Pairing saddle shoes with a suit

[Macheath]

This heel, however, looks is respectable,

while this one is more suited to Antonio Banderas.

It never occurred to me that "respectable" and "Antonio Banderas" were mutually exclusive.


Ok, I do see your point. Won't stop me from wearing mine, however.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

That would have been the end of it for me, had someone made the point sooner.

Ah, but hasn't our banter and disagreement and speaking at cross purposes been much more fun? Not to mention drawing a hand salute from John.

Now, about your ties .... (I must remember to put the little happy face on everything)

 

[Lefty]

It never occurred to me that "respectable" and "Antonio Banderas" were mutually exclusive.

like oil and water

 

[John in Covina]

Here's the rub, Saddle Oxfords are listed as shoes, (no one I have seen lists them as athletic unless you are buying golf shoes.)

Is it simply the casual athletic origin that makes it so objectionable?

Does it have to do with the rubber shoe?

Today there are many shoes that are listed as "dress" that have more in common with sneaker and walking shoe construction than dress shoes.

Dandified Spectators with their two tone uppers get a pass based on all leather construction?

Tuxedos when introduced were considered unacceptable. pretty much the scourge of polite society and became the dress of rebelious youth at first.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Well I may be th only one...

...but I got to stick up for the saddle shoes. I would say they are of the same formality as a pair of suede bucks. Saddle shoes, bucks, and loafers go best with sports coat slacks combos. However, I wear white suede bucks with suits all the time - the key is to pair them with the right suit.

Wearing lighter colored shoes with a dark suit is a bold look that takes a lot of confidence to pull off - so if you got it - I say do it! Because, not a lot of guys can! Any slob can follow fashion rules to the exact letter, but only a truly stylish fellow knows just how to bend the guidelines to put together a great look.

 

[Lefty]

Here's the rub, Saddle Oxfords are listed as shoes, (no one I have seen lists them as athletic unless you are buying golf shoes.)

Is it simply the casual athletic origin that makes it so objectionable?

Does it have to do with the rubber shoe?

Today there are many shoes that are listed as "dress" that have more in common with sneaker and walking shoe construction than dress shoes.

Dandified Spectators with their two tone uppers get a pass based on all leather construction?

Tuxedos when introduced were considered unacceptable. pretty much the scourge of polite society and became the dress of rebelious youth at first.

As was posted above, no one is getting arrested for breaking any rules. However, saddles are about as casual as oxfords get. From there, follow the broguing rule: the more holes in the shoe, the less formal it is. As to leather vs. rubber soles - rubber soles belong on athletic shoes and those designed to keep feet dry. Rubber soled shoes with a suit are like a Timex Ironman with a suit.

BTW, we are talking about suits. As Tomasso posted at the beginning of this thread, saddles with khakis are a perfect fit.

 

[maggiethespy]

One swallow does not a summer make. One person in a television series about a time-traveling alien doesn't (thank goodness!) make it right for everyone else, any more than one woman in the 40s (and Milton Berle in the 50s) wearing a fruit-covered turban make that a proper look for the masses.

I certainly wasn't insinuating that just because one person does it makes it a good idea. I was, in my female naivete, trying to find a related image that would help me understand why saddle shoes are so unacceptable with suits.

[And I fully believe that the chucks/suit look would look ridiculous on anyone but the Doctor. Although, if a time-traveling alien that looked like David Tennant asked me to get into a phone booth with him, I wouldn't turn down the adventure simply because of his footwear.]

I may not have mentioned this before, but I wear my saddle shoes just about everywhere, but I think that has to do with the swing scene I run with-- when people "dress up" (because so few people actually dress vintage as a lifestyle, only for special occasions) it tends to be 40's collegiate in nature, and saddle shoes abound so I'm used to seeing them paired with lots of things.

What I've been made to understand from reading this thread is that wearing saddle shoes with a suit is equivalent to wearing jogging shoes with business wear-- it is a fashion crime.

I guess I should just stick to the ladies' forums.

 

[Macheath]

What I've been made to understand from reading this thread is that wearing saddle shoes with a suit is equivalent to wearing jogging shoes with business wear-- it is a fashion crime.

With some of the more salient answers to the question "Saddle shoes with a suit?" ranging from "Only if you wear boxers on your head" to "Maybe--if you really have to", it's safe to say I'll be buying quite a few shoes in the next few days (part of my dilemma, if you recall, is that I don't own more than two pairs of shoes that are formal enough to go with a suit).

Like I said earlier though, the answer isn't quite so clear cut. At least it doesn't seem to be as obvious a transgression as wearing white socks.

I guess I should just stick to the ladies' forums.

Don't let one misquotation drive you away from the suit forum. Whether we admit it or not, for men, dressing well is as much about what the ladies think as it is about feeling good about how you look.

Fashion rules be damned, we need YOUR critical eye .

 

[Lefty]

I'll be buying quite a few shoes in the next few days

Take your time and spend more to get more. Read about the differences between corrected grain and full grain. You can find good deals on Allen Edmonds on ebay - 100-200 for 300+ shoes. Black, AE Park Avenue cap toes are the de facto black formal shoe.

For more about really expensive brown shoes than you can handle, check out the English shoes on some of the styleforum guys. They tend to range from really expensive >$500, to used car prices for some of the bespoke wear. I won't be buying any of those, but I learn a lot from the photos.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

I would wear certain colors of saddle shoes with a very casual suit such as seersucker or pincord. And I have worn black and burgandy saddles with a tweed suit. Saddles might look okay with a corduroy suit too.

 

[Edward]

Take your time and spend more to get more. Read about the differences between corrected grain and full grain. You can find good deals on Allen Edmonds on ebay - 100-200 for 300+ shoes. Black, AE Park Avenue cap toes are the de facto black formal shoe.

eBay is well woth scouring. I've found some great shoes on there for very little, simply by scouring all the listings in my size. The best way to find a bargain, it seems to me, is to look for lightly used / "worn once" types.... among others, I recently bought a really sharp pair of Barker wingtip spectators for about GBP20, around 10-15% or so of the full retail, if memory serves.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

I would wear certain colors of saddle shoes with a very casual suit such as seersucker or pincord. And I have worn black and burgandy saddles with a tweed suit. Saddles might look okay with a corduroy suit too.

OK, so here is the related question: Is a seersucker suit really a less formal suit, or is it just a hot weather suit, to be accorded the same respect as a suit as one's winter or 3 season suit? My view is that it is not a casual suit at all, and bucks and saddle shoes are not appropriate with it.

A corduroy suit??? About like a denim "suit." Not a suit.

 

[Macheath]

Ah, but hasn't our banter and disagreement and speaking at cross purposes been much more fun? Not to mention drawing a hand salute from John.

Now, about your ties .... (I must remember to put the little happy face on everything)

Honestly, I don't mind insults, so are unnecessary . But can't you be informative as well as disparaging?

Now, about my ties...

 

[WildCelt]

OK, so here is the related question: Is a seersucker suit really a less formal suit, or is it just a hot weather suit, to be accorded the same respect as a suit as one's winter or 3 season suit? My view is that it is not a casual suit at all, and bucks and saddle shoes are not appropriate with it.

What would you wear with a seersucker suit, then, if not bucks?

 

[chanteuseCarey]

Interesting thread to read...

Our family was up at our vintage dealer gurus Jula and Roberto Isola on Saturday. All the guys out here make pilgrimage to Roberto (also called The Style Enforcer and The Don) for their vintage suits and clothes and accessories. When we went into the garage, having passed his vintage Diplomat Limousine put onto the driveway temporarily, he had a glass case with his large collection of mens' shoes, mostly two tone spectators. I'll have to ask what pants and suits (or not) combo these shoes go with.

I was looking to buy our deco dressing 12-1/2yo son Daniel a pair of RL suede bucks for wearing in the warmer season, including to our Art Deco Society's Gatsby picnic in very early Sept.

Maybe I'm not saavy enough, but I never thought men wore saddle shoes, expect for the new swing dance ones used only by dancers. Our son has those for his currently fitting dance shoes (he's on his third pair of ballroom shoes in a year), but he wouldn't wear them otherwise.

 

[Lefty]

OK, so here is the related question: Is a seersucker suit really a less formal suit, or is it just a hot weather suit, to be accorded the same respect as a suit as one's winter or 3 season suit? My view is that it is not a casual suit at all, and bucks and saddle shoes are not appropriate with it.

A corduroy suit??? About like a denim "suit." Not a suit.

I think of it as less formal, probably even less than the cream trouser/blazer look. Whether or not this is the progression according to the style gods, I would certainly never show up to almost any event where a suit was appropriate wearing seersucker - unless I knew that hosts/other respectable guests will also be in it.

 

[Bourbon Guy]

What would you wear with a seersucker suit, then, if not bucks?

Good question. I don't know. And to be completely honest, I've never owned a seersucker suit just for that reason. I could never quite figure out what shoes seemed right. Nearest I could come would be some tassel loafers, but they never seemed right either. Bucks and saddle shoes are just too casual for even a seersucker suit, and black or brown shoes seem too hot for a hot weather suit.

Maybe some shoes with the linen top. Or with the woven top?

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonlin..._category=120552&Colorval=&Sizeval=&Widthval=

Thoughts?

 

[Lefty]

AlanC sure makes the bucks look good.

If you're hearing Memorial Day in Savannah you're talking to the wrong people. South of the Mason & Dixon it's Easter, or Derby Day if you're conservative.

Long Live White Bucks!