but it's great for most business occasions.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

Count me in, too.

Most of my "brown" shoes are actually in the oxblood/burgundy shade, with some London tans thrown in.

The fact that charcoal goes so readily with either black or brown belts and shoes is a major reason why I recommend charcoal as a first suit.

Socks with charcoal suit/black shoes are black, with brown(ish) shoes, navy or dark gray.

If you have real cordovan shoes, they also look terrific with dark gray.


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## Brian13 (Aug 9, 2006)

this is my standard 'decadence' suit/shoe color combo.


a mirror shiny antiqued mid or dark brown with a nice charcoal suit , is probably the best luscious combo there ever is out there.



..
you see, the past 2 out of 3 weddings i went to i wore a charcoal suit with antiqued brown shoes. in a sea of koreans wearing navy /black suits (lot of koreans dont know much more than a standard black suit in their closet)
and black shoes, 
i stood out, not like a sore mind you , but in terms of talk of the people around. people left and right complemented me , girls even, on how i looked great and they never imagined wearing combos like that.

i would never try this for interviews, funerals ,etc, where the attention should not be to your self but to the serious issue at hand, 
but at weddings , where it is an occasion for people to have fun and wear their best. i did.


you want to mix in? you want to look like an fbi agent or tax lawyer? wear navy and black shoes
you want to look dapper and really sweet? wear any suit color with brown shoes ...or burgundy/red


of course, if the event is at night or is a formal attire event, you dont have any other choice but to wear black shoes.


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## Teacher (Mar 14, 2005)

Brian13 said:


> in a sea of koreans wearing navy /black suits (lot of koreans dont know much more than a standard black suit in their closet)


Oh please...Koreans have no claim on sartorial blandness!



> i would never try this for interviews, funerals ,etc, where the attention should not be to your self but to the serious issue at hand,
> but at weddings , where it is an occasion for people to have fun and wear their best. i did.


Agreed.


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## nsoltz (Mar 27, 2005)

That's so funny because I planned to wear a charcoal suit with AE MacNeill shell cordovans to synagogue this coming Sat AM!

Ned Soltz


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

Vladimir Berkov said:


> Is it acceptable to wear brown shoes with a solid charcoal suit? The brown shoes are a mid-to-dark brown balmoral, plain cap-toe variety.


Of course!! Read my Shoe Chapter in *The Encyclopedia of Men's Clothes *or refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on the Home Page.


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## kitonbrioni (Sep 30, 2004)

Always, it's ok to do brown shoes with a charcoal suit. I've noticed that that look is just about standard among sales staff at quality men's wear places.


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## Mattdeckard (Mar 11, 2004)

Brown shoes and charcoal are a natural combination. I rarely wear black. If I wear a black suit yes, though with any other suit i pretty much wear brown... even with Navy.


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## gng8 (Aug 5, 2005)

I do it all the time. According to our British friends it is not done in London.


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## chang (Feb 16, 2006)

A friend of mine who is also a clothing enthusiast once told me that it was against the rules for me to wear my chestnut colored shoes with my solid charcoal suit, but I ignored him and most people admit it looks very sharp. One of my favorite combinations is the charcoal suit with a big blue gingham check shirt, tigereye cufflinks, chestnut wholecut shoes. Maybe he's right that it's against the rules for business dress, but none of my suits are for business or any kind of work. I've had some merlot and burgundy shoes before, but never really got them to work too well with charcoal, at least in my opinion. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?


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## Sator (Jan 13, 2006)

It should be avoided under all circumstances!

Brown shoes = casual, irrespective of the construction.

If I had it my way everyone who wore brown shoes with a lounge suit would be sent home and told to come back wearing something more appropriate. The only exception would be if the lounge suit were a casual country suit.


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## tntele (Apr 12, 2007)

I am not Italian, but I've always heard that from my Italian friends that black shoes are only worn at funerals. With everything else (gray, navy, etc...) it is always brown. I follow that rule.


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