When did brown shoes become alright to wear with dark blue, black, or gray suits?

It's perfectly acceptable to wear brown shoes with a dark blue suit, for any occasion. Most Americans can't be bothered to change out of their pajamas before leaving the house anyway.

Since I'm the first to respond, I guess I am expected to call you a cunt or something. But read this:

I'll do it then, Greg.

OP is an insufferable cunt.

Who gives a fuck, you big, fat stupidhead. Seriously.

A long time ago. 1995? Sometime after big shoulders in suits died but before pleated pants died.

My mom told me not to wear blue with brown, so what did people wear with a blue suit back then if not dark brown?

Black shoes are an inherently sober choice. They’re ideal for more formal events, such as weddings or funerals. Pairing blue and black together in a suit makes everything look more formal. Brown shoes are more relaxed than black; and brown shoes with a navy suit is a classic combination to pull off. It’s essentially a fool-proof look, more casual than black but still smart enough to wear to work or other formal occasions.

The Duke of Windsor (at the time the Prince of Wales) first popularized brown shoes with blue suits.

[quote] My mom told me not to wear blue with brown.

She probably also told you never to combine cod with tomato sauce and prunes. Doesn't mean Mama is right.

[quote] She probably also told you never to combine cod with tomato sauce and prunes.

My mother never cooked.

Adamantium.

[quote] so what did people wear with a blue suit back then if not dark brown?

Motherofgod, Rose…black!

When "alright" became a word.

I only wear espadrilles when I entertain my guests in the Back Bay - it works so well with the variety of caftans I have!

There are no rules anymore.

OP, my dear late father would have called you a "pellet pooper." Meaning you're such a tight ass that your BMs would look like rabbit shit.

I worked for an influential men’s retailer for years and all I can say is…there are no accidents. In the 1990s during the recession and post-recession, we made deep blue dress shirts to be worn with suit and tie (as an alternative to white) and brown/tan shoes as an alternative to black. The media and other designers get on board, and it becomes a thing. It’s all very “Celadon Blue,” like in “The Devil Wears Prada.”

[quote]It’s all very “Celadon Blue,” like in “The Devil Wears Prada.”

"Celadon" is a greyish shade of green.

The term Meryl Streep uses in "The Devil Wears Prada" to describe Anne Hathaway's top is "cerulean," which is a shade of blue.

OP: It's not alright.

Greg should be beaten to death with a payphone receiver.

I have heard that Greg wears cod infused cologne.

Brown shoes hide the dog poop.

If you integrate the brown into the navy suit, it can be divine: brown handkerchief, brown belt, brown tie, leather brown cuff links...

I detest brown shoes with blue or black suits . Its some bullshit affectation adopted from the brits in the 90s (like they ever knew style?) and it looks ridiculous. Black men are some of the most stylish dressers and you NEVER see them doing it.

Brown shoes

don't make it.

Brown shoes

don't make it.

Quit school.

Why fake it?

Brown shoes

Don't make it.

Losing battle, OP. Time to fade into history.

Thank you all for you lovely comments.

It's never been a good look on anyone. I attended a gay wedding pre-covid and the couple not only wore brown shoes with their matching solemn-blue suits, they went sockless.

I think handsome brown shoes look far better with a blue suit than black shoes.

Sockless could work depending on the shoes.

Seems to be a Millennial thing. Brown *can* look good with navy, but it must be the right shade and finish. However, in waking life, most guys I see wearing brown shoes with blue (or gray, etc.) look like schlubs.

I loved eating the peanuts out of my dad’s shit.

[quote] However, in waking life, most guys I see wearing brown shoes with blue (or gray, etc.) look like schlubs.

Yes, because people don't understand the importance of good tailoring. If you're on a budget, better to spend less on the suit and more on the tailoring. An expensive suit that is not properly tailored will look worse than a less expensive suit that is beautifully tailored.

Guys make this mistake all the time. Jacket sleeves that are way too long, collars that don't lie flat, pants that are too long, a jacket that is not tailored to an hourglass look.

In addition to bad tailoring, guys who have cheap shirts, cheap ties, ties with bad knots. And lastly, bad belts and shoes. The devil is in the details. Get a suit you can afford and then take it to a very good tailor. But a beautiful shirt and tie. And don't skimp on the leather.

But... fashion has changed!

What is a "suit"? What is "navy"?

LOL

Who under the age of 50 even wears suits on a regular basis aside from politicians and lawyers? Thanks to the tech and entertainment industries (which have bled into one another at this point) most men would rather cough up serious cash for fancy sneakers and designer denim than a suit, let alone one that is properly tailored. And they certainly aren't wearing loafers or oxfords.

Brown shoes with blue suits are becoming more common. They were always against the rules, but still had a steady, though small, cheering section. It was never unheard of to wear brown shoes with a blue suit. It was just advised against and rarely done. If you get it just right, just absolutely right, then the right brown shoes and blue suit combination can look smashing. Less formal that brown shoes, to be sure. But smashing. It helps if you're young and built like a GQ model.

However, very few get the combination absolutely right. For them... stick to black shoes. For older men, stick to black shoes. It's much, much, safer. You don't want to end up looking like ignorant trailer trash who can't dress himself.

Brown shoes are perfect with blue suits.

Black look awful.

Cordovan is good, too. (Burgundy)

This brown shoe/blue suit combo is everywhere. I don’t especially hate it, just not for me. What I want to know about is these goddamn skinny suits I see! Did they just go Ross and Men’s Warehouse and then change into their new duds in the parking garage? I just doesn’t seem thought out.

No, r33, it hasn’t.

Brown shoes are fine with a navy suit for more casual situations, but not with black or cool grey (which leans toward black vs. warm greys that lean toward blue).

My closeted cunt of an older cousin donned a dark violet suit with brown Oxfords to wed his Fraubeast (on a canal, no less). Scenes too awful to recount. I got drunk and cried on the waterfront for the reception.

R42, not too awful to recount. I’m dying to hear more! Just the paragraph you wrote made me LOL. Come on, humor me!

It's fine...with people.

Brown shoes are always casual. Belts are must on everything but sports shorts

Suits are stupid.

Dark violet?

A dark, burgundy shoe goes well with a blue suit.

My Dad said that brown shoes do not go with dark suits.

A Navy blue suit with Cordovan loafers are acceptable, but not brown shoes.

My dad wore exclusively blue suits and black shoes, but I've honestly never liked the look of black with blue suits, especially a patent or shiny shoe. A matte black shoe is fine, and I like a toned brown or cordovan casual oxford or loafer with a blue suit.

This shoe does not go with a blue suit. It looks ghoulish.

Loafers with a suit?

No, thanks.

[quote] Greg should be beaten to death with a payphone receiver.

Such a nice sentiment!

[quote] I have heard that Greg wears cod infused cologne.

Then you heard wrong.

I don't normally wear cologne, but if I do use the tiniest amount for a formal evening affair, I wear Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille or Héritage de Guerlain Eau De Toilette.

When I was starting out at a Wall Street law firm an older partner once got on the elevator with me and sniffed:

Brown shoes? In the City?

I never know what color of shoes to wear with my blue rubber suit.

I would wear brown shoes with blue or grey (as long as it's not a very bright blue, or pin striped) but I would not wear brown shoes with black. You could pair navy with navy or light grey, bright blue with cordovan or perhaps a spectator shoe. Black suit should have black shoes (or red, or yellow if you can get away with it).

Brown and blue can look great together. Knowing when that's the case and when it isn't is tricky for some people, and so it is that there are rules never to mix blue suits and brown shoes. Stupid, but I suppose it protect some people fr thinking that any brown goes with any blue.

Dang DL photo preview cut off their shoes, well if you click on it you will see two pairs of very nice looking brown shoes.

I never cared about the color of another man's shoes. I don't look down that far; I usually get stuck just above the legs.

You can get away with it if you’re young and gorgeous

[quote]Guys make this mistake all the time. Jacket sleeves that are way too long, collars that don't lie flat, pants that are too long, a jacket that is not tailored to an hourglass look.

Men's suits should be "tailored to an hourglass look"? We are MEN, not women.

Suits should be tailored in at the waist, but should NOT flare back out and create an "hourglass" look. And that tiny, too small jacket look needs to come to an end. An those "skinny" pants that barely even come to the ankle....are you expecting a flood? And they make your legs look like skinny little sticks.....but old ass perched above tiny little sticks. Horrible.

Better than white satin shoes WITH BROWN POO STAINS ON THEM.

Why do DL fashion threads always devolve into what pudgy 65 year old men should buy at JC Penney?

Does JC Penney even exist anymore? You sound ancient AF R63. Wow.

"Devolve" is a big confusing word.

R17 is more or less correct. Brown shoes with a blue suit were pretty much avoided before the 1990s. When they were worn, they were very dark brown shoes. The larger rule was that men's shoes should be invisible. There was no good reason for a man to call attention to his feet. The same was true of socks.

Many of you don't understand just how important this was. In a job interview, you were judged by your shoes and their condition. When meeting others, you were judged by your shoes.

As R17 said, it really became a thing about the time French Blue dress shirts became a thing. The new browns were not the recessive dark browns of the past. They were caramel, mahogany, etc. Another reason though, was that brown suits had virtually disappeared by the 1990s. Very popular in the 1970s, less so in the 1980s. The way to sell brown shoes was to make brown/blue acceptable.

First of all, R57, the brown shoes are much too casual for a church wedding. Even an afternoon wedding.

But more importantly, the wedding was in Indiana. Indiana. They had shoes. They wore them. No need to go further than that in Indiana.

[quote] Men's suits should be "tailored to an hourglass look"? We are MEN, not women.

Yes, we are MEN. But have you never noticed that MEN with good bodies have broad shoulders and small waists? Broad shoulders tapering down to a 30-32" waist is what I meant by hourglass. It's a good look and most men would love to have it.

Like this.... V

Nothing beats a V shaped man.

[quote] Broad shoulders tapering down to a 30-32" waist

As someone who wears a 42R jacket and 30" pants, finding a suit is a challenge, as even the "athletic" cuts have an 8 or 10 inch gap.

[quote] Like this.... V Nothing beats a V shaped man.

Exactly! Everyone likes it and men aspire to it. R60 & R61 probably wear ill-fitting clothing.

It's like R59 posting that photo. I'm sorry, but the man in that photo looks terrible. What a bad example of someone who looks good in a suit.

Oh Greg [R52]!!!! SOMEONE ELSE WEARS HERITAGE!!!!!

Le sigh.

I am feeling la love.

I have a shoe fetish and it drives me up the wall when men wear 'orange' shoes with a navy suit. There's nothing wrong with a deeper shade of cordovan or brown with a suit in a less formal occasion. It's the color that's the problem- not the concept. It's the same with a light colored sole on a dress shoe as shown above. If you're young and perhaps a bit too stylish, they work well enough with the casual glen plaid suit with no tie but it would be all wrong for a more formal suit.

[quote] Oh Greg [[R52]]!!!! SOMEONE ELSE WEARS HERITAGE!!!!! Le sigh. I am feeling la love.

Isn't it nice? When I wear it (and I only wear the smallest amount), people, including strangers, ask me what I'm wearing. It's a really nice scent.

A V shape is entirely different than "hourglass". Hourglass means the suit cinches in at the waist and then flares back out. This looks womanly and horrid on a man regardless of his "figure". It looks womanly and ridiculous.

[quote] When "alright" became a word.

“Oh Dear”

Suits haven't gone out of fashion in Geneva and Zurich. The styles range widely however. There are even stretchy suits with "jogging" style trousers but the jacket is cut like a suit. And still ALL those tight suits that are too short on the sleeves, vent and trousers legs. This cut and style won't seem to GO AWAY and looks hideous on MOST men over 29, and MANY men under 30, too.

R77, That style started because young men would not buy proper overcoats; so, they went around wearing their North Face down coat over their suit coat. The suit jacket hung down 2" below the coat. Of course, rather than train men to buy a proper overcoat, they made suit jackets shorter so the would not hang below the coat. It was down hill after that.

R73=David Beckham

Black shoes + navy-blue suit is a bad, harsh combination.