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Home » What Shoes Can I Wear with Navy Clothes?

What Shoes Can I Wear with Navy Clothes?

April 25, 2014
 
It’s a question that comes up often – what are the best shoes to wear with navy clothes?
 
Well, men have, for generations, worn black shoes.  Nobody would expect them to wear anything different; navy shoes worn with a navy suit would be inappropriate for most men in most business settings. I’ve never felt that there was anything wrong with women doing exactly the same thing…
 
Or you can thrown yourself into the project of finding navy shoes that work with your clothes. Generally speaking, I think this means looking for about the darkest navy you can find that doesn’t look like black. But then you’ve got to make sure that you keep your shoes together and that they don’t migrate into your black clothing outfits… Unless you want them to…
 
But there are other, more “out there”, but interesting, options. My favorite men, and menswear stores, have for a long time been paring brown or cordovan (hard to find, but worth the trouble!) with navy. This approach is particularly great if you find really beautifully-made shoes that show the excellent quality of the leather.
 

Blazer and pants – Mango, penny loafers – Cole Haan, boots – Munro, dress – The  Pretty Dress Company, slingback sandal – Via Spiga, kitten heel sandals- Manolo Blahnik, tee shirt – White Stuff,  navy shorts – Dorothy Perkins, platform sandals – Dansko,  ankle strap sandals – Miz Mooz

 
An alternative that I always like, whenever shoe color becomes an issue, is to just find something beautifully metallic. While this might be pushing the dress code envelope in some offices, for many of us it is a great option to consider. This works very well if you always wear some signature jewelry in a particular metal! Just make sure you find a shoe with a muted and rich-looking metal finish – nothing too plastic or garish.
 

Blazer and pants – Mango, rose gold penny loafers – G.H. Bass, dark silver oxfords – DV by Dolce Vita, dress – The  Pretty Dress Company, silver sandals – Stuart Weitzman, gold sandals – Pelle Moda,  tee shirt – White Stuff,  navy shorts – Dorothy Perkins, gold espadrilles – Sperry Top Sider,  silver slip-ons – DV by Dolce Vita

 
Never lose sight of the fact that you can match or tone your shoes to other parts of your ensemble – your blouse or shirt, under a suit, or to your accessories…  and in the summer months, a carefully chosen pair of white shoes can go a long way. White shoes can look really cheap, so proceed with caution!
 

Blazer and pants – Mango, red onyx hoop earrings- Bhavesh, red loafers- -Marc Joseph New York, slip-ons –e360 Easy Spirit,  dress – The  Pretty Dress Company, wedge sandals –  Ecco, turquoise metallic sandals – Kurt Geiger, amethyst earrings- Shanker,  turquoise earrings- Alon Diller,  tee shirt – White Stuff,  navy shorts – Dorothy Perkins, turquoise sandals – Inuovo, purple flip flops – Teva

Blazer and pants – Mango, earrings- Matta, purple loafers- Ferragamo, white loafers – Lanvin, dress – The  Pretty Dress Company, charm bracelet- Olga Hinojosa, red sandals – Stuart Weitzman, satin d’orsay pumps – Pelle Moda,  tee shirt – White Stuff,  navy shorts – Dorothy Perkins, rose quartz earrings – Sandra and Lily, coral canvas moccasins – Minnetonka, flat sandals – Sbicca

love,

Janice

10% Off with code SHOES10 + Free Shipping on Shoes.com.
 
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04.25.14 20 Comments

Tags: jewelry, navy, shoes
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Comments

  1. Sara says

    April 25, 2014 at 11:39 am

    What color did you mean by cordovan? I looked it up and it's horse leather (shivers) and can be many colors though the color that comes up the most is a reddish brown.

    Reply
    • Grasshopper says

      April 25, 2014 at 12:52 pm

      It is basically burgundy or maroon, although it is a little darker and perhaps a little more brown.

      Reply
    • Duchesse says

      April 25, 2014 at 5:10 pm

      Beautiful rich colour but reads as heavy for spring-summer clothes, unless maybe in a very fine sandal.

      Reply
  2. Nancy says

    April 25, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    Shoes that are similar to skin tones will go with anything! It just makes for a long line of leg

    Reply
    • Unknown says

      April 25, 2014 at 3:33 pm

      Thank you Nancy. I only wear dresses in the summertime. My go to is a nude to me sandal and I was beginning to wonder if I should step up my game.

      Reply
    • Janice Riggs says

      April 25, 2014 at 3:34 pm

      Nude is a great option – I like to phrase "nude to me", which makes it clear that one person's "leg-colored" shoes is not going to work for everyone!

      Reply
  3. lorrwill says

    April 25, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    As much as I love shoes in pretty colors, I am not sold on the idea of drawing attention away from my face and to my feet.

    Reply
  4. Erica says

    April 25, 2014 at 2:35 pm

    Many thanks for this post! I so love the idea of metallic shoes with navy!

    Reply
  5. Cornelia says

    April 25, 2014 at 2:45 pm

    I have always liked cordovan with navy. This colour is such a classic both for shoes and bags. Of course I always have navy shoes on hand. Coloured shoes are so much more common in the US, and it's one of those things that I have never gotten used to.

    Reply
  6. Duchesse says

    April 25, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Bone or pinky-nude looks better than white, with navy. In fact white shoes, very hard to wear! Funny, you can wear black shoes with navy but navy shoes with black looks like you dressed in the dark. In summer both cordovan and black look heavy, so I love the purple-to-lavender and pinks you've shown.

    Reply
  7. Gail says

    April 25, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    In spring or summer, red or aqua sandals are my go-to for navy–especially if I'm wearing a summer scarf that pulls the colors together.

    Reply
  8. Janice Riggs says

    April 25, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    I think slate is a brilliant idea – I don't see slate shoes very often, but they would be worth looking for! And your English is truly excellent – thanks for joining us here!
    warmest regards,
    Janice

    Reply
  9. Josie says

    April 25, 2014 at 11:36 pm

    Dark grey shoes go great with both black and navy. It's a great choice if you are transitioning from a black-based wardrobe to a navy-based one (like me!).

    Reply
  10. Lina says

    April 25, 2014 at 6:55 pm

    I've reading this blog for a time now but never commented before so this is my first comment! :3

    Have you considered slate with navy?
    When I was thrift shopping, I bought a pair of low heeled pumps that looks navy when worn navy, but change into a dark blue-ish color when worn with grey and black, which I prefer to wear with navy when I want something more cool toned.

    Ive never liked black with navy unless the navy is more of a dark blue rather than blackish marine blue. I also love cognac and soft browns with navy but sometimes, it feels like the brown color make the navy look like a dark blue color instead.
    One issue Ive personally when combination colors are psuedo-neutrals – very dark colors that almost looks like and acts like an neutral (dark blue, denim, plum, burgundy/oxfords, stone/olive etc) but for some reason, I find too much an psuedeo neutral looks a bit too colorful, if this make sense (like wearing red dress with red shoes and red lips). :L

    Im not an native English speaker, so my grammar isn't the greatest!

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says

    April 25, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    Janice, you always have such beautiful shoes in your selections! Sadly I have Big Feet and outside the US it's hard to get much choice in larger sizes.
    I remember the days of trying to get dark navy shoes and dark navy tights to go with the dark navy suit (with the white
    shirt…)
    I think hair colour comes into the matter of shoe choice as well as I find metallics good for light-coloured hair, but this is more for summer.
    Thanks for another great piece.

    Reply
  12. the happy forgiver says

    April 26, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    I love your suggestions! What about navy with navy? Does anybody do that anymore? I've found it very difficult to find navy ballet flats and sandals. There just are not as many choices available in navy anymore. They are always on my list and stay that way from year to year unfulfilled!

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      April 29, 2014 at 8:32 am

      I've been recently searching for navy ballet flats and purchased the Ecco Angel ballet flat in denim (very comfortable) and thinking about getting the Born Julianne ballet flat which comes in navy as well. I agree, there really is not a lot around or maybe I'm looking in the wrong places!

      I've always struggled with what color tights to wear in winter with a navy skirt in a work situation. Much easier in summer when you are wearing bare legs and you can wear whatever color shoe you like.

      Reply
  13. Ellen says

    April 27, 2014 at 10:41 am

    Navy is my new black for the moment. I loved seeing all of these choices together! It inspired me!

    Reply
  14. fzillion says

    February 29, 2016 at 10:38 am

    Where can I find plain white pumps?
    white pumps shoes

    Reply
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