Suede shoes always say luxury, and a certain kind of English luxury at that. Currently enjoying a modish revival, suede shoes are always of-the-moment. This is footwear that effortlessly combines semi-formal with casual, classic design with personal flair. That's not least because of a royal connection: the Duke of Windsor created a fashion sensation when he wore suede shoes with a dark blue suit, a sharp look that still turns heads today. Suede is the soft underside of the finest calfskin leather, requiring expert skills to turn into elegant footwear, from dressy penny loafers to all-weather designs, from driving shoes to summer styles. We've taken a look at the best brown suede shoes for men - and first, a few ideas on how to wear them.
How to style brown suede shoes
First advice: be adventurous, because your new suede shoes - whatever style you choose - really will show the way, whatever the occasion and whatever you're teaming them with from your capsule wardrobe. Make like a Duke with a classic navy suit - other colourways will work, of course - to walk you from daytime meetings to classy cocktails.
Thing is, just as suede shoes will take you everywhere from a lunchtime French bistro to a formal Michelin-starred evening meal, they'll be equally at home with your favourite laid-back jeans and a sweatshirt for Saturday morning coffee. This is footwear to try when you're bored of your sneakers and when you want to stand out a little from the everyday.
Blazer over crisp white shirt - or equally crisp t-shirt - with classic chinos and suede brogues? Of course. Suede penny loafers to dress up your most trusty hoodie? Naturally. Quality counts more than usual with suede, so look out for hand-crafting and for experienced shoemakers. If you need all-season wear, aim at a water resistant or fully waterproof pair, while driving shoes come no better than the suede variety. Take a look at our selection to pick out what we confidently predict will become your next favourite footwear.
Best brown suede shoes for men
Myrqvist Dark Brown Suede Vadstena
Classic monk-strap style, brilliantly executed. Myrqvist's Vadstena is deliberately unornamented, as you'd expect from a brand with its base in form-follows-function Sweden, and all the better for that to our eyes. Construction is Goodyear welted, with hand-crafting by artisans in selected footwear studios in Portugal. Suede is sourced from Charles F Stead of Leeds, who've been among the best in the business for more than 100 years, while a thin half rubber sole finishes an elegant shoe.
Velasca Dark Brown Feracaval
All-weather suede brogues in the Oxford style from the exacting Italian artisanal footwear specialists at Velasca. Their Feracaval silhouette uses soft calf leather, tanned in the traditional manner and waterproofed against those sharp seasonal showers. Premium Vibram rubber sole is both durable and supremely comfortable. The Feracaval uses Blake construction, with a single row of stitching to sew sole and insole together, resulting in a lighter, more flexible shoe.
KLEMAN Chocolate Officier VV
Each pair of KLEMAN shoes is individually handmade in the company's workshops in the French town of Anjou, as they have been since founder René Cléon made his first pair in 1945. Working shoes have always formed the no-nonsense bread-and-butter for KLEMAN and that heritage is evident in the chunky Officier VV, all-season suede footwear in a classic, considered design, with a durable rubber sole and form-follows-function style.
Aurélien BrownSuede Driving Shoes
Serious drivers need serious shoes. Aurélien have taken that to heart, commissioning their Driving Shoes from long-established footwear studios in southern Italy, where more than 100 crafting steps are needed to construct each pair. With supple uppers in Aurélien's trademarked Softey® suede, these Driving Shoes have signature exposed stitching and rubber pebbled soles for added grip on accelerator and brake as you navigate the twisting roads of the Italian Riviera.
For more casual appeal, check out our pick of the best suede sneakers for men.
