You’ve probably asked yourself if wearing brown shoes with black pants actually works. Despite the sheer differences between the two colors, it’s actually possible to create simple and aesthetically pleasing outfits with those two at the helm.
The key lies in knowing how to use their colors effectively — specifically by wearing the right accessories and using the right shades of brown to complement the darker color of your pants. Did you know that you can even get away with wearing brown boots with black pants? Though these colors are arguably difficult to work with, the payoff for finding that sweet spot between them and nailing the look you want makes it all worth it.
Brown Shoes with Black Pants: Does it Work
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It’s no secret that matching brown shoes with the rest of your wardrobe is tricky in its own right. As lovely as the color is, it is difficult to find dark colors that partner well with it. Even though brown is a neutral color, its varying shades give them a lot of variety. More often than not, this means they work well with brown, blue, and gray pants — colors that contrast.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to make sure colors contrast. In the case of brown shoes with black pants, this means you’re better off choosing a lighter shade of brown for your footwear. Typically, this means rocking a pair of tan shoes in tandem with a belt that matches the color of your footwear.
Formal, Casual, or Something In-Between?
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The age-old combination of black dress pants with brown shoes exists in a bit of a strange area on the formal-casual spectrum. This is a combination of clothes that can’t be regarded as formal, even if the brown shoes you choose to wear are leather dress shoes. Typically, black pants partner well with brown shoes and boots, though the type of pants will also play a large role in determining your overall aesthetic.
Since this outfit fits more along the casual and semi-formal ends of the spectrum, they’re a little more flexible with regards to when and where they can be worn. They wouldn’t be too out of place at social gatherings like cocktail parties, semi-formal weddings, and holiday parties.
It’s important to remember that regardless of how formal your outfit may be, brown shoes are inherently more casual than black shoes. While brown shoes can be formal in their own right, this isn’t the case once they’re partnered with a pair of black slacks — even if the rest of your look is composed entirely out of formalwear.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. All this means is brown shoes with black pants make for a stylish look that’s applicable to both casual and semi-formal engagements. In fact, if the dress code at your workplace isn’t too strict, you can get away with wearing this exact combination to the office.
7 Tips on How To Wear Brown Shoes With Black Pants
1. Wear the Right Shoes with the Right Pants
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A simple and effective casual look would be to match black jeans with brown boots. Hiking boots in particular have a certain rugged charm that makes them work incredibly well with jeans. You could get away with wearing combat boots and moc toe boots as well. For those of you who would prefer to wear shoes, simple brown penny loafers and dress shoes work fine.
Another casual look you could pull off with brown shoes is wearing them with black joggers, and these can be worn with chukka boots and leather sneakers.
For something a little more semi-formal, however, your best bet would be to match your brown shoes with a pair of black chinos or slacks. Oxford shoes and monk shoes of a lighter shade of brown are suitable for engagements such as these. Loafers without socks are also applicable, provided your pants aren’t long enough to cover up your ankles.
At the end of the day, brown shoes are generally more casual-looking — even if you’re wearing dress shoes made of brown leather.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Break Conventions
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Matching brown and black requires a lot of thought and consideration on your part. This is also one of the reasons why you don’t see this combination very often — matching black pants with black shoes is generally much safer.
However, when it comes to creating a new look that you want to try out, it’s best to ignore the outdated belief that black pants must be worn with equally black shoes. At the end of the day, fashion is all about self-expression. What really matters is knowing how to use these colors properly.
3. Choose the Right Shirt
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You’ve got the basics of wearing black pants with brown shoes down, but what about the rest of the outfit?
Coming up with a complete and cohesive look is actually trickier than it seems, but with enough color coordination, you can get away with creating several outfits for just about any occasion. Fortunately, since both black and brown are both neutral colors, they work well with a variety of shirts and jackets.
Some of the safest options you can go for when it comes to tops are white, gray, navy blue, maroon, and black. A good and simple look would be a white shirt, black pants, with brown shoes. Similarly, you could get away with black pants, brown shoes, and a blue shirt. This applies to shirts, jackets, and coats as well. One of the benefits of wearing brown shoes is being able to experiment more with suits of a different color than black.
4. Avoid Dark Brown Shoes
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As mentioned previously, making sure the colors of your clothing contrast is an essential step for any outfit. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with going for a more monochromatic look, utilizing only one color for your outfit, this might not be the look you’re going for.
Because contrasting colors is a big step, it’s ill-advised to wear darker shades of brown to complement your already-dark pants. Instead, something much lighter should be worn to emphasize the difference between the two colors. This brings out the best looks of both articles of clothing.
If the event that you do own a pair of dark brown shoes, you’re better off partnering those off with slacks of a different color instead. Gray pants, navy blue pants, and pants of a shade of brown that differs from your shoes all work quite well together with dark brown shoes and boots.
The only time you should wear darker brown shoes with black pants is if you’re wearing a full suit.
5. Take Care with Formalwear
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You certainly could wear brown shoes with a black suit and it would make for a dapper outfit. There’s no doubting that. In order to keep this particular aesthetic suitable for formal engagements, however, your best bet would be to opt for a darker shade of brown.
Just remember to make sure your shoes aren’t too dark, or too light. Color contrasts will still play a huge role in determining the final look. Wearing a belt that matches the color of your footwear is a must if you intend to wear brown shoes with black pants, however. Otherwise, you should forgo wearing a belt entirely.
6. Experiment by Accessorizing
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One of the many unspoken rules of fashion with regards to formal and semi-formal outfits is that the color of your shoes must match the color of your belt. If you intend to wear black pants with brown shoes, then you need to find a brown belt of the same shade and hue as your footwear.
However, it’s important to remember that belts aren’t the only accessories you can wear. Watches with leather straps that match your shoes and belt can really bring out the brown in your outfit, making for a cool yet sophisticated aesthetic. For something a bit larger and more practical, you can consider investing in brown leather bags that match your outfit.
If you’re looking for something a little snazzier, you can consider investing in accessories used for formal occasions like cufflinks, tie bars, suspenders, and pocket squares.
7. Wear Something That Fits the Occasion
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An important rule to remember is that lighter-colored shoes are generally unfit for formal occasions. This is because the lighter the shade of the shoe, the more casual they seem. This is why it’s so difficult to find a pair of white formal footwear. Brown shoes aren’t exempt from this rule, meaning it’s best to keep them at home if you have to attend a formal event. You’re better off wearing black shoes for those instead.
Brown Shoes and Black Pants: Making it Work
Black jeans, black dress pants, black chinos — all of these are perfectly viable articles of clothing to accompany your brown footwear. It’s best to lean into the casual and semi-formal looks provided by getups like these. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can achieve this.
As mentioned previously, accessorizing plays a heavy role in bringing out your outfit. It’d be unwise to underestimate the effect a good belt can have on an outfit. With all that out of the way, it’s time to create a look that brings out the best of your brown shoes and black pants.
