About to buy my first pair of big boy shoes

No, black is considered the most formal dress shoe color, therefor less versatile, a decent pair of black shoes cannot (or should not) be paired with more casual outfits. Black is a horrid color unless you're working in Britain or finance/law offices.

As for the shoes them selves, get medium brown or oxblood oxfords. Monks are not ideal unless you already have multiple pairs of lace up shoes and bluchers are too casual. Oxfords in the right color are the most elegant and versatile shoes that one could own.

This is all bad advice.

If you have the wardrobe to accommodate black, get them in black. Black is very versatile and it's really boring when EVERYONE has the same brown shoes.

If you like monkstraps, GET THEM. No, you're not allowed to get monkstraps only if you have "multiple pairs of lace-up shoes": you can get them whenever you want.

Do you like the monkstraps or brogues? Get what you like in brown OR BLACK. Wear what YOU like, not what people on here tell you to like.

Right ones first. But you need atleast two pairs to switch out every day so you might as well get both.

There is an inherent difference between what is socially acceptable and what you like. Both are subjective but one carries more weight if carried out inappropriately. You may like Tuxedos but it's never acceptable unless you're going to a black tie event. Black is incredibly overpowering, thus is only paired with black and white, thus the most formal, thus easy to get wrong.

If you believe brown is too boring, go for oxblood or burgundy. It's a great option when paired with nearly any outfit. It's outgoing enough for casual but dark enough for business formal.

As for monks vs laces, laces are (objectively) vastly considered more formal, as monks and loafers are too contemporary for business formal.

Go through these posts by the Shoe Snob. He's my main source of information for dress shoes.

theshoesnobblog.com/tag/things-to-know

Black is versatile as in that it works with a lot of suit colours. You should be wearing suits anyway with oxfords, so black is fine.

if you wear brown leather shoes in the city youre a faggot

> Black is incredibly overpowering, thus is only paired with black and white,

That may be true for a black suit, not for black shoes.

No, it's perfectly fine.

But not as versatile as brown or burgundy, I would never wear black shoes with jeans or without a jacket.

I agree with you there but it's still overpowering, hence why it's more formal.

Go back to Victorian era Britain.

im not even memeing the 'in town, never brown' shit. its just reddit/dicksucker core at this point and you look dumb as hell if you do it. every gay man and wannabe fashionista wears that shit. same with every vineyard vines-tier 'prep'

keep that shit in whatever humid, backwater place you came from.

Lol, talk to me again if that becomes the majority opinion.

one size smaller is not the same as tailored.

Oh, and your forgetting the beauty of natural patinas that brown leather can produce.

>following trends in menswear
*pours one out*

even worse if you're a late adopter.

>wen u a 36R so u buy a 34S

thank you

Oh lord, you all are not very bright, the point of the picture was to show how well brown shoes go with navy/blue (black shoes would not improve the outfit), not how to buy suit sizes.

because the 'outfit' is hipster garbage

thats the spirit

i bought brogues after casual (like u said high school shoes) ones

Want to try again?

both are fucking awful. big boy shoes but no big boy taste.

your own pic just blew you the fuck out, look at bottom left....

Why are you doing that to your pants? That looks so bad.

You dunce, I never said don't buy black shoes, one of my favorite shoes are a pair of black wholecuts with a floating medallion, what I did say was brown is more versatile than black, your first pair of shoes should be brown, and brown shoes are historically correct for formal style.

stop the bending

those guys are wannabes
nobody with money was buying suits from a catalog

>pic related, its teddy roosevelt

Do any of you mind (and anyone else who sees this) mind posting a few different styles of black dress shoes? I want to get my first pair, but I'm not sure if I should get monk straps, or cap toe, or anything I may have not considered. Thanks.

I present to you the Duke of Windsor's shoes, you know, the father of men's fashion.

There are ton's of styles, too many to name but I'll post the mainstays (note, all of these are lace ups, you should start with them). So the standard is the cap toe w/o medallion, basic, boring, get's the job done every time. Next if the full brougue, also quite common (though in my opinion, anything other than brown is sacrilege), less formal though great with denim. Half and quarter brougue would be next in commonality, in between the two above in formality, a little more "edgy" because it isn't seen as much. Wholecuts are my favorite, the most formal (though also quite contemporary), the sleekness is second to none. Plain toe are next second in formality (in standard leather), not seen very often.

So all the shoes I posted about can be bought in both oxfords and bluchers except for the wholecut. Oxfords are more formal and blochers are less, except for 2 eyelet derby's, but those are quite rare and (to my knowledge) only produced by a few high end company's. The bottom line is: More difficult to make, cleaner the look = a more formal shoe (generally speaking). I'm going to post my black wholecuts and some old full brougue black department shoes (I got them in high school, didn't know the difference then) to show what I mean, one's incredibly cheap (less formal) the other is not (more formal).

kys

Left, monks are great.

You must be a special kind of retard to have a problem with brown shoes.

Are you going to be wearing them with a suit for work? If so, then buy a pair of BLACK oxfords or brogues.

Are they for casual wear? Then get the monk straps.

for a first pair don't buy cordovan leather.

Right are a timeless essential in every mans closet. Goes great with jeans or navy blue suits. Monk shoes are a meme

I concur. You can't go wrong with black shoes.

You are kinda right about acceptability, but it's not as rigid as you picture it. Black derbies are pretty versatile, especially if you're generally wearing dark clothes. Yes, they are somewhat more formal and dark brown/burgundy is more versatile in general but it's not like you can only pair them with a suit.

they are a little too long, but if u say so

they look alright.

Why not?

for the price of a pair of cordovan you can buy two pairs of nice shoes. If you buy just one pair and wear it everyday you are going to destroy them in one year. I'll buy two nice pairs and then a cordovan.

I have the funds to buy a pair of cordovan shoes every month, meanwhile i am wearing my old less expensive shoes and am planning on letting my new cordovan shoes rest for at least 2 days before wearing them again.

Will this work?

Fucking hell, if you have the means, go for them. Not only Carmina though, check Yanko made to order and Crockett and Jones. Let me suggest you Vass from ascotshoes.co.uk/ and meccarielloshoes.it

Cheers my close relative

enjoy them and post photos

I say left because I don't like longwings, bluchers aren't great for versatility, and you'll probably find cordovan shoes hard to deal with as your first pair.

That said these pissers who are saying you HAB to start with black oxfords are full of it, you can start wherever the fuck you want. It's good to eventually get a pair of them in your closet, sure.

Question, should your shoes compliment the colour of your pants, or your shirt, or both?

if you're not wearing all monotone, contrast pants and complement something else (shirt or jacket or hat)

It doesn't really matter as long as your belt matches your shoes. And don't wear brown shoes with black pants.

So grey shoes, with a black belt is fine?

>post shitty picture and get upset when people pick up on it

Are you European?
Brogues
Are you American?
Monkstraps

Shoes must match the colour of the belt.

Black shoes go with anything.
Brown shoes can go with navy and grey.

Shirts match suits and pants.
Lighter shirt darker suit. Darker the shirt, lighter the suit.

>Shoes must match the colour of the belt.
>must match
>must

No

>Black shoes go with anything.
Lol no

except hes right

...

In traditional suiting they definitely must match user

Your first pair of "big boy shoes" should be a black oxford, similar in shape to the all-time classic Allen Edmond's Park Avenue.

Sooner or later you will need to go to a funeral, a wedding or a job interview, and although brown leather shoes might be acceptable at a summer wedding, they are completely unacceptable for a wedding or a job interview (or an important meeting).
And certainly not casual shoes, like the double monk on the left or the derby on the right.

Don't be a boy. Be a man and buy a man's shoes.

What this guy
said. If you do it right they must match. If you do it absolutely right your watchstrap must match. Most people don't congregate in circles where this is of any importance, much less the average Veeky Forums poster, but this is one of the rules you should not break. Same with black suits and brown shoes. This can absolutely be done, but not in formal settings. Some rules are fixed absolutes for certain circles.

Source: I work in a large law office. I'm not even allowed to wear baby blue shirts under my suit.

this, literally any wannabe in a suit ears brown shoes, personally cant stand them remind me of all the fake guys on apprentice

...

right unless you want to look like a womyn

thissss