Wear Dress Shoes With Jeans & Look Amazing (5 Rules You MUST Follow)
[0:00:00] [Music]
Quick question. Do you like vinegar and oil salad dressing? Me, I absolutely love it on
a romaine lettuce salad with tomatoes and a little bit of chicken, amazing. But, here’s
the thing. On paper, oil and vinegar don’t mix. But, despite that, the combination is
a culinary classic. What this has to do with dress shoes and jeans?
Same principle, gents. On paper, it may not look like a good combination, but if put together
skillfully, dress shoes and jeans can look amazing.
Rule number one is to wear the right type of dress shoe. Now, when we use the word dress
shoes, dress footwear, we can be referring to a wide range of different types of shoes
that can be worn with suits or that can be worn with casual wear.
So, let’s start this off with black oxfords. These are going to be a closed lacing system
shoe in black and this right here should be reserved for suits. They can be worn with
black tie. They really should not be worn with shades. Although, some guys think they
can pull it off, in my opinion, it’s never done correctly because these shoes are just
too formal. Now, you may be saying, “Well, what about
black Balmoral oxfords that have a cap toe, maybe have a little bit of broguing?” Again,
the black the formality of the color, I think black dress shoes in general lend themselves
to not being easily matched with jeans. And remember, there are multiple things that
make a shoe formal. It’s not only the color. You may think, “Oh. These shoes are brown,
I’m safe here.” Not exactly. Let’s look at the style right here. We have a wholecut
and one of the more formal styles of shoe. So, the style right here along with it being
a dark brown really to me it lends that the shoe is more towards formal wear, not towards
casual wear with jeans. And, again, we have another example of a shoe
whose color makes it seem like it could be worn with jeans, but whose style says another
thing. This is, again, is going to be an oxford with the closed lacing system. This right
here is just going to be a more formal. It would work well with a casual suit, but I
would be careful wearing this with jeans. And now, let’s talk about dress shoes I
think would look great with denim. So, starting off we’ve got brogues. You know these are
brogues because I can see the perforations here in the leather and it does make the shoe
much more casual. And that’s what we’re looking for, a more casual dress shoe.
Now, the darkness here on the color, it is something that’s going to lend itself to
be more formal, but it is still a dark brown. It’s not a black and so this right here
I think if worn with the right dark-colored denim, this could be worn with jeans.
Another dress shoe style that’s going to work really well with jeans are bluchers.
Bluchers are open lacing system shoes. They’re going to be more casual dress shoes.
What are open lacing systems? Okay. So, the back part of the shoe, the quarter, basically
is thrown onto the front part of the shoe, the vamp. And I can see it right here in the
design. So, when you’re looking at dress shoes, understand that whenever it’s an
open lacing system like this, it is going to be a more informal dress shoe.
These right here, not only because of the design, but also the color, all of these,
the cap toe, this makes it a more casual shoe and it’s just a great combination in my
opinion for jeans. Now, what about monk straps? You bet. This
can be worn with jeans, a wide different variety. You see right here we’ve got a contrasting
leather. This does make the shoe more casual. And, overall, the style with cap toe contrasting
leather, the double monk strap, you’re also going to see single monk strap. Either one
can be worn with jeans. Now, what if these were in black? Then, I
would hesitant. I do think that you can pull off especially maybe with black denim, gray
denim, but in general, I would lean toward something that has a little bit more color
in it. Now, what about the rule on matching your
belt with your shoes? Does it still apply when you’re wearing jeans and dress shoes?
Actually, gents, it’s a trick question because guess what? This combination would work if
you’re going to a 4th of July picnic wearing lightweight jeans, maybe a lightweight white
shirt, guess what? This combination right here is going to be festive, it’s going
to work. You don’t have to exactly match your belt. This is isn’t even close to matching
the belt. It’s more about complementing the whole outfit.
Seriously, the whole matching the belt with the shoes is a foundation rule. This is one
when you understand the principle which is you want things to work together that you
understand, okay, this isn’t an exact match, but I do see reflections. I see darker variations
right here in the finishing of these boots that’s going to make it just go really well
with this belt. And, gents, if you’re looking for the best
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[0:05:02] And, gents, let’s talk customer service.
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guys. Use the link down in the description. Next up, we’ve got loafers. This style right
here, the penny loafer design classic. What I love about loafers is that in general they’re
casual, so the style lends itself to be worn with jeans especially during the summer.
And right here, you can see that we’ve got a darker brown, a little bit of a pebbled
leather, also in lighter brown. Either of these would work great with denim.
And don’t be afraid to have fun with the material. All these shoes I’m talking about
right here, you don’t have to go with the polished leather, you can actually go with
suede. Suede, it looks great with denim. It adds a bit of texture.
Now, what about dress boots? So, a lot of people are going to argue that these aren’t
truly dress shoes. But, I would say, nah, they’re in the same category and for a lot
of guys they’re looking at buying something that’s functional. It’s going to work
with a wide variety of outfits. And, a pair of boots like this is probably a great pair
of shoes for you to own. And if you need something a little bit more
formal, you need a pair of dress boots that can actually be worn with a suit in inclement
weather, guess what? Check out chelseas. Now, these chukkas right here, you could actually
wear them with gray flannels. I probably wouldn’t recommend wearing these ever with a suit,
but with jeans, this is going to be a great combination.
Now, what about black boots, did these follow the same rules as black dress shoes that can’t
be worn with denim? I’m going to say no. I think because the style right here is so
clear that this is a casual style that you can wear this with denim. But, make sure that
it’s a darker denim. You don’t want to have a whole lot of contrast between your
denim and the boots here. Rule number two, the right type of jeans.
First up, let’s look at the fit. Things that you want to avoid, skinny jeans. You
want to avoid overly sized baggy jeans. You want to also avoid boot cut jeans. What we’re
looking for is something that’s going to work with the proportions of the dress shoe.
Jeans that can work with dress shoes are often going to be slim cut jeans and are going to
be straight cut jeans. Now, let’s talk about the wash. This is
going to be how dark the jeans are, what color they’re in. In general, I like a darker
indigo. We can also go with black, you can go with a charcoal gray, even actually bringing
in some fun colors like blues, reds, or even white can work with dress shoes, again, assuming
that you match it with the right dress shoe. In general, the lighter color jeans are going
to be ones that you’re going to match with lighter-colored dress shoes. The darker-colored
jeans in general, darker-colored dress shoes. Now, there are washes I’m not going to recommend
like stonewashed. I think it’s just, yeah, it reminds me of the 1980s.
Now, let’s talk about the style. In general, I’m going to say keep it simple. Why? Because
really we want to draw attention to the dress shoes, those are going to be the things that
are going to get compliments. Your jeans are really the canvas in which
we’re going to be painting on with the rest of the outfit. Be careful of, yes, having
rhinestones on the backside. That’s really not a great look for guys or for going for
a lot of distressing. Now, this takes me to rule number three, the
right combination. And this is putting it all together.
So, one of the things I hit on with the jeans is not wearing the baggy jeans. Now, there
are some guys that are going to say, “You know what, Antonio? I can pull that look off.”
Maybe you’re a bigger guy, you’re a little bit heftier and so, it’s something that
those jeans just work for you and the dress boots that you’re going towards are a little
bit clunkier a little bit larger. So, you’re going with large proportions
with large proportions. You need to make sure proportions match up. That’s why skinny
jeans for a lot of guys even if you’re really skinny, here’s the thing. When you wear
those dress shoes, it makes them look overly large especially if you have larger feet.
Now, if you’ve got smaller feet and you’ve got thin cut jeans and you find that, hey,
this really works well, then, hey, do whatever you want if you can get the proportions right.
Now, the next part about getting the right combination is understanding what colors complement
each other and the type of contrast that you’re looking for. So, color complementing is when
colors naturally go with each other. We can see this in the color wheel. So, I
will tell you in general that with blue, the reason we see this predominant in menswear
is simply because it’s easy to match with a wide variety of other colors in particular
browns. And, browns, we’re going to see reds we’re going to see orange. All of that
is within the brown family. So, all of these variations of brown shoes
whether they’d be dark brown, light brown, guess what? When you’re wearing with blue
jeans whether they’d be in indigo or even a true blue, guess what? The blue with brown
combination is in general going to work. So, that’s why I do advocate that you initially
start with just dark indigo jeans. Those right there that raw denim that look right there
is going to work with so many great dress shoes that you probably already have in your
closet. Now, what about black jeans, where can I wear
those with? Well, of course, you can wear them with black shoes, but as we’ve talked
about when it comes to dress shoes, there’s not really too many black dress shoes to choose
from when you’re trying to match them with jeans because black in general is going to
be too formal. I would recommend oxblood and a few other dark variations of brown will
work as well. [0:10:04]
A quick way to be able to tell if it can be worn with black jeans is simply to look at
the sole. Notice how this sole right here is black, so that tells me that whoever designed
the shoe actually felt this was a good combination. I feel it’s a great combination. And guess
what? You can pull it off with black jeans. What about light-colored jeans? Light gray?
Light brown? Light blue? White? This right here is going to look amazing especially with
the combinations that it doesn’t match too closely. So, that white with this, that gray
with this, that blue with this, amazing. Now, what about that brown? That tan? I would
recommend if you’re going to go with tan, go with something like this, all of a sudden
just a lot – it brings a little bit of color a little bit of flash, looks amazing. Or,
you could go with a non-color like this. This would work with the white, this would definitely
work with the tan. Now, this next rule seems really simple, but
so many guys mess this up and that is pay attention to the dress code. I love the combination
of dress shoes with jeans with a sports jacket, dress shirt, but understand, this is not a
suit. If the dress code calls for a suit, if it calls for formal wear, if it calls for
business wear, understand that jeans generally do not fit that category.
So, don’t try to make this outfit what it is not. It is not a suit. A suit is a jacket
and trousers made from the same material usually for worsted wool.
Back in high school, I wore a Texas tux and that is where you wear black jeans with boots
with, you know, the tuxedo top. It was regional, it was something we had fun with, and it was
also something that was understood that you could wear.
The point is, pay attention to your supporting cast. It’s a lot more than just the shoes
and the jeans. You need to look at everything else that you’re wearing. If you’re going
to be giving that presentation in front of your team and you’re going to be wearing
the sports jacket, the dress shirt, the necktie, then these are the shoes that you probably
want to rock. This right here is great if you’re going
to be meeting up with your buddies wearing those same jeans, but this time with a t-shirt,
maybe a biker jacket. This right here is going to be the shoe you want to pull off.
What video to watch next? How about how to dress for your body shape? I alluded to it
in this video, but I didn’t go into details. So, if you want to know how to choose the
right type of jeans, how to dress properly for your body shape, you want to check out
this video right here. [0:12:10] End of audio