I was hoping someone could settle an argument between a colleague and I; what colour shoes should a chap wear with a navy suit? I say black(always black for work) whereas he's asserting that brown/tan coloured shoes are perfectly acceptable with said suit.

Definitely not tan. Dark brown might just about be acceptable, however I'd go for black. Tan only looks good with grey or charcoal pinstripe.

Personally, I always go with a pair of dark brown dress shoes (shined) with a navy suit. Even dark as "chocolate". Not only do I think it looks better, but it adds a bit of boldness to the look.

Brown for navy, tan for blue, black for charcoal

Never brown in town. End of...

Personally speaking a navy suit needs a black belt and black shoes, one would always match belt and shoes.However I've become more and more aware of people wearing brown shoes with pretty much anything.

Indeed, many people seem to assume tan shoes = fashion sense. There's this one guy in my team who wears brown shoes with everything, sometimes he even wears a brown suit! I guess I should do him a favour and tell him he looks like sh*t ;)

- black is obviously ok with all kinds of suits- dark (!) brown should be ok with blue as long as you have a matching belt and don't work for McK (and if you are Italian you might wear brown with everything)- no light brown as long as you don't specialize in marketingHowever would prefer to wear high quality brown over low quality black shoes - once worked with a manger who's favorite shoes where mid-brown John Lobb Willams (double buckle monk) – a bit eccentric, but possible

puddle-deep the lot of you.

Ger,No doubt to your horror I attended a Mckinsey interview 2 weeks ago wearing a dark blue suit with a charcoal pinstripe and dark tan brogues.Guess I better switch to black for the next round.Bozp.s. My belt did matchp.p.s This thread is a bit Brett Easton-Ellis

Are you guys going to start comparing business cards next?Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh, my God. It even has a watermark.

I always wear my suits with trainers. It's very much the fashion these days.If I was pendantic, I might point out that the argument was between a colleague and [me].But everyone would be too busy pointing and laughing because I was wearing trainers with my suit. But secretly, victory would be mine.

Boz,I am not sure if this is official policy, but my former boss (partner in charge of my practice group) was an ex-McK-guy and he told me on the first day- only white shirts- only black shoes- only grey suits- no printed silk (which is for sure the case in France)- no socksbut if you have already been in the office you should be able to match their dress code. The issue might be a bit Brett Easton-Ellis, but aren't we all bit Brett Easton-Ellis

Ger,no socks?You mean a la Don Johnson in Miami Vice?I was serious actually, I am going to switch to black for the next round if I go (ths is the sort of stuff that puts me off the place).cheers,Boz

If you wanna be cute, wear the blue suit. If you wanna be heard wear the colour of turd. Brown all the way troops.

I have been offered a position as an analyst at McK - can I wear my bootlace tie and cowboy boots(brown) into work?

That depends -- how big is your belt buckle?

Cowboy - Everyone loves a character and Mckinsey are no exception, wear the tie and the boots and if anyone comments on the look makes guns out of your fingers, pretend to shoot them and tell them there is a new sheriff in town and things are going to change.

'Consultant uniform' is toss. It's not a crime to maintain a little individuality occasionaly so long as it's subtle enough that you don't make your consulting outfit (excuse the pun) look unprofessional in front of the client.I personally think a dark brown shoe looks best with a navy suit. But black is fine of course. As long as there are no chavvy buckles or bars.

:)Concur your last.If someone can't tie shoelaces then what hope the clients strategy ;)Making no comment about my own Chelsea boots