Mens Dress Shoes Make & Break Outfits

The importance of mens 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 shoe for men 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 mens dress shoes are the second most expensive part of any wardrobe, and the most telling measure of a mans taste.

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

HERE ARE A FEW GUIDELINES & POINTERS FOR STAYING ON TOP OF YOUR SHOE GAME:

• MINIMIZE YOUR FEET: For the most part, the feet are ungainly things. Smart dressers seek out mens dress 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: Mens dress 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 dress shoes for men 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.

Furthermore, mens dress shoes are either lace-up or slip-ons. The former are formal, the latter informal. Though among slip-ons, slip-on dress shoes with vamps so high that they look like lace-ups without lacing are formal enough for suits and designed to be worn with them.

A mans dress 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 mens dress shoes acceptable for wear with a necktie, will ever be made with rubber soles, rubber soles are meant for mens athletic shoes or mens ankle boots. Especially not mens Italian dress shoes. For some men, Italian dress shoes may seem like a luxury, but they need to consider the value and long-lasting quality that they are paying for, Italian mens dress shoes are surely worth every penny! It's definitely worth it to invest a bit more money than you normally would in cheap mens shoes.