Planning and building a shoe/boot wardrobe
As I'm slowly overhauling my wardrobe I realized that I do not wear anything but sneakers, which doesn't always go well with some fits. I've been reading about different shoes/boots and been looking at inspo, what I struggle with the most is planning a combination of shoe types and colors that will be versatile but will not fill my wardrobe with shoes of the same color/type/leather, or at least that's what I think I want. I realize this is a slow process, so I want to lay out my options and plan ahead. I'll start with something like snuff suede shoes. Do I go for loafers or ranger mocs? Then chukkas, if I already have a pair of snuff suede shoes, do I go for a darker brown chukka or a tan chukka? What about a dark brown/black chelseas/work boots? Most chances I won't need to dress more formally in the future, maybe I'll dress more preppy but it'll take a lot of time (and cordovan loafers is something I plan to get at some point in the future), so until then I'd like to plan ahead for a more casual wardrobe. If there are shoe types I'd like to avoid for now until I develop a more coherent style it would be tyrolean derbies, tassels and black combat boots. What other shoes/boots types do you recommend?
30 Replies
Current or aspirational fits would help a lot here
the shoe types you lost there are wildly different in terms of look honestly, and theres no right or wrong answer without knowing more
i'll organize some pics and post here in a bit
ft. some of yall
I picked these mostly because I feel like I would be comfortable if I had been in any of these fits
I feel like the common 2 shoes here that kinda slot into all of these are a brown penny loafer and a black work boot type thing
The ones that are most different are bishops cowboy boots and the pair of gats
Hey! I'm in a few of these pics :) if it helps at all, here is my little boot corner:
I had a similar thought process while buying most pairs, in terms of not wanting too much overlap & giving myself different colour options
I don't think there's any right or wrong answer for which styles you get in which colour, for me it was just a combination of whatever brain worm I had at the time + finding a good deal on eBay or somewhere
Maybe a brown suede or waxy commander could work too for boots if you want to avoid black boots
Though actually you said you already have snuff suede so I’d go black
a lot of these were from giiiiyong on instagram; while he has sponsored posts most of his fits are either penny loafers from cueren (you can substitute a brand like meermin or gh bass or allen edmonds) or blundstones
i think it also helps to consider function - two black boots might not be redundant if one pair is leather and the other are rubber
I hope this is not too much, but could you list the boots that you have? just knowing the specific name of a type of shoe might help me narrow what i'm looking for. i do recognize the black tassel loafer left mid row, the gats and the chucks on the bottom row
i don't have snuff suede but it's the first pair i'm looking for since it seems the most casual
there's a good deal on a ranger moc near me and i haven't been able to find a good deal on snuff suede loafers so i thought just going for the rangers
not that it would be compromise, just having several suede loafers would seem redundant a little bit
how are they different from each other? how would you say they are different in terms of function and in terms of looks and aesthetics?
that was a hypothetical but: if one lives in an area with a lot of rain or snow or mud it can be worth getting a dedicated rain boot to handle such a thing (could be blundstones or wellingtons or something else) vs walking around in a more aesthetics minded leather boot (camions or guidis) in bad weather
i will echo oman's suggestions of a brown penny loafers and a black work boot of some sort and then expanding from there
I have a blundstone I'm planning to replace so I'll get a black one this time, thanks!
a brown/dark brown suede or leather loafers? suede seems more casual
also, can boots work in hot climates? one of the reason I'm worried about getting boots is that with my experience with boots (blundstones, the only boots i've ever worn), i tend to wear them only during winter because they're too hot for summer
what shoes do you already have
(beyond sneakers)
only a heavily worn blundstone I plan to replace
so basically only a black blundstone
imo if you're only going to buy one type of loafer let it be leather; the color depends on whatever your wearing and from the pics posted i would lean towards black
in planning this out i would think through how often you would wear loafers or boots and go from there; you might be a person who only wears loafers occasionally and so only one pair may be sufficient
I wish I could know how often I'd wear loafers, but that question would be probably answered if I actually put a pair of loafers on and continue developing a style. Thanks for the help!
as for boots, i'm mostly worried about using them in a hot climate so I might wait for spring until then
might be worth starting with the two and then continuing to see what kinds of shoes and such are out there
for what it's worth i live in a humid climate and wore boots during summer all of once, but my particular style lends itself to wearing loafers and the occasional derby shoe more often
imo looking for inspiration (in #inspiration or #waywt or elsewhere online) for entire fits can help; you'll see the common items and motifs recur which will inform your tastes and ultimately what to buy and wear
I've chosen the fits above based on entire fits alone, narrowed them down from like 250 fits I liked, my main issue is that I don't know how to call a shoe by its name
more specifically boots, I can recognize loafers, chukkas, chelseas and their variants
I feel like you can't go wrong with a pair of black derbies
Something like this: https://www.jcrew.com/p/mens/categories/shoes/dress-shoes/heritage-lug-sole-leather-bluchers/BS548?display=standard&fit=Classic&color_name=black&colorProductCode=BS548
my b; infilling some of the non-loafers/sneakers (though i'll let @tun🌻 jump in on any of his):
1 are doc marten 1461 leather derby shoes,
3 are full strap leather penny loafers
6 are suede dress boots from what i can tell
8/9/10 are all blundstone chelsea boots in black/brown/black
2 are tony lama cowboy boots,
3 are also full strap leather loafers
5 are captoe boots
9 are belgian loafers
10 are, i suspect, work boots
probably a pair of iron rangers for 10
though bit hard to tell from that angle
not represented in the pics are things like harness boots (left) or engineer boots (right)
if you want some references here is a bit dated pic of my boots collection
though i've been making my own boots so i don't have all of these anymore, since im selling some while i go
from left to right, top to bottom
viberg 2020 derbys, viberg 2030 herald side zips, john lofgren engineers, xbxs hi-liners, alden indys, alden norwegian split toes, john lofgren m-43 boondockers, viberg 2040 ammo boots, viberg old 2030 service boots, bottom is flame panda "boondockers" of sorts but more of a service boot
in the second image
trickers super monkey boots, txture warhorse cadenas (sort of an unusual boot), christian daniel larry boots, danner moc toe bull runs, and iron boots devil dog
out of town rn so cant give better pics lol
my boots and loafers
top: allen edmonds derbies, vintage vasque hiking boots, super old sears rubber work boots, levis leather harness boots
bottom: ll bean suede loafers, allen edmonds nashua tassel loafers, cole haan penny loafers, vintage ll bean beefroll penny loafers, alden full strap calf leather loafers
thank you all for the help and information!! I'll return to this thread many times so I could know what I'm looking for better
yeah mine are alden LHS's
Sure! The black boots are Dr Marten as zeo mentioned, then suede cap toe service boots from Grenson, then burgundy pebblegrain Chelseas from Cheaney. Middle row are Loakes loafers, Solovair single monks, and some Fiorentini & Baker plain toe derbies I also found on eBay!
Also Red Wing roughnecks shown off to the left almost offscreen haha
Which I'm wearing in the mushroom pic in the woods from your 2nd lot of photos