For a dressed up look, they can easily be used as a substitute for either loafers or oxfords, depending on the suit. In general, dress boots tend to be on the side of modernity and therefore look better with equally modern suits; the slim-cut, two button styles. This pair from John Varvatos ($479) demonstrates that simplicity and restraint are the highest qualities in men’s shoes.
An easy way to wear boots more casually is to choose a brown pair. These are much more easily matched with varying hues of jeans, meaning you get more versatility and wearability. The exact same pair of John Varvatos boots in brown shows the remarkable difference that color can have on the ‘formalness’ of a shoe. Here, the handsome, marbled wood appearance makes them acceptable wear for an everyday look that would not be appropriate in black.
My favorite look is a pair of dark skinny jeans with boots and a waistcoat, which I witnessed to be a very popular look among young, fashionable Londoners last spring. It’s clearly not a look that is easily pulled off by many; a certain je ne sais quoi, rocker-chic is necessary trait for the wearer.
When buying a pair of boots, one thing to make absolutely sure of is
that the end be pointed rather than round. While, a rounded pair will
make you look old and patently uncool, a narrow point indicates
self-assuredness as well as being generally much more fashion forward,
if that’s what you are pursuing. Another thing to avoid are ‘hybrid’
boots that have laces but still try to masquerade as a dress boot, or
even worse, turn into a ‘combat boot’. Pictured pair from Costume
National is a heinous and glaring example of what can happen when the
two very separate entities are combined: You end up looking like a
combination of Hermione Granger and a suburban, gothic mallrat.
