If you were to ask me "What is the most important pair of shoes in a man's wardrobe?" I would reply, without doubt, "a nice pair of brown oxfords." And today, I am going to share with you all my thoughts on why a pair of good-quality brown oxfords is a must-have item for every man.
When building a wardrobe, versatility is the key. You want to maximize the number of outfit combinations you could get with the least amount of items. For this reason, brown oxford shoes would always be the most important pair of shoes in my wardrobe as it could be used in the most occasions.
In the following, I am going to explain why brown oxfords are versatile with regards to (a) the shoe style and (b) the color tone.
Oxfords, I would say, is the most classic and timeless style of dress shoes you could find in the market. It could be distinguished from other dress shoes such as Derbys from its 'close-lacing' design.
Although originated from a type of boots called Balmorals (which I hope to address another time), oxfords is perhaps the most dominated type of dress shoes these days. The reason for that is nonetheless because it could pretty much match with any outfit, from business formal to smart casual outfits.
If you recall from my last post, I was wearing the same pair of shoes that I am addressing in today's article. You could see I am matching my oxfords with a rather smart-casual outfit. Alternatively, you could match with any suits you have for formal occasions (except black suits and tuxedos) or even denim jeans for casual occasions.
In order to maximize the versatility, however, I would recommend you to get oxford shoes that have cap toe on it. Anything such as a whole-cut oxfords to one that has perforation would either be too formal or too distracting for your first pair of dress shoes respectively.
Medium-brown is also the color of dress shoes that you should get for your first pair of shoes. This is for a much simpler reason. It sits right in between all the brown color-tones.
First of all, black is out of the question because it would be too formal for most of the outfits you have. Now you could argue that it works well with all the business suits and 'black-tie event' suits. If you happened to wear suits only in very rare occasions and are planning to get only one pair of dress shoes, then definitely you should get a black oxfords. However, you would not be able to match it with more casual outfits.
Although being quite a big fan of black dress shoes personally, medium-brown leather shoes just have the charm which it could match any of my outfits regardless of being darker in color (winter-outfits) or lighter in color (summer-outfits). This is especially the case since you could also match with more causal suit colors such as brown and off-white.
This is a pair of Alfred Capped Oxford in Burnished Mocha Calf Leather from Cheaney. Compared to other dress shoe companies in the market, they offer goodyear-welted shoes in a relatively cheaper price. If you want to own a pair of good quality leather shoes but wish not to spend that much on your first pair of dress shoes, Cheaney is definitely the place to go to.
Do you agree that medium-brown oxfords should be every man's first pair of leather shoes? Comment down below to share your thoughts!
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