Question:
Dear Henry, I hope you can help. I went to see my Grandfather for lunch last week and after lunch he told me off for my shoes, which he said did not go with my outfit, he did not explain more. For the record, I was wearing brown leather lace-ups with an almost black suit. My Grandfather is a stylish man and I don’t want to upset him next time, could you give me some advice?
Thank you, Tom M,UK
Uncle Henry Replies:
Hello Tom,
Good on you for being the first brave soul to write to me and ask a question. The matter of Shoes, is an important one, not only for the sartorial reasons but as my father used to inform me; “they are one of the first things a lady looks at when she first lays eyes on you and then makes all sorts of judgements. So they had better be clean and correct.” As a young teenager, it did not seem to matter to me that much but when an older lady took a shine to me and informed me the very same thing, I took it to heart. But that doesn’t answer your question now does it.
You have made one of the basic faux pas of men’s style, the rules for shoes with outfits are very simple, so here is my handy guide.
|
Shoe Colour |
Trouser/Suit Colour |
|
BLACK |
Black; Charcoal; Navy; Grey |
|
DARK BROWN |
Navy; Grey; Brown; |
|
LIGHT BROWN |
Navy; Brown; Indigo |
|
OXBLOOD (BURGUNDY) |
Navy: Grey (Charcoal & Brown if daring) |
|
TRAINERS |
Never – Unless you are Doctor Who |
I hope this helps with your dilemma, my dear man! I think I shall ask the rest of the PG team to write a more detailed article on this for future reference. I hope this helps young Tom and your grandfather won’t write you out of the will!
Now I think it’s time for a cup of tea.
Toodle Pip my new chums,
Uncle Henry
