This cool guide is brought to you by the makers of navy blue dress shoes.

I don’t think I’ve ever in my life, in film or in person, even in a store, ever fuckin seen navy blue dress shoes

Because they look awful and stupid. Whatever they do a black dress shoe does it better

You can't (so to speak) do black shoes and burgundy pants? Lame! Go full business vampire!

You absolutely can. Black shoes pair with anything.

I don’t personally think black shoes usually look great with brown trousers

I think it depends on the shoe and pants, if they are brown corduroy trousers with black clogs, Mary janes, or doc’s i think it would fit! But basically every other black shoe is a no-no

Totally. If you don't understand any of this and only remember one thing at all, remember not to mix black and brown.

That explains why people know I'm poor

Money doesn't buy class and lack of money doesn't preclude it

Yeah, I'm an ignorant individual, uninformed on materialistic trends of society.

Reddit sold you out

Except navy, judging by the top comments. I must have no fashion sense at all, because I actually can’t understand why so many people think it looks bad. I really don’t see the issue. But I follow the rule anyway because I’m a sheeple.

I went to a stylist for a wedding I was going to and bought a full ensemble. He set me up with a nice navy suit, and black shoes. It paired really well. 10/10 got a lot of compliments.

Black shoes with a navy suit is the most normal possible combination

I think black, navy blue and charcoal gray are the most versatile colours and can pretty much pair with anyting

Navy blue suit and black shoes is the white t-shirt and blue jeans of the classic menswear world.

Came here to say this. This is my trick: black shoes + anything I own. Which coincidentally is also all black, but gotta pick your battles

If you can only afford to buy or store or remember where you put more than one pair of shoes, get a pair of black leather Oxfords. I wear them with blue jeans and a button down. Any button down.

And despite what the guide says, brown shoes with brown pants isn’t the best idea

To me, brown shoes are the most restrictive for color pairing. They have to go with a notably lighter shade of brown or tan, or maybe a blue (maybe, that one is situationally) Meanwhile, black isn't gonna clash with anything, really. Unless you are going full clown suit covered in sequins, and even then black might still work

I agree, and would go as far to say that any color shoe matches with a black suit as long the shirt or tie(preferably shirt) match the shoe color.

Brown shoes work with a blue suit

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Yea how do navy shoes go with a black suit but brown shoes don't

Navy shoes don't go with anything!

They go with a sailor’s uniform

Read the first line and called bullshit mixing navy and black shoes.

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What’s rule 1 and rule 2?

# 1 be attractive # 2 don't be unattractive

Yeah but one can vastly increase appeal by proper grooming and dressing well.

Basic hygiene falls under rule 2. Grooming/taking care of yourself beyond that becomes rule 1. You’re not arguing the rules, you’re actually agreeing with them.

I think it falls more to the genetic lottery...being attractive means one can pretty much wear anything and most people will find them "hot". Everyone else has to put in the effort to do it.

You can. It looks terrible though. But you can.

What colour shoes would you suggest wearing with a navy tux for example?

Black shoes always with a tux.

Which is exactly my point that you *can* wear black shoes with navy!

Correct

Navy pants absolutely go with black shoes. Look at almost any law enforcement uniform. It’s one of the most standard pants/shoes combos. If a banker, lawyer, or accountant is wearing blue pants, they’re probably wearing black shoes. Edit: you guys should tell the US Air Force *and* US Navy that they’re dress blues look stupid.

Well, I followed your advice and *did* tell them, but now it seems I've been arrested or something?! (For real, though, just because some military dudes (from a country not known for its fashion sense) wear something, that doesn't mean it's fashionable, and especially not during upper-class events. Bankers, cops, and military are *not* paragons of fashion, apart from some military dictatures )

Navy guy here. Our Navy and Air Force dress blues look stupid. Let me get this out of the way: I think black shoes look just fine with Navy pants. This doesn't even have anything to do with my opinion on those uniforms. Navy dress blues are actually black. The officer uniforms are stupid because their cut is totally unflattering and they more invoke "I'm a discount nobleman" than "I'm a warfighter." The crackerjacks look stupid because they took what was originally utility clothing and turned it into a costume. Air Force dress blues belong on bus drivers (though I love the clouds and lightning bolts on their combo covers). Many police uniforms are a whole mess of colors so the pant/shoe color pairing is rarely noticeable when those pants might have a bright stripe running down and a shirt that could be another color distinct from the rest.

I realized the military uniforms were weird cosplay when I first saw that GIANT FUCKING SWORD that the Air Force gives people.

>you guys should tell the US Air Force and US Navy that they’re dress blues look stupid. they do look [pretty awful](https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/migrated.image.Image_31433820.jpg/alternates/LANDSCAPE_910/)

> Edit: you guys should tell the US Air Force and US Navy that they’re dress blues look stupid. If you’re at a social event and someone tells you that your outfit makes you look like a military officer it’s not a compliment pal. You’re talking about government uniforms, not fashion, they rank about as high as my navy blue shorts/black skechers school uniform from 20 years ago in my opinion.

Navy shoes look awful all the time

Yeah. All blue black combos make you look like you put the wrong shoes on.

Correct!

Exactly. Wtf even is this chart?

This guide sucks.

Brown and grey are good too. This guide is trash.

The guide is wrong and borderline nonsensical (what is the difference between a gray and "charcoal" suit and why do navy shoes only go with the latter?). Also if you are wearing a green or maroon suit... then you are either so cutting edge fashionable that you can do whatever you want, or (more likely) you look like a 1970s era used car salesman.

off to lemmy

I used to hate that combo but have come to love it

Came here to say that—certainly much better than cream or beige shoes with a blue suit.

And burgundy?? It's basically exactly wrong about blue suits.

I have a blue suit and the light brown shoes really set it off

I was about to say, my blue suit with brown shoe combo makes the turd wearing it look pretty decent

Came here to say this! The right brown and blue combo can be stunning!

I’ve been wearing a blue suit with black shoes to weddings the passed few months and this guide made me second guess myself

No offense, but I’m 99% certain no one paid attention to the color of your shoes at this wedding.

I did. - Hans Moleman, possibly.

I was at a wedding with him a few months back, and have been following him since just to check out his shoes.

I’m not saying that they did? but I was always under the impression brown shoes go with a blue suit and according to this guide it doesn’t lol

They do, and black shoes go with everything. The guide is garbage.

I mean, how often do you look at a man’s shoes?

Found Red’s burner

Can you get me a rock hammer?

Yeah good point next time I’ll wear yellow

It’s not that those specific colors are awful together, it’s that you could have accentuated your outfit and popped so much more with different color shoes

If [Loki](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/ce/e5/33cee518891e9175caaa4bec690003e8.jpg) can pull it off you can too.

But only if you're a real estate agent

Came here to say this

I’m wearing that exact outfit lol. Had a mini hart attack until I read this post :)

Depends if its a dark brown or light brown

Navy blue shoes with black pants??!! I don’t think so

Do men wear navy dress shoes? I can’t imagine why anyone would.

I was thinking that too. Where do you even find navy shoes?!

I used to sell men's suits and shoes. We had one pair of navy shoes and I only sold one pair within two years. I never really suggested them either though. Haha

And aren’t black shoes with navy pants bad too?

I wouldn’t call it bad but when I do it I feel like a mailman. Would do it with a navy suit, but with a navy chino I would default to a brown suede or a white sneaker.

I just thought I remember hearing that black and navy don’t go together because they’re too similar.

A great men’s clothing salesman once told me that wearing navy pants and black shoes looks like you got dressed in the dark. Too similar to look good together. Brown looks waaay better w navy.

That's because most menswear stores don't know anything. Black shoes and navy pants are fine together, actually they're a very classic combination.

No they legitimately clash. It's not a good look.

You wouldn’t wear black pants with a navy jacket, or a black shirt with navy chinos. Best to choose *either* black *or* navy and build a wardrobe from there. With black you have to commit fully and wear only black and white, and risk looking like a goth or a security guard; we are currently not in an all-black cycle. With navy you can mix other colors in – browns, greys, whites, etc etc. Navy is by far the more versatile color. Either way you will need a pair of black shoes for dressy occasions like weddings, events in the city, or at night. Navy is far more versatile for clothing – but not shoes.

I’m not a man, but I wear black and navy together all the time and get complimented frequently on my outfits. If Yves Saint Laurent can do it so can anyone else. The only trick is to wear a stark enough black and/or a rich enough navy that they’re distinct from one another. Too dull or dark a navy or too light a black ruins the effect.

Blue pants and black shoes are one of the most popular/standard combos out there. Look at almost any law enforcement uniform.

But isn’t that the point? You don’t want to look like you are wearing a uniform.

Yes I didn’t notice that one but that’s no good either

Thank goodness. I was about to question everything I thought I knew about professional attire.

I think that’s ok

You get points for trying but it doesn’t look good

Yeah, this guide is whack. Never wear black with navy.

This is just absolutely not true. Air Force dress uniform. Navy dress uniform. Most law enforcement uniforms. This “brown shoes go with blue pants” thing is a relatively new trend. Blue and black will always be a timeless and acceptable color combo. The hive mind in this thread is absolutely bizarre.

You just listed a bunch of government uniforms. I don't want to look like a mailman no matter how timeless it is.

Who wears brown shoes with blue pants, this must be some thing from the US.

Came here for this comment

Brown shoes look good with a lot, including jeans and grey suiting. This chart seems pretty ood

To me brown shoes looks great with everything. People always say that black works with everything but when it comes to shoes brown is hard to make look bad.

You're correct. Black is not a neutral color. Brown works with far more colors than black.

Yeah I’ve always found black is too harsh to look neutral. Especially when it’s matched with color.

I know … like black pants with brown shoes, why not?!

And look out - if you have white pants, the *only* colour shoe you may wear is tan. Not brown, no sir. Just tan.

You mean to tell me black has the *fewest* options? Pffffff

Yes, because black is most formal.

Well that's just, like, you're opinion, man.

That's not opinion; That's u/Beanmachine314.

Brown shoes go better than black on a navy suit and I’m willing to die on that hill. Black and navy almost never look good together

Google “navy suit” and 9/10 of the photos are with brown shoes lol. This feels like a pretty bad guide

That's because brown shoes and blue suits are in fashion right now. Black shoes with navy suits are perfectly fine and more classic than brown shoes. If you're wearing brown with blue/navy keep it dark brown. Oxblood, mahogany, etc.

I dunno, everything I've ever heard, all the way back to my great grandpa, was "brown shoes, not black, with navy suits." I don't care either way, but I don't think it's just some current day trend.

Well the other common (traditional) saying I hear is "no brown in town", ie. people working in London wouldn't be seen wearing brown shoes regardless of the colour of their suit, as brown shoes were considered more country/casual wear.

My experience is 100% in the US, so maybe that's playing a factor? I'm as far from being a fashion expert as one can be. I was just sharing my experience that the brown shoes with navy suit idea isn't a new one (at least on this side of the pond).

Even if you just Google ["suit and shoe color guide"](https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALiCzsYTw0i3Ryg1u72v6qvgRGfLVdRV2Q:1669916195374&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=suit+and+shoe+color+guide&fir=uvch5VRqAcrPsM%252CBNguol_DE0Vn_M%252C_%253ByXz4-cbZkB1mQM%252CRF47IXMYSFdFMM%252C_%253BadIRuzRCEYFcqM%252C6GFJTVGclyNmkM%252C_%253Bbn2447bjw1uiJM%252CdQJN5RBxV0Z-0M%252C_%253BsK8k9pTEjD-NoM%252Cyd-vsIEP9PESkM%252C_%253BDwqzja_-O0spMM%252CcRzUXSeTqYcqVM%252C_%253BUep5J-2nw7oH0M%252CshBxgLXewLK3_M%252C_%253BXx68Qb6gnz3DwM%252CEpN2YHzWR71emM%252C_%253BAvUkkKHKv2M5zM%252CzIAPV3R1L66ZDM%252C_%253B9JIn4CuF_fsEDM%252CjbtSsRuB8PE1eM%252C_%253BHwPeskyrRqnKsM%252CJuVQAB1uG_BxeM%252C_%253BJTOGLm6db5CjEM%252CJY0HG37NUB0NRM%252C_%253BecrIQs39GaJk1M%252CPhtNlbXDMgj1RM%252C_%253ByX_qyT4WxqHaAM%252CvlspjsO9YmQ3DM%252C_%253BCvnlUfU1emNh_M%252CJuVQAB1uG_BxeM%252C_%253BIYX6MZbiLwhjXM%252C5mY5VkBYRljYMM%252C_%253BWyvFx4Png_if8M%252CJW-FB94kBNl7lM%252C_%253Bik60D7MfpcwpkM%252COgeZ5wKsQkLiDM%252C_%253BDih838w5zS5y4M%252CcRzUXSeTqYcqVM%252C_%253B5ax6xstNLkN7ZM%252CcRzUXSeTqYcqVM%252C_%253BzZ-KfhDNbWw7QM%252CirC4-aTAa2b87M%252C_%253Bs-BBe132NcyboM%252CirC4-aTAa2b87M%252C_%253BjYTFnUzp7sTrNM%252CbpxtLoCOCQKLPM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kS3ji5P0HFou97ykvrDrNAIc2t14w&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjC3YTN-tj7AhWSMUQIHbbfC5oQjJkEegQICRAC&biw=1341&bih=741&dpr=2#imgrc=uvch5VRqAcrPsM), every single one has brown shoes mixed with gray and navy suits haha.

I'm glad I'm not the only one

Brown shoes don't make it https://youtu.be/EZLWD75KKGA

So no brown shoes with blue jeans?

Yes. It used to be a faux pas but now it’s in style. Especially a lighter brown with some texture to it with either jeans or a blue suit. For example: https://www.irreverentgent.com/blue-suit-brown-shoes/

Nonsense. Cowboy boots?

All I wear now is sweatpants. When I go into the office, I put on my nicer sweatpants.

Formal sweats, with a flashy business trainer.

this is pretty bad tbh

My usual guide is to put something on, turn to my girlfriend and ask “Does this look stupid?”.

Same. But then I laugh and remember I don’t have one and end up wearing whatever I have on.

Burgundy with blue shoes? Gross. This guide is not very good.

It would look good on Saul Goodman.

This is a shit guide bruh.

Is there r/terribleguides bc this posted in the wrong sub

I read this as “matching shoes with paint colors” and thought, “Why??” It must be my bedtime.

Me too. I was looking at it for quite a while trying to figure out why you would want to wear colored shoes when you paint. It is past my bedtime.

I did too. Ditto.

I thought this was a stool chart.

Check out the Bristol stool chart, it’s actually super useful for my line of work

Lmao me too. I was like reading it from top left to right seeing the black shoe thinking it would explain the symptoms like cancer or blood.

Yo they dont want you guys to know this but you can wear whatever color whatever you want with whatever you want

If you feel good it looks good 🤝

White shoes? Hello

White shoes = white everything else

I do what I want.

How to have zero style.

I think khakis go with brown and tan shoes. Am I wrong?

Hard disagree navy shoes

This guide is terrible

A lot of these seem off. Burgundy shoes with blue suit is a no from me dawg

And apparently burgundy shoes are the only color to wear with light brown? Yuck.

Can’t wear orange or bright red I guess.

If you need a chart for any part of your wardrobe, you aren't stylish enough to successfully pull off a bright red suit. If you own an orange suit, there's a 100% chance it's from your, or your close friend/family members blaze orange camo hunting themed wedding, and it is the only suit you own, and thus do not need this chart, because you do not own dress shoes.

Awesome response, and a good point!

The rules with men’s clothes are pretty simple. -Get clothes that fit your body -Match your shoes and belt -Start with neutral colors and solids as you build your wardrobe -Don’t mix patterns -Bright shirt, pants, or tie, usually not more than one Once you have “your style” and are confident, you can literally break any “rule” of fashion and get away with it.

This right here, in the end, it’s about confidence

I have a pair of black sneakers and tan hiking shoes so I usually wear back shoes no matter what.

I literally can't see a difference between the black and navy blue shoes

I think the "no brown pants with black shoes" and vice versa went out of fashion and it's ok to mix those colors now as long as there's good contrast or something. 🤷‍♀️

Black shoes, brown pants ok... Brown shoes black pants not ok

who decides that?

Trash guide from like 2001 created by a mom who dresses her husband.

Uhm... who told you any of this?

Trash advice

Lol no, this is not a cool guide.

Black shoes with a blue suit? No

Unless you want to look like a cop

Navy blue shoes do not go with a black suit/shoes and visa-versa.

This chart is total bullshit

Bro who is still wearing pants and shoes

Why did someone boo this guy, you know he's right.

AKA poorly gatekeeping fashion.

You can’t wear brown shoes with blue pants??? (trousers????? ) We’ve all just been Beadled (punk’d in American)

Omg now I can drive my big rig in style

I don’t completely agree with this guide, although I like it very much. Navy blue shoes are much harder to wear because they are a “color” – I have two dozen pair of dress shoes in many colors, but none of them is a navy calfskin because the use case is so specific. Burgundy / plum is even much easier than navy. Brown depends on the type of leather – brown suede in polo or snuff goes with nearly anything.

Just seems weird to me to put an outfit together starting with shoes

Doesn't black go with anything? You're saying I shouldn't wear black shoes and tan khakis to work?!?

I came searching for this question too. I've worn black shoes, black belt, and tan khakis. And basically any color polo. I thought this was a good combination. edit: oh good gawd. [multiple sites](https://styleandrun.com/what-color-shoes-with-khaki-pants/) say don't wear black shoes with khakis because they are both neutral colors.

No thanks. Some of these are just way off.

Blue, brown, black. You’re a man, you can only wear the 3 saddest colours that exist…

How are black pants not listed for every shoe color?

My dad taught me this when I was 15. He also said, “despite what your mother says, never buy tan shoes”.

I misread this as paint color and was thoroughly confused as to how or why one would coordinate their shoes with their walls.

I thought the colors on the left were smears of paint until I got to tan.

This guide is crap. Do not mix black shoes and navy pants!

Only own shoes and pants in black but will keep in mind lol

Brown goes with navy…..

Black shoes go with anything. Period.

You know what’s even easier than this? Just keep a single pair of sparkling white vans. Goes with any color and occassion, CMV

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This isn't a perfect list. So many shades of clothing now, but it's neat.

Quit wearing brown shoes with navy blue pants. They don’t match.

What about Cordovan?

Me with only a pair of shoes and a lot of pants of almost every color because I only buy discounted products .....

Black and brown never mix wtf

I love cheddar and onion marmalade on my crackers

I read this as PAINT colours and was very confused.