I am all in favour of the ‘classic’ style rules, but sometimes we just have to concede that times change and style must evolve…
So why is it still only the select few mavericks who will wear brown shoes in the city?

After my recent visit to Jermyn Street I found myself craving a pair of new brown shoes to add some spice to my wardrobe. On searching I could hear the words of gentleman from a bygone age ringing in my ears…. ‘No brown in town’!

To add to the dilemma, when looking in the window of my favourite shoemakers shop windows, there were the finest brown leather shoes on display – even though these stores were in the very heart of the city.

It was enough to make any modern gentleman reach for his wallet! I did manage to resist the temptation and decided to do some further reading. I found a mountain of evidence justifying this outdated rule, but precious few who were willing to go against the grain. I did stumble upon a fantastic blog by The Shoe Snob – Justin FitzPatrick and his great post no brown in town yeah right. I feel completely vindicated as Justin is clearly an expert. Justin also appears to have a genuine fondness for Edward Green shoes, and if they are good enough for the shoe snob……

There are so many new and interesting combinations available to you when mixing your wardrobe and shoes. It will also make having a shoe rotation a whole lot easier (shoe rotations is a post for another time). At the end of the day, it’s all about having a flexible wardrobe you can get the best out of. Much of your classic wardrobe can be brought to life by brown shoes. I appreciate the more traditional amongst you will shudder at the thought – but as the modern gentlemen evolves with the times, so will the classic style rules.

No brown in town? You must be kidding!