What Shoes to Wear With a Suit: Navy, Grey, Charcoal and Black

Shoes decide more about how a suit reads than most men expect. The cloth sets the register, the cut sets the line, and then the shoe either finishes the sentence or argues with it. Clients ask us this at Playa del Rey more often than they ask about lapels.

The short answer

• Navy suit: black for business and evening, mid or dark brown by day, oxblood as a quieter third option.
• Grey suit: the most forgiving. Black, brown, oxblood and tan all work, and mid grey takes brown particularly well.
• Charcoal suit: black first. Dark brown and oxblood are correct but less formal.
• Black suit: black only.

If you remember nothing else: brown is a daylight shoe, black is an evening shoe, and the darker the suit the narrower the choice becomes.

Shoe color, suit by suit

What color shoes with a navy suit

Part of what makes navy the most useful suit a man owns is that it takes two shoe colors rather than one. Black oxfords make it a business and evening suit; mid brown or chestnut make it a daylight suit, which is why navy sits so well at a garden wedding. Dark brown is the most useful single pair to own alongside it. Oxblood reads intentional rather than cautious against navy, and photographs better than black.

What color shoes with a grey suit

Mid grey is the easiest suit in the wardrobe to shoe, because the colour is neutral and every shade of leather has something to say against it. Brown is the happiest pairing in daylight, black the most formal, oxblood the most interesting. Light grey in a summer cloth is the one suit where tan beats black, since black against pale grey draws the eye to the floor.

What color shoes with a charcoal suit

Charcoal behaves more like navy than like mid grey. Black is the first answer and the safe one. Dark brown and oxblood are correct and both move the suit a step away from formality, which may be what you want on a weekday. Tan does not work here: the contrast is so wide that the shoe stops being part of the outfit. Charcoal is also the suit worn to a funeral, and there it is black oxfords alone.

What color shoes with a black suit

Black shoes, with no exception. Brown against a black suit reads as an accident every time. A plain-toe or cap-toe black oxford is right. Worth saying plainly: a black suit is not evening wear, and if your calendar includes formal evenings it is a dinner suit you want instead. Our custom tuxedo Los Angeles page covers what separates the two.

Oxford, derby, loafer or monk

Colour settles whether a shoe belongs with a suit. Construction settles how formal it is.

• Oxford. Closed lacing, giving a clean unbroken line across the top of the foot. The most formal, and the only safe choice for black tie, a funeral or an interview.
• Derby. Open lacing, a step down in formality and a step up in comfort on a high instep or broad foot. Entirely correct with a business suit.
• Loafer. No lacing, so no adjustment, so less formality. A loafer with a suit works in Los Angeles in a way it does not in London. Keep it to a clean leather penny or plain slip-on, and keep suede for odd trousers.
• Monk strap. Buckles instead of laces, sitting between the oxford and the loafer. Correct with a business suit, wrong at black tie.

When brown is right, and when it is not

Brown is right in daylight, and at anything described as cocktail, garden, dressy casual or business. It is right with navy, every grey, tan and olive, and at most Los Angeles weddings held before five. It is wrong with a black suit, wrong at black tie and black tie optional, and wrong at a funeral. It is also a poor idea at a formal interview, not because it offends anyone but because it invites a judgement you do not need. The old line, no brown in town, has loosened almost everywhere, and those four exceptions are all that is left of it.

Black tie footwear

Black tie takes a patent leather oxford or a highly polished plain black calf oxford. Never brown, in any shade. The sole should be thin and the shoe plain: no cap toe, no brogueing, no stitching across the vamp. A black velvet slipper is a long-standing alternative in a private house. With it, black silk or fine black wool socks. Our guide to black tie in Los Angeles covers the rest of the evening.

Belt, leather and socks

Belt leather matches shoe leather in colour and, where you can, in finish. A polished calf belt beside a suede shoe looks like two separate decisions. Better still, wear no belt: trousers cut for you sit on the waist without help. Ask for side adjusters or braces buttons when we cut your pattern and we will leave the loops off.

Socks should be darker than the trouser or the same tone, long enough to keep the leg covered when crossed, and plain unless you have a reason. White socks with a suit cannot be argued into correctness.

Bring the shoes to your fitting

There is a practical reason for this page beyond taste. We ask every client to bring the shoes they intend to wear with the suit, because trouser length is set against a particular heel. A quarter of an inch of heel height moves the hem, and the difference between a clean break and a puddle of cloth is about that much. If the suit will see two kinds of shoe, bring both and tell us which matters more.

A good shoe flatters a well-cut suit and exposes a badly cut one, so our guide to how a suit should fit is worth reading beside this. Everything we make is full canvas and fully bespoke, made by hand by our atelier in Southern Brittany, France. The consultation takes an hour and costs nothing. You can book a time that suits you or telephone 310-503-3592. More is on our bespoke tailor Los Angeles page, on custom suits Los Angeles and on bespoke suit cost Los Angeles.

Questions we are often asked

What color shoes go with a navy suit?

Black for business and evening, mid or dark brown by day, oxblood as a quieter third option. Dark brown is the most useful single pair, since it carries from morning until the light goes.

What color shoes go with a grey or charcoal suit?

Mid grey takes black, brown, oxblood and tan, with brown the happiest in daylight. Charcoal behaves more like navy: black first, dark brown and oxblood correct but less formal, tan too wide a contrast.

What shoes should I wear with a black suit?

Black, and only black. Brown against a black suit reads as an accident in every light. For formal evenings, a dinner suit serves you better than a black lounge suit.

Oxford or derby: which is more formal with a suit?

The oxford, because closed lacing gives an unbroken line across the foot. A derby sits a step below and often fits a high instep better. Only the oxford is correct at black tie.

Are loafers acceptable with a suit?

In Los Angeles, yes, within limits. A clean leather penny or plain slip-on works with a business or summer suit. Keep them away from anything the invitation calls formal.

Why do you ask me to bring shoes to a fitting?

Because trouser length is set against a particular heel, and a quarter of an inch of heel height moves the hem. Fitted in trainers, a trouser later worn with dress shoes reads short.