Colored Brogues

Brightly colored brogues are a smart casual footwear option that many don?t even consider. Attention-grabbing and more conducive to your personal style with a range of color options, they look great with any style.

Why should you wear colored brogues?

Color adds a twist of individuality to your outfit. Skinny jeans and a plain casual shirt would look fairly ordinary with black or brown shoes, but replace them with electric blue or bright red and suddenly you look distinctive rather than drab. Colored shoes lift your entire outfit and make your good taste clear.

Best colors for colored brogues

Bright shades of blue or red are the most common options- mainstream enough not to push any boundaries, but still unusual enough to set you apart. Various shades of green are not a bad choice either.

Many wingtip style shoes feature contrasting colors, most often black and white but sometimes more adventurous combinations can be found. Black and white wingtips are among the snazziest footwear there is, but don?t shy away from more colorful designs.

Brogues or wingtips?

Most wingtips and brogues you encounter are one and the same. Wingtips are shoes with a W shape on the toecap. Brogues are shoes with small decorative perforations. A ?full brogue? refers to shoes with both the W and holes. It is rare that you?ll find wingtips that aren?t brogues, or brogues that aren?t wingtips. While the full brogue design is aesthetically pleasing, there?s nothing terribly wrong with wearing shoes that are either brogues or wingtips but not both. You?ll be lucky enough to find a pair of dress shoes in the color you?re after, so don?t be too picky about whether you?ll take brogues or wingtips or a combination of the two.

What material?

Brogues tend to be shiny leather, but colored brogues are often an exception with suede dominated the market. Go for quality materials that suit your style and stay well away from monstrosities made from canvas or plastic.

How to wear them

Brogues look sensational with jeans in a casual setting. Brightly colored brogues are even better, particularly with black jeans. Never wear colored brogues with shorts, unless you?re going for the dorky look.

You don?t want too much other color in your outfit when wearing colored shoes- it?s too intense for most people to carry off. Certainly select pants in a neutral color, although you can introduce more color through accessories and what you wear on your top half. A winning combination is to wear a shirt in the same or a similar color to your shoes, underneath a grey jumper with black jeans.

Where to wear them

Despite being such a distinctive shoe, colored brogues are quite versatile. You can wear them for all casual engagements, when going out and in some semi-formal situations. You might even be able to wear them to work depending in the culture at your workplace. Colored wingtips are not appropriate for any solemn occasion or in any situation which is too casual (don?t wear them to the beach).