Men's Dress Shoes
Make & Break Outfits

The importance of men's dress shoes in an outfit must not be overlooked. Many a man has adorned himself with the finest of clothing, most fragrant of colognes, and most stunning and dashing of high-end cufflinks.

Only to tarnish the entire image with run down, cheaply made or ill-matched footwear.

Dress shoes are often vastly under-rated by men who otherwise have a finely tuned fashion sense. But those truly in touch with their inner-sartorial voice are aware that men's dress shoes are the second most expensive part of any wardrobe, and the most telling measure of a man's taste.

So don't get tripped up by such an avoidable mistake (you might scuff your shoes!)

• MINIMIZE YOUR FEET: For the most part, the feet are ungainly things. Smart dressers seek out shoes that minimize their appearance and make them look smaller. Toe shape affects the look of a shoe, but hardly affects the comfort.

  • Square Toe Shoes: These can minimize the appearance of long feet but sometimes look a bit clunky.

  • Chisel Toe Shoes: Elegantly styled, created by master leather shoe maker George Cleverley-this has a squarish front but flat, angled sides and a sloping top.

  • Rounded Toe Shoes: A more common style, it looks best when its inside edge is nearly parallel to the foot while its outside edge is more angled.

  • Pointed toe Shoes: For women.

  
  

• CHOOSE THE CORRECT COLOR: Shoes are more or less formal depending on their shade, black being the most formal and white the least. The most revered rule concerning men's dress shoes states that they should never be lighter than the pants.

  Furthermore, white shoes are quite stylish, but appropriate only in summer, and only with light-weight, light-colored cloths (especially linen and seersucker), or else with a blue blazer and white trousers.

  
  

• NO CHEAP STUFF: Always pay attention to the material the dress shoe is made of. One of the finest materials men's dress shoes can be made of is calf-skin, which is durable yet supple, breathable yet insulating, and can hold a nice shine.

  Suede is a favorite selection of many of the world's fine-dressers, which in brown goes with almost anything, they hold a superior elegance about themselves, they are extremely comfortable and make the feet appear smaller because of their matted surface.

  Cordovan, which is not a skin but a membrane from the rear of a horse, is the most durable leather of all, but its warmth makes it more of a cold weather shoe.

  Avoid "corrected grain" leathers that have been scraped, sanded, and bathed in chemicals to create a plastic-looking fake perma-shine, they look cheap and cheesy.

A man's shoes should compliment the manliness, timelessness, and impeccable quality of his clothes. And of course his socks should be an asset to his outfit as well.

Lastly, as a rule of thumb, no men's dress shoes acceptable for wear with a tie will ever be made with rubber soles.

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