What's Hot? is proud to present it's very first guest blog post written by the stylists at Style Pilot. Stylepilot.com is the first personal style engine for men and it aims to help men navigate and master men’s fashion. It’s an automated stylist that gives men personalised recommendations based on their physique and preferences. Style Pilot searches through 1000s of online men’s brands and retailers to find the best matches. Happy reading!

How to match shoes with smart trousers.

Putting formal trousers with shoes seems like a straightforward element of fashion, yet is one scores of men get horribly wrong.

No mixing, lots of matching

Surprisingly large numbers of men struggle when it comes to matching a pair of shoes to a suit or pair of smart trousers. While it doesn’t seem to challenging, it is alarming how many men can be seen sporting mismatched footwear and bottoms. While colours are completely acceptable and there are no hard and fast rules, there are clearly some basic principles which, if adhered to, will keep you looking great and avoid appearing foolish at all.

In general, try not to deviate too much from the colour of the trouser. So for a black trouser you ideally want a black or dark tan shoe. In fact, black and dark tan shoes are a great option for every trouser colour. You don’t want to develop a “one for all” approach however, so we would strongly advise and encourage you to try a number of combinations and shades of shoe colour with your trousers to see which one makes you look truly great. If you put trousers and shoes together without checking first, we won’t be held responsible for the consequences.

Different styles

Every man should own a pair of leather lace ups. These are a key staple piece in the male wardrobe and provide the ideal footwear complement to a classic piece of tailoring. For an edgier, more on trend look, try ankle boots. Up to date with fashion trends, these will look great in either the square or pointed toe variety.
Ensure your footwear is suitable for the cut of your trouser. Boots may not be useful if you’re wearing a skinny or slim fitted trouser so should really be kept for more relaxed or boot cut fitted trousers.

Keep in mind more casual looks too. Although a formal trouser there are opportunities for putting a more relaxed twist on such a look. Try a pair of loafers or monk strap shoes for a refined yet relaxed and not too uptight and serious look.

John Lobb Lopez Leather Penny Loafers

Ask the experts

Thankfully you’re not alone when it comes to navigating the dangerous ground of shoe selection. Using an outfit builder can help you put together perfect styles with minimal risk of committing any major fashion crimes. Not only will tailoring be specifically selected to maximise your characteristics, footwear which perfectly complements the trouser will leave you looking stunning in formal wear as well as feeling fabulous and radiating with confidence.

Visit Stylepilot.com to find out more about men's fashion and stop you making those fashion faux pas'!