Charcoal Suit and Brown Shoes – the Ultimate Men’s Style Combination?

Let’s face it. The usual black suit look is beaten to death. In fact, if you can’t make some unique style adjustments, it would be super hard to even get noticed in the classic black suit.

However, the problem is that if you go too far away from black, you risk looking out of place and even missing the theme of the event. But what if we said you can find a perfect middle ground in a charcoal suit?

And when you add some brown to the mix in the form of brown shoes to pair up with your charcoal suit, you create a unique style statement that’s hard to beat no matter the event or occasion.

So let’s dive a little deeper into understanding everything about this unique style combination of a charcoal suit and brown shoes.

Why Charcoal Suit Brown Shoes Over Black?

A lot of men would consider black shoes as the go-to option when looking for a match for their charcoal suit instead of brown shoes. While it’s a safe option, it’s far from an appealing one.

After all, what’s the point of taking a different route by going with a charcoal suit over the classic black one and then not following up with some unique choices as well?

Brown shoes can give you that special effect you need to ace a charcoal suit. The black won't be a terrible option, but it may take you back to the boring zone.

Charcoal Grey Suit and Brown Shoes – A Match That Challenges the Ultimate Status Quo!

Brown shoes not only bring a lot of versatility to the table, but also help you easily stand out if done right. It’s a much more refreshing option given how many men wear black shoes with pretty much everything which is probably the easiest way to get lost in the crowd.

However, the unique combination of charcoal and brown offers you an opportunity to easily stand out from the crowd and make a style statement. It can help you reflect your fashion sense and add to your personality.

But it’s not just as simple as picking any brown shoes and putting them on when wearing your charcoal suit. There are some things to take care of.

Tips for Acing the Unique Dark Charcoal Suit and Brown Shoes Combination

When you’re going with something that’s well out of the ordinary, you do need to make sure you get those little things right in order to avoid messing up your look. In addition, a few things here and there can make a big difference to your overall look and style, so they should not be taken lightly.

That said, here are a few tips that will help you ace the unique combination of a dark charcoal suit and brown shoes.

Fit Is Paramount

While the fit is always important with a suit, no matter its type, it’s even more important with this combination. The fit doesn’t always have to be 100% with some of the usual combinations or when going for a classic black suit, which can accommodate some minor fitting inaccuracies as long as you’re comfortable.

However, you can make absolutely no compromise on the fit if you want to get the best out of this unique combination. Of course, your best bet would be to seek the help of a local tailor to ensure a perfect fit after you have bought a charcoal suit.

In fact, it would be a good idea to even go for one of those more affordable charcoal suits without compromising much on the quality but spend the extra money on getting the fit right with the help of a tailor.

Quality and Longevity of the Shoes

When you’re trying to get out of your style comfort zone and become a little adventurous by going for combinations like the one we are discussing here, it becomes easy to ignore everything but the match and the look of the combination. But that’s a mistake.

The quality and longevity of the shoes are just as important. This is not only to ensure that you start seeing signs of wear and tear just after a few uses, but the cheaper look and feel of the shoes is going to become noticeable very soon after you start using them. And that’s going to interfere with your overall look when you try to match your charcoal suit with brown shoes that just aren’t there in terms of the quality.

Shoes Need Style, Too

In addition to the quality and longevity of the shoes, you also have to consider the style. If you pick something too basic, then that will probably take a lot away from the unique advantages this unique appearance might offer.

While various styles might be right up your alley here, you probably can’t go wrong with the oxford style. It will give some quick edge to your overall look.

But that’s not the only choice. Depending on your style sense and personality, it may not be hard to make something like slip-ons work just as well too, though you shouldn’t get too experimentative here.

However, something you should remember here is that your shoes must shine and shine really well. Polishing the shoes well is not only going to make them look good but also increase their lifespan.

Not Just Any Brown!

While we have already discussed a fair bit about what kind of brown shoes you need to match your charcoal suit, there’s still one important tip you need to take note of.

The shoes need to be shiny, stylish, and durable, but they also need to be brown. Well, not just any brown. Really brown. Like very deep brown.



Image source: Pinterest

The deeper the brown color of your shoes, the better. And this is pretty much non-negotiable. The uniqueness of this look is as much in the brownness of your shoes as in the charcoal color of your suit.

After all, when you’re choosing a very specific shade of grey, you should also give some thought to the shade of brown of your shoes. They need to be the darkest shade of brown. Tan brown shoes can work in some cases but are certainly not the best option.

The right charcoal suit with the brownest of brown shoes is the ultimate combination you need to beat the classic black at its own game!

Charcoal vs. Other Shades of Grey

If you don’t already know, grey probably has more than 100 shades to offer you. While a lot of them are similar to one another and do not offer much in terms of uniqueness, charcoal certainly does stand out there.

Charcoal is one of the most unique shades of grey. It’s as close to black as a color can get without actually being black. And that’s where you get the best of both worlds!

You get the versatility and uniqueness of grey, a refreshing option when compared to the old and boring black, but without letting go of too much of the classic-ness of the age-old black.

Charcoal is one of the darkest shades of grey, but it’s clearly much lighter than black, and that’s what helps you stand out with style.

Image source: Pinterest

The versatility of charcoal also allows you to pair it up with a wide range of colors as far as your shirt and tie are concerned. It also doesn’t limit you too much in terms of the patterns, so you can really explore your style limits while still having the safety of being closer to the classic black.

But it doesn’t end here. The versatility of charcoal is one of the best of its kind as far as a suit color is concerned, and that means that your charcoal suit is going to be suitable for a lot more occasions than more other colors out there, including perhaps the otherwise evergreen black too.

You can wear the combination of a charcoal suit and brown shoes to an interview, business meeting, networking event, and you can certainly wear it to a wedding, party, and funeral as well. Yes, that’s the kind of versatility we are talking about.

Now, if you're wondering how much would a charcoal suit cost you, then you can refer to our detailed guide on how much to spend on a cost suit.

Keeping It Simple

As we discussed above, a charcoal suit is going to be a unique outfit in itself. It also brings a lot of versatility to the table.

So, you shouldn’t try to get too wild with the patterns for the suit. Something simple will do you a lot of good and go a long way in helping you express yourself.

A pinstripe suit pattern can be a reliable option. You just have to put some thought into choosing what suits your style the best. However, if you’re not too sure about it, you can stick to a windowpane suit pattern and that should work just as well too.

Some men like to get a bit experimentative with the pattern and go for something like the houndstooth, and while it can work pretty well for some men, it’s not a good option in general. We would avoid going for such patterns as it’s harder to get it right.

Moreover, as we said, we don’t see a reason to get too wild with the patterns. When you get a charcoal suit and spice it up with stylish, shiny brown shoes, you already have too much working in your favor style-wise. Trying to go for an unusual pattern there might do more harm than good.

Picking the Right Shirt and Tie

What we said about the pattern for your charcoal suit has no binding on the pattern of your shirt. In fact, there are pretty much no limitations in terms of what shirt patterns you can pick.

You can go for any shirt pattern you like that matches the suit and overall outfit, but there’s one condition you will have to take care of. The shirt pattern can be anything, but the color must be a solid one.

In other words, avoid shirts with a lighter color. They will not go too well with a charcoal suit.

Coming to the tie, it’s not necessary to wear one. However, it will certainly help you in getting a more complete look.

While there’s nothing set in stone in terms of the color, but there are some general rules of thumb here depending on the occasion. For formal events, a black tie would be perfect, though you can also explore some other solid colors.

If you’re looking to dress up for a less formal or casual event, a grey tie might help you get the look you need to fit into the environment.

Spicing It Up with Accessories

You can be pretty much yourself with your accessories when wearing a charcoal grey suit with brown shoes. However, the only thing you need to make sure that you choose the accessories keeping the shoes in mind, and not really the charcoal suit.

If the accessories go well with your brown shoes, it will naturally add to your overall look. So try to pick accessories that have some resemblance to your brown shoes. Any shade of brown would be good to go.

If you have socks with some brown-ish patterns, or even some hints of grey in their patterns, they will be just perfect. Add in dark brown sunglasses and you may as well be the best-dressed man in the room!

Charcoal Suit Brown Shoes for Wedding

Well, there's not much you need to do differently to don the unique combination of a charcoal suit and brown shoes to a wedding too. Just try to keep things simple.

Not getting too carried away with the accessories, not getting too experimentative with your shirt's color, keeping your tie's color closer to your shade of the grey you choose, making sure the fit of everything is comfortable yet not too loose, and you will be golden.

That might seem like a long list to follow, but if you really think about it, there's a lot of not-to-do things than things you have to make way for.

But make sure you don't compromise on the fit though. You don't want to look out of place at a wedding because that's not the place where people are most forgiving about things being a little here and there with your outfit.

So, What Color Shoes with Charcoal Suit?

Hope you're still not wondering about whether brown shoes would be an ideal match for your charcoal suit. In fact, if you’re open to some unique style combinations, then you would probably be hard-pressed to find a better option than brown.

The combination of charcoal suit and brown shoes offer pretty much everything you need to easily, naturally stand out at any event. If you’re looking for a refreshing revamp for your usual black suit look, then this combination is certainly something you should consider.