Shopping and Fashion

There are a number of rules for matching your footwear to your clothing. These vary not only based on the color of footwear you are wearing, but also the type of footwear and even the type of clothing. I will discuss all of these rules so that you can be sure not to make any fashion faux pas.

Formality

First, your shoes should match your shoes in overall level of formality. In general, there are three levels of formality for a footwear: casual, semi-casual and formal. Casual footwear includes such shoes as sneakers and sandals. Semi-casual shoes include leather shoes that do not have a shine to them. Formal shoes include leather shoes that have a shine to them.

Casual shoes should be matched only to casual clothing, like jeans and shorts. Semi-casual footwear can be matched to any clothing less casual than a suit and more formal than shorts (you can wear semi-casual shoes with jeans, however, just not shorts). Formal shoes should be worn only with shorts and tuxedos.

Color

Casual shoes of any color may go with any set of clothing with which the colors don’t clash. Black leather shoes can go with any color of semi-formal clothing or with any color of jeans, which is why they are such a popular color of shoe for men who only intend to buy one pair.

With other colors, it becomes more complicated. When wearing non-black, you should make sure that you have clothing that is roughly the same as the color of shoe. This should not be simply your tie, but either your pants, shirt or jacket.

Socks

Socks should match your shoes, and there are a few general rules for matching them properly. With sandals, no socks should be worn (despite the recent popularity of the style). Casual shoes should be worn only with white socks, regardless of the color of the shoes. For more formal shoes, socks should be roughly the same color as the shoes that they match. In additional, socks should be either identical to or lighter than the shade of the shoe. Socks should never be darker than the shoes that they match.

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