Skill of the Week: Match Your Shoes With Your Suit

A man's ability to adapt to any situation is an important part of his masculinity. We'll be republishing an illustrated guide from our archive every Sunday so that you can improve your manly knowledge week by week.

Match your shoes with your suit after you've matched your shirt and tie. You can match the three colors of shoes -- black, brown and burgundy/oxblood - to five colors of suits -- light gray, dark grey/charcoal navy blue, brown and black. Use the illustration above to make your selection. You cannot wear any shoe with any type of suit. Navy blue and light grey are the only two suits that can be worn with any color shoe. They are therefore the most versatile. Black is the least versatile color and should only be worn with black shoes.

How do you choose between multiple shoe colors? Consider the following when deciding what color shoe you should wear for any event (and then use the dress shoes hierarchy to determine the style).

Burgundy/oxblood - more casual; stylish; creative; less formal Brown - versatile; not too formal but not too casual; middle ground and safe Black - formal, gets down to business

Always remember that your belt and shoes should be the same colour.

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