Black shoes vs brown shoes – which men’s shoe is best for you?

Black shoes or brown shoes? What is the right choice when you are looking to build your interchangeable classic wardrobe?

Note, between these colors, one is necessary, one is more desirable, one is needed, and one is more versatile. So, which one to go with if you want to spend good money on a pair?

Below we will compare these two colors and discuss how one is best from the other. This can help you in your buying decisions. We will focus mainly on formality, your wardrobe, dressing conventions, style options, and maintenance.

1. Formality

Let’s talk about the formality between Black and Brown shoes. Black is always formal among all the colors out there. In other words, many shoes in Black will always appear more respected.

For instance, if you place together two similar pairs of monk straps, one Black, one Brown, the Black one will appear more formal. Now, certain dress codes such as a Black-tie requires Black shoes. So in this case, if you are going to wear a Black-tie often, or a Dark Grey suit then you probably want to go with Black.

Brown on the other hand is never going to be formal as Black. That’s just simply the way it is. However, Brown has a lot of advantages over black. When it comes down to the casual side you’ve got a lot of options. Brown shoes comes in a variety of colors. I.e. You have Light Brown which is more casual, Mid-Brown which is less casual and can be worn in business environments, or Dark Brown which is almost similar to Black in terms of formality.

Therefore, the winner here simply depends on what you dress for. If you are dressing for strictly formal settings then Black shoes are good, nonetheless, if you are going to casual environments Brown shoes are a perfect pick.

2. What’s already on your wardrobe

Before buying any dress shoes it’s important to consider how your wardrobe looks like. If you have a lot of cool tones and accessories like bags, wrist strap watches, belts in Black. Or if you like Grey, Dark Charcoal, or Black suits you simply wanna wear Black shoes. They easily match those colors.

Now on the other side, if you gravitate towards brighter colors such as Blue suits (true blue, navy blue, lighter blue). Or all of the Green chinos, Dark Brown pants, or any warm tone colors, Brown shoes will fit perfectly.

3. Dressing up and down

There are certain conventions you must adapt to level up your dressing game. Whether you want to be trendy or unique, be mindful of your outfit and the shoes you want to match it with.

As previously mentioned “Black shoes are formal”, therefore, you don’t want to dress them down. For instance, wearing jeans and Black shoes, a common mistake most guys make.

As for Brown shoes, they can be worn with jeans, casual suits, or even sports jackets. In actual fact, one can argue that they seem to be the winner in terms of versatility.

4. Style options

With Black shoes, you have nothing other than a formal style. They may come in whole cuts, oxfords, and even boots i.e. Chelsea which work well in a formal dress code.

Whereas, in a casual style of dress, Black shoes starts to lose a bit of ground to Brown shoes. The informal nature of Brown and the different shades it has looks a lot better in a casual or smart casual style. Of course, that’s another advantage of Brown shoes since they seem to fit both styles.

5. Maintenance

Taking care of Black shoes is pretty easy. They can get a bit of scar or dirt and you can simply take a brush and a black polish to clean them up. Now, a Black polish is easy to find because Black shoes are common.

It’s not always the same though for Brown shoes.  Brown, particularly the lighter shade have a problem when it comes to polish. You may find that it’s too dark, or maybe not a matching color that can either darken or lighten the leather.

That is why it’s important to first test the polish on the tongue before applying it to the rest of the shoe. You can even seek expert guidance on the manufactures to get the right polish and other cleaning products.

Above all else, Black shoes take the crown over Brown shoes when it comes to maintenance.

Once more, this article was not a contest comparison as to which color is better than the other. It’s simply a way of helping you make the right buying decision, as well as obtaining the right dressing guidelines.

At the end of the day, if you are going to spend your hard-earned money on shoes you want something interchangeable. Shoes that will work with the majority of clothes on your wardrobe. You want to enhance your look and feel great whenever wearing your pair, therefore choose smart.