Coordination Station
Coordinating your outfit and your shoes has long been the bane of many people’s lives. Should they match? Is it ok to color block with shoes? What about prints: yay or nay? The endlessly swirling questions can really take the fun out of putting a perfect outfit together and introduce a level of stress that no one needs when dealing with their wardrobe. There’s also the question of what shape shoe you should choose to go with a specific look, the height of your heel, should the shoe be open or closed? Many of these questions, thankfully, can have any answer that you want them to! Fashion, including footwear, is about expressing yourself and doing it the way that you feel comfortable doing it. If you feel comfortable and feel like you look good in any item, be it women’s ankle boots, a chunky heel, flatforms or slides, then that’s a good start. That said, there are some guidelines that can help you narrow down your options if you’re feeling a little bit overwhelmed or need a quick fix when you haven’t got time to try on every shoe you own. Check out our guidelines for choosing the perfect shoe to go with your outfit, and you’ll never have a shoe disaster again!
A Shade Darker
If you’re wearing a colorful outfit and want to avoid wearing a boring old back shoe like everyone else does, try selecting a shoe in a similar color as your outfit, but one shade darker. It’s a classy look and a tactic often used by Kate Middleton and taken on by Meghan Markle as well. If you want to avoid paying a fortune for shoes to match every possible outfit combination that you own, select your favorites. If you have a color palette that you stick to, this will be a little simpler. If your closet is a jumble of patterns and colors, your wallet is going to take a little more of a hit.
Another option for the slightly bolder dresser is to match your shoes exactly to your outfit. This was something Princess Diana did often and to great effect. While it might feel odd to be taking fashion tips from your grandmother’s day, remember that fashion is cyclical, and these trends do the rounds every few years.
Go Neutral
If you favor a less bright and bold sense of style, a great piece of advice is to purchase all of your shoes in neutral tones: tan, black, white, or cream. These colors are universal, and one of them will go with whatever you choose to wear. A shoe closet like this is a highly versatile and wearable one, allowing you to get a lot of bang for your buck. There’s not much to think about because coordinating will always be seamless and easy. This advice works really well for handbags too!
Choose Shapes Wisely
Choosing the shape of your shoe is very subjective. Firstly, you have to remember that you’re probably going to be in that shoe for a while, so while the overall look is important, you have to consider comfort as well. Usually, an elongated and pointed toe will elevate an outfit a little. If you’re wearing jeans and a tee, a pointed pump or slide will pull the outfit together and keep it looking sharp. A rounded or square toe is a matter of preference: both work well for casual outfits, but which works best with the lines of your outfit? A more modern look would work well with a square toe, and something softer and more feminine might pair better with a classic round toe.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Prints
This is another option for the bolder shoe connoisseur. If you’re wearing a leopard dress, why not go the whole way and pair it with a leopard shoe? Or, if that seems a little bit too intense for you, pair a printed shoe with a very simple, neutral outfit. It adds an element of interest to the look while still keeping it chic.
Have Fun!
While we can give you all the tips in the world, and these are all great ones, nothing is better advice than to have fun with how you dress. If you want to wear that floral shoe, go for it! If you’re already tall and you hear those platforms or flatforms calling your name, answer the call! Nothing looks better on anyone than wearing precisely what makes them excited and happy.
Wrap Up
These little tips will go a long way to helping you figure out what works for you and your outfits and what doesn’t. We recommend setting aside a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and trying out a few outfits with different pairs of shots, using these tips as a guideline to see what your options are. No more last-minute stressing for you!