No brown in town

[Runmoreorless]

I know it's old fashioned and lots of men do wear brown shoes with a business suit these days but DS is interviewing for possibly the most traditional of old establishment organisations, albeit one that has set itself targets to appoint more (some) people from state school backgrounds.

So what colour shoes should he wear with a navy suit?

He says blue suede. I've said no way but black with navy?

Tan leather ones

Navy and black are fine.

Wouldn't tan count as brown and therefore (for establishment types) a big no no?

Black are fine

Black.
But if it's a conservative establishment U think a black or grey suit would be more advisable than navy.

I think, not U think.

Yes. He has a cheap (Next, so £90) suit.

He want a new "good" suit for this and was thinking of something different that he'll wear for other occasions. Whilst the selection will be a very formal, he wouldn't often wear a suit for work.

Whjhc bring me to my next question. How much do you need to pay for something that would be recognised as a decent suit. We're thinking of treating him to something classic as an investment. He has no interest in fashion/clothes so it doesn't need to be particularly trendy, more classy so he doesn't stand out as the kid from the "deprived" background iyswin

Sorry that makes no sense. The Next suit is black, he wants something different

Dark grey or navy suit, black shoes (lace-ups, not buckles or slip-ons).

Black and not a trendy style, look at Loakes or Churches, expensive but sounds like he'll need them for the job and they last years with resoling. Blue suede would not be ok.

You also need to think about shirts. When I worked in London the men had to have double cuff shirts with no pockets and no buttons on the collars, from somewhere like tm Lewins or Thomas pink. Pale pink or blue plain or with a subtle check or stripe.

My dh gets suits in tm lewins too.

It does depend on the profession though. For example surveyors usually navy or grey suits, but I think the legal profession would be black?

No need for cuff links nowadays but definitely not a button down shirt. Polished black lace ups, no weird points on them. The Lewins shirts come in different fittings and last well, the non-iron ones really don’t need ironing.

He has black Clarkes, lace up brogues but I suspect that's wrong too? Need to be plain Oxford style?