Black shoes are better with charcoal suits but frankly do not complement navy all that well in my opinion. No, what works best with dark blue is oxblood, the dark brownish-red shade of the shoes in the photo. And not just any oxblood mind you, but one that has been polished with
Saphir's bordo wax alternating with black (what Kevin Tuohy, partner in A Shine & Co. calls a black cherry shine) for several years. The result complements navy blue, adding depth and interest, but is dark enough to look black to the casual observer after 6:00 PM.
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Will, that really is a spectacular finish on those shoes. How long or, perhaps, how many coats of alternating polish does it take to develop that awesome shade?
Well they must have had somewhere north of 200 coats of polish by now.
Mr. Boehlke, how about varying shades of chestnut and antiquated tans, more in their elements in natural light though.
Tan is very Neapolitan and can be nice for daywear unless you are in a financial district. But not there.
One was reminded of your fine piece about colours on the opposing sides of the color wheel complementing each other well ... Blue and orange; tan being not entirely divorced from the orange family. Despite the vastly different surfaces of fabric and leather, this could be an interesting explanation to the two hues coming together so well in this manifestation.
I guess black shoes and blue suits is something we're going to have to disagree about Will. Fundamentally I think the Brits have it right about any sort of brown or colored polished shoes with grey or blue suits. Black is best and with a high shine with a blue suit. I know all the American mandarins of high style like you and Flusser disagree but where would we be without a little disagreement in such arcane matters?
Bordo, not bordeaux?
Their name, not mine.
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