The Best Suit Shoes for Weddings and Beyond

Our menswear expert covers every style, color, season, and dress code.

Photos: Megan Noll

Updated Jan 04, 2024

A good pair of suit shoes (aka dress shoes) ties a wedding look together. It's one of the most important accessories you'll wear to a wedding because a great outfit, regardless of the occasion, comes together in the details–and the shoes you wear can take your look from good to great.

Everything from the color of your suit to the dress code of the wedding can help determine the right pair of shoes for any given fit. I've made pretty standard outfits look ten times better with the right pair of shoes (and I've got no shortage of suit shoes in my closet to reference). For everything you've ever needed to know about which shoes to wear with what suits and when, read on.

In this article:

What Are Suit Shoes? Can Any Shoes be Suit Shoes?
The Best Shoes to Wear with Suits
What Color Shoes to Wear with Every Suit Color

What Are Suit Shoes? Can Any Shoes be Suit Shoes?

Let's answer that second question upfront: Yes, sort of. The ultimate factor in determining which shoes are appropriate to wear with your suit comes down to the dress code. This is to say that you shouldn't wear Air Jordans to a black-tie wedding (unless you're the one getting married and plan on making a very particular fashion statement, which is well within your rights as a to-be-wed)--that's the time for shoes you wear with a tuxedo.

Any pair of shoes can be suit shoes if you're pairing them with the right suit. Loafers, monk straps, dress shoes, and sneakers alike can all be worn with your suit under the right circumstances. If you're looking for a bit more of a concrete definition of suit shoes though, it's generally a pair of leather shoes made for more formal outfits–think loafers, lace-up oxfords, and derbies. You'll generally hear shoes like these referred to as "dress shoes."

The Best Shoes to Wear with Suits

If you're wondering which suit shoes are right for you–or which kinds of shoes even constitute suit shoes–you've come to the right place. What follows are the most common kinds of suit shoes, what differentiates them from one another, and how to best decide which ones to wear to a wedding, be it yours or that of a loved one.

Oxfords

If there's an image in your head of what a suit shoe looks like, there's a good chance it's an oxford. They're the most popular and most versatile form of dress shoes, made from a leather construction with a low heel and a low ankle. They have minimal detailing on their leather, with the most common variation being whole-cut (in which the shoe is made from a single piece of leather with no pieces stitched together) and plain-toe (made from multiple cuts of leather but with minimal detailing). These options are more formal, while the cap-toe (which has a piece of leather sewn over the front end of the foot) has a slightly less formal look.

When to wear them: Oxfords are truly the most versatile dress shoes out there and can be worn in black or white-tie weddings and dressy casual ones alike.

Where to buy them: Allen Edmonds oxfords are something of a gold standard and will last you at least a decade.

Derbies

Derbies are easy to confuse with oxfords, the notable difference between the two being in the construction of the shoes' quarters (the piece of leather to which the eyelets are sewn). Oxfords have their quarters sewn inside the shoe, with the stitching visible on the outside. A derby quarter is sewn outside the shoe, visible from the exterior. It's a subtle difference that allows for a bit more room inside the shoe and makes for a slightly more relaxed fit. Derbies are seen as slightly less formal than oxfords but are still very much suit shoes.

When to wear them: Leave the derbies at home for black tie affairs, but starting with cocktail attire and moving downwards on the proverbial scale of formality, they'll look great.

Where to buy them: For a pair of killer made-to-order derbies at a great price, give Beckett Simonon a look. Their Dunham derbies are available in quite a few colors and cost a fraction of what you'd expect for a high-quality made-to-order suit shoe.

Brogues

Any time a dress shoe has a form of ornamental stitching, it's a brogue. The most popular variation of the style is the wingtip, which features a line of dotted stitching across the shoe's toe cap. Their construction is similar to that of oxfords and derbies, mostly because brogues are, in construction, oxfords or derbies. However, their decorative flair makes them a bit less appropriate for formal weddings.

When to wear them: Brogues aren't the most formal option. Cocktail attire is probably the most buttoned-up dress code you can wear to without them looking out of place.

Where to buy them: Whether it was for high school prom or your first office job, there's a good chance you've owned a pair of Cole Haan shoes at some point in your life. Good news: they've still got their fastball, producing quality shoes at affordable prices. Their wingtip brogues are a rock-solid investment in not just your wedding wardrobe but your everyday one too.

Monk straps

Monk Straps have origins in the Middle Ages (the "monk" in the name is a direct reference to the men who pioneered the style) but you may recognize them from a far more recent period–they were all the rage in the early 2010s, back when J. Crew was in its first heyday of the century (the second one is going pretty well, too). Fear not, though. You won't look behind on the times if you go with this suit shoe for your wedding look. Monk straps resemble the build of an oxford or derby but eschew laces in favor of one or two buckled leather straps that run across the foot of the shoe. It's an elegant touch for a suit shoe, and while they aren't quite as formal as plain-toe oxfords, they make a statement: the person wearing this shoe with a suit puts thought and effort into their outfit.

When to wear them: While they're a good fit at formal weddings and ones with cocktail attire dress codes, I think that a monk strap is the perfect shoe for a semi-formal wedding.

Where to buy them: Monk straps can be an intimidating style of suit shoe for anyone who hasn't worn them before. For a low-risk take on the shoe that's still high quality, look no further than Florsheim. They'll get you in a top-notch pair for less than $150.

Loafers

Want a pair of suit shoes you can also wear with a solid tee shirt and shorts or jeans? The loafer has you covered. It's the shoe that brings together the worlds of formal dress and casual. Loafers are laceless and buckleless shoes that come in an array of leather variations, from sleek patent finishes to suede or marbled leather. They're shoes that only look better the more you wear them as they mold to your foot, creasing and softening around their edges. You can wear loafers with socks but they tend to look best worn without them, especially during the spring and summer months.

When to wear them: Loafers are on the informal side and tend to look best at semi-formal and dressy casual weddings. Stick with laces for formal and black-tie affairs.

Where to buy them: Morjas makes the best loafers in the world these days and their signature penny style is available in a wide array of colors and fabrics.

Sneakers

In the right circumstances, you can get away with wearing a pair of kicks as suit shoes. For weddings, you may want to make sure it's not a pair displaying too many signs of wear, so maybe leave your dusty running shoes at home. Otherwise, the way you style sneakers with your suit is up to you. It's a display of personal style and self-expression, so if you're looking to lace up a pair of crisp white Reebok Classics or a favorite pair of Air Maxes, you do you.

When to wear them: Generally sneakers with suits should be saved for dressy casual weddings. The exception is if you're one of the people who's getting married, in which case you're free to style a more formal suit with whatever sneakers you'd like.

Where to buy them: There are countless places to pick up a new pair of sneakers and plenty of big-name brands to choose from, but if you need a point in the right direction, you can't go wrong with a clean pair of Converse kicks.

Dress Boots

Lace-up a pair of dress boots at a wedding for a rustic, rugged vibe. They're an increasingly popular choice to pair with suits at weddings, providing an alternative to traditional dress shoes that don't veer too far off the beaten path. A pair of dress boots can also add a practical angle to putting together your wedding wardrobe, giving you a pair of shoes you can get plenty of wear out of in casual settings after the wedding.

When to wear them: Outdoor weddings are the sweet spot for dress boots, especially if the dress code is semi-formal.

Where to buy them: Thursday Boot Co. makes some of our favorite dress boots in the game. Their signature Captain boot is formal enough for weddings and rugged enough to throw on with a pair of jeans.

What Color Shoes to Wear with Every Suit Color

Black Suit

This one is fairly straightforward: black suits call for black suit shoes. If you want a pop of color in your suit, leave it to your socks or tie.

Navy Suit

Navy is one of the most common suit colors, largely due to its versatility. As such, black and brown suit shoes are both fairly common options, though the shade of your brown shoes should be on the darker side.

Gray Suit

Gray suits go well with black and brown shoes equally, though as with a navy suit, you should make sure the shade of brown is on the lighter side for light gray suits and darker for charcoal ones.

White Suit

White is neutral, therefore black or brown shoes will do equally well. The best call is going to depend on what you're wearing with it–if you have on a blue shirt, for example, brown shoes would be best. If you have on a black shirt and a black belt, go with black shoes.

Tan Suit

A tan suit calls for a pair of brown suit shoes. However, this is where we flip the rule established with gray and navy suits. The brown shoes you wear with a tan suit should be substantially darker than the color of the suit itself.

Brown Suit

Dark brown suits should be worn with light brown shoes. Light brown suits should be worn with dark brown shoes.

Green Suit

Green suits pair best with brown suit shoes. Black isn't going to look bad but shades of brown are a far better complement.

Patterned or Plaid Suit

This depends entirely on the shade of plaid. There's no end-all-be-all rule for shoe color as it relates to patterns, so base your decision on the color of the fabric, not its print.