Brown for the country, black for town...Or brown for daytime. Of course, the farther up the scale you go,the more fun it is to prove the rule doesn't always apply. Tom Wolfe writes of lawyers who always wear ( brown) suede shoes with their suits. For a long while in the late 20th century, fashionable American men equated black shoes with cops and other uniformed workers. Of course, this only goes so far- it is cool enough to wear brown shoes with a charcoal or navy suit, but darned difficult if you are wearing a black one. My impression is that English men find brown pretty unacceptable for bankers and lawyers. I'd wear brown (shoes or suit) in a heartbeat over unattractive black examples. Where all of this leads in an era of business casual, I am not sure. Nothing says "uncomfortable" like a casual outfit with black (dress) shoes. Well, maybe a short sleeved political t shirt over a long sleeved dress shirt and tie. YIPES.


Others have pointed out that the Duke of Rothesay and others wear black shoes all of the time with kilts, even when the rest of the outfit is more in the brown mood, including the sporran. I expect the biggest question is the audience. Will they even notice your shoes? What do you want them to think? Suavely casual or smartly dressed up?