Hello, this is Mr. Linen.
When it comes to the basic colors of leather shoes, black and brown are the obvious choices.
Brown can roughly be divided into two categories depending on its depth of color: light brown and dark brown.
If you own three pairs of shoes in black, dark brown, and light brown, you can handle almost any outfit without running into many problems.
So, what color should come next?
Perhaps navy, burgundy, beige, white, or olive and other shades of green.
Personally, I find red-toned shoes—whether you call the color burgundy, wine, oxblood, or something similar—extremely useful.
In this article, I would like to introduce just how versatile burgundy leather shoes can be.
They Work With Almost Anything Because They Are Neither Black Nor Brown
The biggest reason I find burgundy leather shoes so useful is that they make coordinating the colors of the other pieces in an outfit much easier.
Black and brown are the two most traditional colors for leather shoes. Because of that, when you also use black or brown elsewhere in an outfit, you have to think a little more carefully about how those colors interact.
With burgundy shoes, however, they do not compete with the black or brown pieces you are wearing elsewhere.
For example, let’s say you are wearing a black jacket.
Black shoes obviously work well with it, but for a casual outfit, I feel that the combination can look a little too heavy.
Light brown shoes feel slightly off to me. I think the reason is the strong contrast between the light brown shoes and the black jacket.
Dark brown shoes are closer in depth to black, so the combination does not look strange, but I still don’t think it is quite perfect.
Then, when I try burgundy shoes, everything falls nicely into place.
The same thing happens with olive or white shoes. They can work surprisingly well too.
Why is that?
Perhaps black with black can look too deliberate and uniform, while black with brown can sometimes feel like the colors were simply not meant to go together. With other colors, however, it looks less like a failed attempt at matching and more like you intentionally chose not to match them—that you deliberately ignored the usual rules of color coordination.
I think it is similar to the classic rule of matching your shoes and belt. Once you move away from the conventional combinations, the lack of a direct color match can actually make the outfit feel more intentional.
Now let’s change the jacket from black to brown.
Brown shoes work well with a brown jacket, whether they are light brown or dark brown.
Black shoes feel slightly strange to me here.
When I switch to burgundy shoes, the combination feels slightly less harmonious than it did with the black jacket, but I still think it works quite well.
Now let’s think about trousers.
When wearing black trousers, black shoes can make the whole outfit feel quite heavy.
It is perfectly appropriate for a tuxedo or formal evening wear, but for everyday clothing, the combination can become quite fashion-forward and severe.
Dark brown shoes seem to work reasonably well.
With light brown shoes, however, I think the contrast is too strong and the result is not quite right.
When I try burgundy shoes, I think the result is quite good.
The same goes for olive and white shoes. As long as you move away from the conventional black-and-brown choices, I think they all work quite nicely with black trousers.
What about brown trousers?
Both light brown and dark brown shoes work well with them.
If you wanted to wear black shoes, the outfit could work if you also wore something black on top, such as a black shirt. But with a white shirt, black shoes can feel too heavy against the brown trousers.
When I switch to burgundy shoes, I think the combination looks really good.
So, to summarize this section: burgundy leather shoes are highly versatile when you are wearing black or brown elsewhere in your outfit because you do not have to worry as much about creating a perfect color match.
In particular, I think they work even better with black pieces than with brown ones.
That’s the basic idea.
As an aside, this watch has a burgundy dial, but I think it makes a great combination with a black leather strap.
A brown strap would not look bad either, but I personally love the black-and-red combination because it has a slightly nocturnal, almost evening-like character.
It may be difficult to see in the photo, but I am also wearing burgundy shoes.
Why Burgundy Works So Well With Blue
I mentioned that burgundy works well with brown, and especially well with black. But it also works with beige, gray, white, olive, and just about any other color.
Of all of them, however, I think blue might be the best match.
Red and blue are almost opposite sides of the color spectrum, so why do they work so surprisingly well together?
One possible reason is that red and blue appear together in the flags of so many countries around the world.
For example, take a bright blue shirt.
Brown shoes work perfectly well with it, but I think burgundy shoes make the combination even more interesting.
Among shades of blue, the strongest match may be indigo—and the ultimate example of indigo is blue denim.
There are very few shoes that do not work with blue denim. Black, brown, white, or almost any other color can work. But the combination of blue denim and burgundy leather shoes is particularly beautiful, don’t you think?
A white shirt, blue denim, and burgundy leather shoes: I think this tricolor combination is hard to beat.
Add a navy blazer or jacket on top, and I think the outfit is practically perfect.
I have said that burgundy works well with blue, but I am not entirely convinced when it comes to a classic navy suit.
A classic navy suit suddenly becomes much more flamboyant around the feet, and the overall effect starts to feel like a little too much.
After all, with a traditional tailored suit—not just navy but most classic suit colors—the standard choices are black or brown leather shoes. Burgundy can therefore feel like one step too far when you are aiming for a conservative, traditional look.
If you do want to wear burgundy shoes with a suit, I think an olive or other green-toned suit is a much better option.
In fact, I think burgundy shoes may work even better with this kind of suit than black or brown shoes would.
Finally
I like burgundy shoes so much that I currently own three pairs.
An Alden shell cordovan loafer and a single monk-strap shoe.
And another pair of Alden tassel loafers in calfskin.
Burgundy is of course beautiful in calfskin, but I think the color becomes even more impressive when it is used on shell cordovan.
As shell cordovan ages and is worn repeatedly, its surface can become almost black, while deeper down you can still see traces of that youthful red color. It gives the leather an incredible sense of depth.
Alden’s shell cordovan shoes have now reached a retail price of more than $1,280.
I found and bought both of mine secondhand, but even on the used market they now cost close to $640, which makes them increasingly difficult to justify.
That’s all for today. Thank you very much for reading.
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