When it comes to brown shoes, they mingle impeccably with almost any gentleman’s attire. The reality is, you simply can’t go wrong when you’re playing it safe in the first place.

From casual jeans to bright orange two-piece suits, brown shoes just work their magic.

Now, there are all sorts of lists out there comparing brown vs. black shoes, however I’m not here to make your life more difficult.

Most of those comparisons are based on personal taste or opinions. Do you really need a color chart to tell you that brown is the most universal shoe color?

With that said, I’d like to tell you about the three major fashion rules that apply when it comes to your shoe color selection. Follow these and you’ll never run into any issues while wearing brown shoes.

1. Reserve Black For Formal, Professional Business And Funeral Attire

Unlike brown shoes, black shoes have considerably more challenges; they’re just not as universal. Everyone knows this, however, where black shoes reign the number one choice are in formal, funeral and business occasions.

It’s hard to beat the sharp, sincere and sophisticated look that black shoes bring about. In comparison, brown is generally more casual and relaxed, though, that’s not to say they can’t be worn professionally.

Just consider the event at hand. If you’re wearing a black tuxedo for a formal event, the chances of wearing black shoes are pretty much one-hundred percent. Unless of course, you’ve gone with a brown tuxedo. Yes, they actually make those!

Additionally, understand that while 2-piece suits fare either color just fine, 3-piece suits generally deserve to be worn with black shoes given their more formal nature.

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2. Don’t Mix Brown With Black

That means avoid wearing brown shoes with a black suit. Simple right?