Light in color suede shoes are a spring and summer staple. But if you’re used to wearing black and dark brown shoes on your feet (outside of athletic shoes and sneakers), then they might be a little bit intimidating. Luckily, they’re more versatile than you think, and don’t have to be reserved for just seersucker suits. Proof is below, featuring Banana Republic’s “Waller” suede wingtip in “Sandy Taupe” (full review can be found here). Are these a bit easier to wear compared to super-traditional off-white bucks? Indeed. But that doesn’t mean off-white bucks couldn’t look just as good with many (or all) of the outfits shown here…
Bridging the gap between the cold that (hopefully) was and the warmth that’s coming. A smart casual uniform for some of us, brightened up a bit with the lighter colored suede shoes and the crisp white shirt. One warning on wearing light colored suede shoes with dark wash jeans. Make sure those jeans are washed a few times before you try this, because if they’re the type of jeans to bleed/crock a bit, you’ll end up with blue streaks on your shoes. Also note that the Bonobos blazers in this post are from a couple seasons ago, and thus still show the patch pocket at the chest. They’ve switched that out for a welt pocket since, but are still sticking with patch pockets on the lower half.
Wheelhouse stuff here. A perfect casual, but not frumpy or sloppy look for when temps start to heat up. Currently working on our annual polo-palooza/best polos round up. So stand by for that.
Off the clock doesn’t mean you have to give up. This outfit would be great for casual dates, or, those weekends where you’re feeling a bit like a slob but want to put an end to that. Big fan of that particular sweater from Lands’ End. Nice and lightweight. Almost feels like a super lightweight merino, only much cheaper.
For when it REALLY heats up. Items above are all cotton though, so if you have a tendency to sweat a lot, know that once cotton gets wet, it stays wet. Thus, you’ll want to swap those oxford cloth pants for some tech-fabric chinos or fresco/tropical wool trousers. For the polo, you’ll want to go with a tech fabric too, but just make sure it’s relatively well fitted and not some billowy golf-grandpa monster.
Jeans are okay in most work places. You know if they’re okay in yours. Rolling up the sleeves (here’s how to do it to make sure they stay up and look clean) helps merge the dressier shirt (even though it’s a check/gingham) with the more casual jeans. Also, the different colors of suede is just fine. Suede isn’t like smooth leather. You can fudge the “matching” rule a bit here.
A basic, summer prep look that’s not overly traditional or boring. The trimmer fits and easy color tweaks like switching the chinos to grey (from regular khaki) and the blazer to a true-blue (instead of dark navy) keep you from looking like you raided some rich fart’s yacht club locker. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still really preppy. It’s just more modern, and less crusty and musty.
Lots of summer textures here, but still light weight enough to boil over on a day (or night) that’s unusually cool. Something to wear while making dinner or heading out for a drink after a day at the beach.
Has something caught your eye, but you’re not sure how to wear it? Send in any suggestions for our “how to wear it” series to joe@dappered.com.
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