Help, My Wardrobe Is Full Of Baggy Jeans & Superdry T-shirts! - Part 1 - Shoes

[WILD9]

Right, if this goes to plan this will probably be the first in a series of questions while I slowly revamp my wardrobe. I'm recently single after a 10 year relationship (I'm 32) so having recently taken an interest in looking my best again I'm trying to revamp my entire wardrobe. Currently it consists of loose fitting jeans and Superdry t-shirts (I know, sorry!) so clearly something needs to be done.
Ive picked up a few bits and pieces but Ive hit a stumbling block with shoes - I'm a bit of an adidas whore so I have trainers pretty well covered but I want to generally look smarter and trainers aren't going to cut it. What I'm after is a set of smart ish shoes/boots that can pair with pretty much everything short of a suit to keep me going while I build my wardrobe. I do plan on eventually getting several pairs to match different outfits but my wardrobe is such a state I can't afford to blow too much on shoes right now or I will have nothing to wear with them till next payday!

A bit more detail:

I'm 6'3 13.5 stone slim/athletic build but not lanky

They will be worn with slim fit jeans/chords/chinos but not skinny fit so if they are boots I'd envisage them covering the ankle rather than stopping at the top of the boots. Up top probably knitwear/shirt/leather jacket/blazer/pretty much anything!

I'm possibly not brave enough to jump straight into brogues just yet!

I was thinking maybe some dark tan/brown chelsea boots?

Help!

[WILD9]

Do these ASOS Chukka boots fit the above criteria?

also just realised there is a whole separate forum for shoes which I should have posted this in :/

[Pin Money]

Yeah those chukkas look good

I think some tan or stone suede desert boots would be perfect for you - they kind of bridge the gap between trainers and smart shoes and will pretty much drop with anything.





Everyone is going to tell you to go for brogues btw

[Tom]

Ben Sherman | Ben Sherman Arista Waxed Suede Shoes at ASOS
How about these? Just bought a pair to replace to similar Zara ones that I accidentally trashed and they got quite a bit of use.

River Island | River Island Suede Smart Shoes at ASOSHad my eye on those too (they do different colours as well, and they're only £40 if you actually go into River Island).

Otherwise Chukka's i'd say, although it is nearly Winter so maybe suede out, leather in?

[WILD9]

Thanks guys, appreciate the help. I do like all of those, especially the desert boots but as Tom says I was a little concerned about suede in the wet weather. I can be a bit careless with shoes so if suede needs much of a care regime to keep it looking good they might not last me long.

[Matt]

Ben Sherman | Ben Sherman Arista Waxed Suede Shoes at ASOS
How about these? Just bought a pair to replace to similar Zara ones that I accidentally trashed and they got quite a bit of use.

River Island | River Island Suede Smart Shoes at ASOSHad my eye on those too (they do different colours as well, and they're only £40 if you actually go into River Island).

Otherwise Chukka's i'd say, although it is nearly Winter so maybe suede out, leather in?

How out of place do you reckon suede really is in winter? I see a lot of work boots with a suede-like finish and I think it looks good in winter, but now that you mention this I might be uncomfortable wearing desert boots in winter. Maybe that's because they have a thinner look to them, though?

[Pin Money]

Wear them with chunky socks and avoid striding heedlessly through floodwater and you should be ok

Leather and suede are both porous and will accumulate characteristic wear as time goes on

I wear suede boots in the winter, it's fine unless the conditions are really bad.

For when it's like that, I bust these out (except mine are black):



Only £50 from Sole Trader on eBay too

Mens H by Hudson Garrett Tan Boots | eBay