A shoe question

[MagistrateChris]

I was told a long time ago when I started dressing like a lawyer that black dress shoes went with greens, greys, and black suits, and cordovan/oxblood went with blues, browns, greys, and others. I've stayed with that for 12 tears, but am wondering if it is appropriate to mix things up beyond this formula. Can I wear black shoes (and matching belt, of course) with navy blue suits, and can I wear my cordovans with a dark olive suit I have?

 

[Marq]

The answer is simple.......No......never wear black with navy it just don't go.Black will go with grey,black ,green hell even red but not brown.Because black is the darkest end of the spectrum and navy is close they clash.However if you had the other end of the spectrum white you could wear what the hell you liked.So start a new tred and wear white suits............Paul

 

[Milu]

It's a matter of personal preference and how traditional you want to be, but IMHO black will work with anything formal and would be the choice with a blue suit. Shell Cordovan is similarly acceptable. Technically suede shoes (a bit raffish) could also be worn with a blue suit but I dislike the effect. Oxblood or brown works well with grey or checks. By a green I assume you mean something subdued and not bright, brown shoes would be ok, but not a brown or green suit in town

 

[cookie]

Black or 'Blood?

I was wearing my new AE oxblood McCallisters with a pinstripe (narrow) navy suit. Usually I wear black. I don't know yet whether the oxblood was better...

 

[MagistrateChris]

By a green I assume you mean something subdued and not bright, brown shoes would be ok, but not a brown or green suit in town

Yeah, I'm talking about a dark green with a faint plaid in the material. It's hard to describe, but I love the look. I'll try to take a photo and post it around here.

I guess I'll stick with what I was taught, and save the black for non-blue days.

 

[Fletch]

So start a new tred and wear white suits............Paul

This presents certain difficulties in an American courtroom. White suits here are strongly associated with the feudal mor?©s of the Old South, and would queer the atmosphere in court something terrible. A judge would be within his rights to complain, and even hold the wearer in contempt if worn a second time.

However, were Chris to relocate to a media-saturated city and try celebrity cases, he could start any clothing trend he wanted to as long as he stuck with one, recognizable look (ie: Gerry Spence's fringed buckskin, Jacob Stein's spectators).

 

[Fletch]

But...

I don't see a problem with black shoes and a blue suit. It's pretty well accepted where I come from.

However, there may be a taboo within the legal profession I'm not aware of.

 

[Orgetorix]

No black with blue is a rule that has tried to seep in from women's wear, where it's acceptable to wear blue shoes. Blue shoes are not correct for men's dress clothing (Marc Chevalier's collection notwithstanding), so the rule doesn't apply.

Black leather dress shoes, well shined, are the most formal type of shoe, especially in the plain cap-toe oxford configuration. They are perfectly fine to wear with formal city suits of any color, the most common pairings being with grey and blue. In fact, about the most formal ensemble a man can wear is a dark blue suit, black cap-toe oxfords, white shirt, and a subdued tie. There are probably some shades of brown and green suiting that I would prefer to wear with brown or oxblood shoes, but I don't think black would be strictly incorrect.

I regularly wear black, brown, and oxblood shoes with any and all of my grey, blue, brown, and tan suits.

Another thing to consider when choosing shoes, in addition to the color, is the formality of the style. Even though black is generally more formal than brown, a plain cap-toe oxford in brown would actually be more formal, and thus more appropriate with a city suit, than a black blucher with brogueing.

Just to show that black with blue is perfectly traditional and acceptable, here's an illustration from a WWII-era Apparel Arts. The father of the bride is wearing a navy blue DB suit with black oxfords.

For some reason, oxblood-colored shoes don't seem to have been common in the '30s and '40s, so I don't have any illustrations of them. But I think they'd look superb with a dark olive suit.

 

[cookie]

Oxbloods

For some reason, oxblood-colored shoes don't seem to have been common in the '30s and '40s, so I don't have any illustrations of them. But I think they'd look superb with a dark olive suit.[/QUOTE]

I agree and have used to same to good effect.

 

[Undertow]

I believe Orgetorix was quite correct in his evaluation.

I would also like to state that mixing navy and black apparel might not be acceptable unless your clothing already has the mix. For instance, a black suit with blue pinstripes might allow for a navy shirt. However, I wouldn't wear a Navy jacket with black trousers, or a blue fedora with a black suit.

However, as we've stated in other threads (Dinner Jacket), the confident man can make nearly anything look good.

Do we have a "Color Clash" thread on this board? Do we need one?

Anyone really good with that stuff?

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Nearly every police force in the country wears navy and black.

 

[Fletch]

Now that brown leathers with ANY type of uniform are a distant memory, state police and county sheriff's forces that wear brown, tan, etc., invariably do so with black shoes and gunbelts.

 

[MagistrateChris]

True, but when I'm dressing in a suit, the last thing I want someone to think is that I'm wearing a uniform, be it police, Navy, Air Force, bus driver, etc. I want to look good.

By the way, I appreciate that many of you noticed I'm an attorney, but I don't try cases anymore. I hear cases, so I'm am significantly more free in my wardrobe, as the "black dress" covers about anything. Of late, suits are more for my own enjoyment than being the "uniform" of a trial attorney. I'll admit that of late, I've taken to wearing dress pants, a shirt and tie to work, as I keep a blazer available in my office in case I need to look more lawyerly. The shoe question was based upon my own enjoyment of dressing well.

 

[Sylvester D]

Magistrate Chirs

How would you rate the dress of the lawyers who come before you. I'm a trial lawyer from Philadelphia & for the most part I think lawyers here do a decent job of dressing. However, speaking of shoes, I have noticed lawyers with a nice suit but awful cheap looking shoes. Even black tennis shoes

 

[Mid-fogey]

It's interesting how many notions there are of "right" out there. I was raised to never wear brown shoes with a dark blue suit. I usually wear black cap toes with blue or grey and brown shoes with brown or green. I use cordovan shoes as sort of a utility shoe and they seem to look good with nearly everything except for the lightest tan. The don't seem quite right with that.

 

[MagistrateChris]

Magistrate Chirs

How would you rate the dress of the lawyers who come before you. I'm a trial lawyer from Philadelphia & for the most part I think lawyers here do a decent job of dressing. However, speaking of shoes, I have noticed lawyers with a nice suit but awful cheap looking shoes. Even black tennis shoes

Sorry for the delay in responding. My oldest turned 7, and the weekend was filled with family events,. birthday parties, baseball, and such.

I have truly seen it all, in terms of dressing for court. I've seen one lawyer who wears black jeans, dirty black cowboy boots, and a blazer. I know of one attorney who spends good money on good suits, and always looks very sharp.

What I've really noticed is that effort makes more of a difference than money. For example, the young prosecutor who comes in wearing a pressed, tailored suit from a less expensive store, with a well cooordinated tie, and polished shoes, will often look better than a private attorney wearing an expensive, but ill-fitting, suit that needs pressing.

One onther point. Some of the best attorneys (skill wise) are also some of the worst dressed. It's not a lack of money, but a lack of interest. One attorney I know drives a Ferrari on sunny days, but wears some of the cheapest blazers I have ever seen. i laways wanted to be both, the well skilled attorney who looked good.