Black suede is cool

No shade if you're still stuck on the old-fashioned thinking... you are part of the reason black suede is cool. includes 27 secondhand finds for paid subscribers.

A lot of people have a very narrow view of colors and materials. Black dress shoes are formal, suede is casual, black suede is wrong. This thinking is old-fashioned. these people are missing out.

my photo, shot by Shawn, South of Houston. He was taking everybody’s photos, I don’t think he knew who I was at first.

Black shoes can come in casual styles. Casual jackets come in black. You can style them however you like. Black slip-ons look great with denim. Black works very nicely with brown.

Black suede is cool partly because it’s not traditional. It’s partly cool just because black in general is kind of cool. Suede is also much more rugged than you might think. And since it has essentially none of the shine you might see in smooth leather, suede has a certain depth, you can get lost in the blackness.

I’d look cooler here if I were wearing sunglasses and not smiling.

At the other end of the spectrum, I have also seen more and more people embrace black suede footwear in black tie. Traditionally, you’d either want to go with black patent leather pumps, black velvet slippers, or black patent leather oxfords, but velvet is not the most practical, and suede is similar enough, especially at a distance. This is a minor enough development in the dress code that I can essentially say: the rules of black tie have changed, by now, and black suede slippers are allowed, full stop. I’ll also throw the nod to black velvet and suede Belgian loafers for the same reason.

Now here are some recs. These contain affiliate links.

Jackets

• Billy Reid “Barracuda” harrington jacket (as seen above)

• RRL A1 Bomber (or maybe an A2 bomber, I keep forgetting the difference, probably an A2…)

• Todd Snyder’s “Dylan” trucker jacket and “Grant” blouson.

• Valstar Valstarino (A1 Bomber), blouson (spread collar), and sport jacket.

• Sunspel blouson

Shoes

• Grant Stone makes these boots, these penny loafers, and these unlined penny loafers in black suede. The first two have contrasting welts (you see that tan bit where the upper meets the sole?), which help the shoe read as visibly casual.

• Saint Laurent Wyatt boots.

• Myrqvist penny loafers, tassel loafers, Belgian loafers, slippers, and sandals. Now that’s some selection. I’d wear those slippers or Belgians with black tie, tbh.

  • Well, no, I wouldn’t, their Belgians squish my toes, but you know what I mean.

• Blundstones

• Unmarked “El Torino” cowboy boots, roper boots.

• Jacques Soloviere “Steve,” sandal-things, Hady kilted Belgian loafer.

Other Stuff

• Todd Snyder braided suede belt

I have been collecting more inspo on wearing black in general. Be on the lookout for that at The Second Button.

Secondhand Options (for subscribers)

This section contains 9 jackets, 13 pairs of shoes, and 5 other pieces, as well as a saved search you can use if you prefer to.