Sock and shoe colour with suits?

DazMarz

What colour socks and what colour shoes go best with a grey suit?

I'm pretty sure black for both is the way to go, or should it be a grey sock but sticking with black shoes?

And also, same question regarding a blue/navy suit? What colour shoe works best with blue/navy and I'm also assuming navy socks work best.

Thanks in advance (from a person trying to improve their image having spent their formative years living in denim jeans and hoodies!!!:o)

thefireinside

Definately stick to the black socks and shoes with the grey suit!

As regards the navy/blue suit, thats a tricky one for shoes... I'd prob stick with black there too, with a black belt and socks but it depends on the shade of navy! a classy shiny black pair could be lovely...

How Strange

Grey suit - black or brown shoes
Navy suit - brown shoes

OldGoat

Formally - match the socks to your suit.
Slightly less formally - match the sock to your shoe.
Almost casually - black socks
With Careless abandon - Your favourite Muppet show character socks.
Ultimate no-no are mismatched socks. Not even in jest!
Another Ultimate no-no is white socks.
The final ultimate no-no is socks with sandals
Another final Ultimate no-no is a boudoir thing. Don't leave your socks on when you have company in the bedroom. When undressing take off your jacket, your shoes, your socks and then whatever order you want. Leaving your socks on makes you look like a total buffoon.

As for shoes, brown are casual and black are formal so it depends on the situation you are wearing them in.
Another rule of (archaic) thumb is never wearing brown shoes after 6 o'clock. Brown shoes were seen as working shoes, black as dress shoes.

eviltimeban

Yes but these days all that "brown in town" stuff has changed. I often wear dark brown shoes with my navy suit, looks great. Matched with a light blue shirt and a deep colour floral tie, fantastic. And I have black and purple narrow striped socks which somehow look really great with it (they just look black from afar).

I don't have a grey suit (for shame!) but I would imagine black shoes and socks will look best with it. Depends on the shade of grey. Similarly with the shade of the shoes.

Some people swear about wearing red socks with their suits - so I guess anything goes really! Once it looks reasonably OK, I guess you can wear anything with anything!

OldGoat

^^^ Exactly.
Socks, like a tie or a pocket square or braces give you the opertunity to add flare to your style - a splash of colour to brighten the day. Just remember to match the clothes to the occasion. Red socks at an interview or a funeral or a dress dinner - not really a great idea. Out clubbing then yes red can be great (as can yellow or neon) if thats your style.
I recently aquired a pair of argyle pattern socks with a luminous thread weave in it. Spectacular in a club - stupid at work.

DazMarz

Thanks for all the advice!!! As I said, I'm looking to sort of 'update' my image!

Also, when wearing a plain (no stripes) shirt, I'm presuming a striped/patterned tie is more appropriate. And vice-versa if the shirt is striped?

(Again, I'm a complete and total newbie when it comes to wearing suits/shirts/ties/formal-attire!)

But thanks again for all the advice! Really is helping!

OldGoat

With shirt, tie and jacket the pattern rule generally is if two are patterned then the third has to be plain.
Of course rules are made to be broken but you really have to know your sh(r)it to get away with it.

eviltimeban

I normally try to keep my patterns pretty simple. So if its a plain suit, I could wear a striped or checked shirt with a plain, one colour tie (or one with a very slight design, maybe floral or dots). I would never wear a striped shirt if I'm wearing a pinstripe suit. And if I'm wearing a plain colour shirt, then I would generally match with a fairly patterned tie, either striped, (modern) paisley, flowers, etc. At the same time wearing a navy suit, plain white shirt and plain navy tie also looks great. I generally try and keep the tone down, and allow one item be "loud" at a time - so if I'm wearing unusual shoes for example, the rest of me will be pretty conservative. Or if I'm wearing a pink shirt or pink tie I keep that as the "statement" and leave the rest fairly subdued. Generally though, you can have a lot of fun buying plain shirts and "fancy" ties, cos they'll always go together fairly well.

DazMarz

And I've also heard that the belt you wear should match your shoes. Is this true or can the belt be "stand-alone". And obviously a black belt will work with black/grey etc., is brown the option with navy and blue?

OldGoat

For me matching belt & shoes is a must. I'm very much a traditionalist in that. Depending (again) on circumstances you'll get away with mismatching but it's attention to detail that lifts you out of the crowd first & foremost. You can't break the rules till you know what rules to break.

However I tend to wear very bright braces, something strongly contrasting the shirt, rather then belts these days. For a fatso like me the braces give me extra vertical stripes and fewer horozontal hoops and they allow a flash of colour to a dark suit & tie combination.

DazMarz

OldGoat wrote: »

For me matching belt & shoes is a must. I'm very much a traditionalist in that. Depending (again) on circumstances you'll get away with mismatching but it's attention to detail that lifts you out of the crowd first & foremost. You can't break the rules till you know what rules to break.

However I tend to wear very bright braces, something strongly contrasting the shirt, rather then belts these days. For a fatso like me the braces give me extra vertical stripes and fewer horozontal hoops and they allow a flash of colour to a dark suit & tie combination.

I find that wearing a belt is better, tbh... I know coming from a newbie like me, that must sound rich, but to me suspenders/braces have always screamed 'Gordon Gekko' and 1980's and so on, so I don't know whether they're for me... haha.

But still, all this advice is gonna get used tomorrow... Gonna get me some nice new clothes!!:D

OldGoat

My favourate era for clothes pre-dates 'Gordon Gekko' by about 5 decades.

dingbat

OldGoat wrote: »

My favourate era for clothes pre-dates 'Gordon Gekko' by about 5 decades.

I'll wager ten bob to win on 1930's Esquire and Apparel Arts illustrations.

Why?

Because they're utterly and completely awesome, that's why.

:cool:

macy9

I find when Im dressing clients that if you go for a lighter coloured sock, all you see...is sock! Same goes for tights, which is bad news for women with bad legs. But theres just no telling some people.

Anyway, keep socks a shade darker than the suit. If you live in Italy and wear Prada loafers then its an entirely different game, but we live in Ireland with no sun so....

Some guys think they are hay-larious if they were coloured striped socks or novelty socks, thats fine if you're the managing director, if not stick to the basics. Flat pressed are best imo, stay away from nasty ribbed/ridged type socks.

Agredd on the belt. Accessories gived that polished edge.

You can actually get left/right specific socks these days (Falke).

DazMarz

I've now decked myself out with nice, simple and plain classic suits.

Single breasted, two vents in the back of the jackets. Two black, one navy and one ''almond'' (beige/grey; looks lovely!).

I'm loving them too! Wore a black one around with a shirt and tie for ages yesterday for no particular reason! Just to look and feel cool!:o

Thanks for all the advice. I'm sure I'll be looking for more soon!

Iolar Iontach

Socks should bring the outfit together- they don't necessarily have to match the shirt; tie or suit colour. A nice pair of Duchamp; Paul Smith; John Smedley or similar socks can add some panache to an outfit. It's nothing to do with being "hay-larious".

Black, preferably Oxford shoes should be worn with a grey and most shades of navy suit. Brown shoes usually look awful with any colour suit other tan or brown. I would always wear black shoes with navy- this is a sartorial norm. Burgundy or cardovan shoes can also look elegant with some shades of navy.

Invest in decent, preferably English shoes & look after them well. People will always notice your shoes! I would spend more on shoes and buy an inexpensive suit that fits properly if needs be. So many Irish men wear their suits sloppily or have trousers too short!

I would also suggest you invest in pocket squares. Irish men tend not to use them but a suit looks naked without one.