# Charcoal Suit -- Are black shoes the only route?



## bones78 (Dec 13, 2008)

I'm a simple guy, I typically only wear navy and charcoal suits. I want to spice things up w/ some brown shoes. I have my eye on walnut calf AE Evanstons and or Bel Airs. Should they be relegated to navy only?


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## Will (Jun 15, 2004)

Wear them with anything you like but I've come to wear black shoes most of the time with charcoal suits. Otherwise they'd just sit on the shelf as I only wear oxblood or brown with suits in other colors.


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## gnatty8 (Nov 7, 2006)

No, I routinely wear brown shoes with charcoal and I think they look great. Just be careful the shoes are relatively darker in color, or you will suffer the dreaded running shoe look at first glance..


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## Blueboy1938 (Aug 17, 2008)

I prefer a reddish brown, say chestnut or Cognac, with my grays, generally, if I'm not wearing black.


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## ToryBoy (Oct 13, 2008)

I think you should be able to wear with both suits; however, that would depend on the shade of charcoal.

Charcoal grey is darker then charcoal. 

With charcoal suit, yes. 
With charcoal grey suit, maybe. (Even if it does not go well together, you will still be able to getaway with it).


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## BLFancher (Mar 18, 2007)

I'd wear brown with it on Fridays...capped off by a bit of extravagant silk in the breast pocket. 

Otherwise I'm w/Will....black for charcoal suits in business settings...


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## Bird's One View (Dec 31, 2007)

I like black and white spectators with a charcoal suit.


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## ChicagoMediaMan-27 (Feb 23, 2008)

gnatty8 said:


> No, I routinely wear brown shoes with charcoal and I think they look great. Just be careful the shoes are relatively darker in color, or you will suffer the dreaded running shoe look at first glance..


I agree. I always wear black with my charcoal suit. If you want to wear brown, stick to a darker shade. The contrast between light brown and charcoal will "pop out" too much and it will be the only thing people notice.


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## JerseyJohn (Oct 26, 2007)

I like a lighter brown with a medium gray suit, but with charcoal, I usually go for a burgundy. I try to avoid black shoes except for weddings and funerals.


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## Cary Grant (Sep 11, 2008)

I wear browns with gray most commonly.


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## Francisco D'Anconia (Apr 18, 2007)

bones78 said:


> I'm a simple guy, I typically only wear navy and charcoal suits. I want to spice things up w/ some brown shoes. I have my eye on walnut calf AE Evanstons and or Bel Airs. Should they be relegated to navy only?


Walnut Evanstons with a suit :thumbs-up::thumbs-up:. I would like a pair to wear with my grey suits.


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## Ay329 (Sep 22, 2007)

I generally do not like mixing solid charcoals (non-flannel) with brown as I find the colors don't match well

But their are some hues of charcoal which can do well with darker brown shoes...For example, I have a charcoal woolen flannel suit with a burgundy stripe. The shoes are a dark brown Espresso by G&G. The flannels burgundy stripe brings out the slight red hue in the Espresso and thus I enjoy wearing the charcoal cloth with the brown shoe...but its the burgundy stripe which brings out the earth tones in the charcoal itself that allows it to be paired with the brown emanating from the shoes

Tomorrow I'll try this Charcoal flannel mixed with a G&G Vintage Oak brown boot (heavily antiqued) to see how this works (pics to follow)

But once I get to dark grey...let alone mid-grey, I feel black works best and the brown just doesn't do well (pics to follow tomorrow.

When I see a forum member sharing pics with beautiful bespoke grey suits coupled with brown shoes (especially lighter brown shades)...I'm REVOLTED


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## Unregistered (Mar 13, 2008)

Charcoal grey suits, I wear with tan colored shoes.

In the spring/autumn/summer of course.


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## pt4u67 (Apr 27, 2006)

For a formal or business affair, then black bals are a must. Otherwise you could go with a darker brown or even walnut. Dark brown suede would be a nice option and would add some richness to the outfit.


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## Richard Baker (Feb 13, 2009)

Monochrome Charcoal, dark by definition, in a business or serious setting, requires black shoes - and that is my personal preference in all settings. In a relaxed setting dark brown is all right in the day or outside the City, if there are accessories that take up the colour like the pocket square, tie, hat etc, otherwise you are drawing attention solely(!) to your shoes, not to your person or face as it should be. Black shoes will always look the most elegant, brown shoes most casual. Oxblood is right in between black and dark brown, and, again, if accessories relate to that colour, it can be a good choice in a daytime setting that is not too business-oriented.


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

Like you my suits are charcoal and navy. My dress shoes are black and burgundy. I just think that burgundy is far more elegant than brown and especially looks good with navy. Having said that, with my charcoal suit I always wear black shoes.

Cruiser


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## IlliniFlyer (Sep 20, 2009)

Richard Baker said:


> In a relaxed setting dark brown is all right in the day or outside the City...




I don't want to steer this conversation too far off topic, but I'm wondering what constitutes "the City?" When I read posts that mention not wearing brown in the city, it makes me wonder what that actually means. Does that term in this context signify a major metropolitan area or simply not a farm/wilderness? Is suburbia part of the city? Thanks!


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## mbebeau (Feb 6, 2009)

Cruiser said:


> Like you my suits are charcoal and navy. My dress shoes are black and burgundy. I just think that burgundy is far more elegant than brown and especially looks good with navy. Having said that, with my charcoal suit I always wear black shoes.
> 
> Cruiser


Personally, I don't know what is MORE elegant than a pair of cordovan oxfords that have been shined to a mirror finish.....with navy or gray.


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## PJC in NoVa (Jan 23, 2005)

IlliniFlyer said:


> I don't want to steer this conversation too far off topic, but I'm wondering what constitutes "the City?"


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_london


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

I wear them with either burgundy or black shoes.


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## brokencycle (Jan 11, 2008)

Definitely burgundy. Depends on the shade of brown - avoid tans, etc.


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## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

Black, brown, tan, burgundy... I go in all the directions with charcoal.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
+1. My Pet A Pantsuit says pretty much all that needs to be said on the subject!


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## Mongo (May 9, 2008)

I only recently (since hanging around here, actually) started to get serious about shoes. One of the suprises I found was discovering I _didn't_ need to wear black shoes with charcoal.

What shocked me, however, was how well burgundy went with charcoal. I now absolutely love that particular combination. It's such an opulent look ...


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## johnpark11 (Oct 19, 2009)

brokencycle said:


> Definitely burgundy. Depends on the shade of brown - avoid tans, etc.


+1...it depends on how dark the suit really is. I wear brown with just about everything but black suits.


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## Tim Correll (Jul 18, 2005)

ToryBoy said:


> Charcoal grey is darker then charcoal.


That makes absolutely no sense what so ever, ToryBoy. Charcoal gray and charcoal are the same. There is no difference (other than the wording, which, IMO is far too minor to count).


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