Men's Dress Shoes Guide

No perfect apparel is complete without the best pair of shoes, especially when it comes to an all dressed-up event! Imagine a well dressed man at a formal party wearing floaters. How absurd would that look.

Dress shoes are the ones that are worn on various formal and smart casual occasions, and hence, they are totally sophisticated, and appear quite different than the normal ones. For men, such shoes are mostly black or brown, so as to match up with all kinds of their clothing.

While dressing up, avoid wearing square toed shoes; rather opt for the classic and round toed ones. You should also avoid wearing sneakers during dressing up. The best thing to do is to keep a pair of black leather lace up shoes and dark gray socks in your wardrobe.

Both these pairs suit up well with all formal and smart casual styles for men. You need to be pretty careful while spending a few bucks more, in order to get the best pair of shoes that would last longer.

Always remember that the sleek black shoes and lace up shoes are more formal than the heavier brown colored shoes and slip-ons, respectively.

Oxford Shoes: These are round toed with a cap and closed lacing, and prepared with the traditional leather types, rather than the modern plain ones. These are the most formidable choice for business casuals, but they are also chosen as formal shoes.

If you want to own the best ones for flat feet, then you will get them at Park Avenue, Allen-Edmonds, and Comfortrite.

Wing Tip Shoes: They are available with brogued cap and backward curved pointed toes. You can opt for both black or brown versions of the wing tips, and they are the best footwear for business casual wears.

However, make sure to use them as a surprise option. Don't wear them too frequently as they lose their charm very soon. Stock up a good pair of brown wing tip shoes, and a black pair of Oxfords.

Blücher Shoes: Often called Derby in UK, are pretty much similar to the Oxford variety. The only difference is that they come with open lacing. Blücher shoes are actually rated as the best versatile ones, since you can pair them with a blazer, formal suits, jeans, and khakis.

However, make sure you buy a suede pair of this type, instead of the smooth leather, when it comes to jeans and khakis.

Monk Strap Shoes: They are less formal than the Oxfords, and more formal than the blüchers. They are closed with help of one or more straps and/or buckles. They are also called cap toed broughed shoes.

Most popular color is brown, and they are mostly bought in suede. You can wear them as business casuals, as well as weekend formals. These are basically one of the must-have shoes for men.

Loafer Shoes: They also called slip-ons, and are totally casual wear shoes. However, you can wear mettle link loafers as business casuals. You will often find them with tassel.

You can also try moccasin and penny loafers for a weekend semi-casual or semi-formal affair. However, one needs to be very careful while choosing them, as they don't suit all men.

Other popular dress shoe types are: dress boots, white bucks, court shoes, opera pumps, black slippers, etc.