Match your shoes and trousers

Crystal Okusa

Most men get away with wearing two or three pairs of shoes with all the trousers and shorts they own.

This is a fashion disaster that can be averted, as there are a variety of shoes for particular trousers. It is easy to match your shoes and trousers on any given day. Start by looking at the pants you have chosen to wear and decide whether they are casual, formal or occasional. Then pick a corresponding pair of casual, formal or occasional shoes.

Try to pick the shoe whose colour matches with your pants or is darker. Although it is a safe bet, socks don’t have to match your shoes. Don’t imagine that no one can see the socks since they are underneath then wear sporty or flowery socks with formal pants. Instead, think of socks as you would a tie — so when you sit and your socks peep they can be seen to complete your outfit instead of making you look like a clown.

Shoes for jeans

You can wear almost any colour of shoe with jeans, but avoid shiny shoes that were obviously intended for a dressier outfit like tuxedos.

Boots, lug soles, sneakers, loafers and sandals all work well with jeans, so you may find it helpful to let the kind of shirt you are wearing to guide you.

A sporty, polo shirt might work with a loafer. T-shirts go well with sneakers or retro-style. Long artsy button-downs work with sandals or mock toe oxford styles.

Shoes for casual pants

Dockers, chinos and khakis suit loafers, oxfords and most of the other shoes that work well with casual pants. Let your accessories and shirt guide you on the kind of shoe to wear. Wearing accessories can mean you tone down your dressing and your shoes so you don’t look overdone. A buckle is a little on the dressy side, while a woven pattern or heavy stitching is more on the dressy side.

Shoes for dress pants

With dress pants, you can wear the same type of shoe you would with a suit. Shiny materials usually indicate a dressier shoe, so do less bulky heels and soles. Same colour of shoe is more applicable for this wear. But for this look, whatever shoes you wear make sure it matches the belt.