I was going to buy either of these from Allen Edmonds and match it with the navy suit. Wear a white dress shirt and buy the tie from Kent Wang.

Strand (Walnut Calf)
http://www.zappos.com/allen-edmonds-...140520173842:s

Fifth Avenue (Walnut Calf)

http://www.shoebuy.com/allen-edmonds...-_-none-_-none

I'd go with the Fifth Aves. More versatile as a dress shoe.

Strands are for guys that wear dress shoes with jeans. Waistcoat optional.

I bought a pair of strands last year and really like them but agree that they are in an area between formal and casual. I am not very often in a situation where strands are not formal enough but rarely find they are ideal, except for maybe a fancy dinner.

I'd go with bourbon instead of walnut, just a shade darker but more versatile IMO.

I'm going to pull the trigger tomorrow on the Fifth Avenues now. Everyone agree with brown burnished calf over the walnut color?

I will be wearing primarily with the navy suit but I guess occasionally with darker khakis for business casual events.

I love my bourbon 5th Aves.

Should you wear pocket squares to a wedding? Any rule on that? Is this an acceptable pocket square for a navy blue suit?

http://www.kentwang.com/pocket-squar...dium-blue.html

I would wear with a white shirt and the bourbon 5th ave shoes.

yes you can wear a pocket square to a wedding, but that outfit is getting a little samey. blue suit, white shirt, white and blue checked tie, slightly different white and blue checked square. i would maybe look for a pocket square that's a combo of light blue + something else, or get a tie + pocket square that contrasts a little more.

Is the only difference between the Fifth Ave and the Park Ave the extra flair on the cap?

Yes, but I think it's a big difference. Park Ave too plain for me.

hermés.
beautiful colors and designs and still affordable since it's only a pocket square.
need to go to a hermés flagship store, online sucks.

Those boots are an extra 20% off this week. Somebody stop me!

agree - i have the park aves in black. very formal shoe. i like them but would not recommend them in brown

What does this mean? They're like $150-200, which is maybe 3x what most cost.

As a young professional just entering the suit and tie everyday phase, I was curious how you guys handled the day-to-day regarding shoes.

If you want to say wear a pair of AE or equivalent nice leather show to work, do you drive in them or do you drive in another pair and then change when getting out of the car?

How common is it to keep a nice pair of shoes in the office and then use more durable shoes when you have to come and go?

I appreciate the insight, and apologize if these are stupid questions.

It probably depends on your office culture and maybe the city you're working in. I see lots of guys do this in Chicago and probably happens even more in the suburbs.

Personally I don't, because I spent a decent amount of money on those shoes and I want to get my money's worth out of them and wear them often. And the shoes themselves are quite durable and should last decades with just a little care.

depends on the office and what your job is.

personally all my work shoes have non-leather soles, so i am less hesitant to wear them straight from home. i walk a fair bit during my commute via mass transit.

unless you work in an extremely formal office, i highly recommend replacing all the soles on your dress shoes with a low profile, weather resistant sole such as a vibram sole. you get way, way, way more mileage from these than a leather sole.

in general, if you take good care of your shoes you are not going to wear out the shoes themselves. you will have to replace soles and heels but that's not a huge expense. to me, not worth nitting it up and changing shoes all the time over one extra sole replacement every year or two.

The only time I ever changed shoes was when I had a half mile walk in the winter from my home to my office and I lived in a place that regularly had blizzards. Even then, I only changed shoes if I knew the sidewalk wouldn't be cleared yet.

Appreciate the responses guys.

I'm working as a summer law student at a firm with a fairly formal dress code, but I think I am just going to drive with the shoes for now. I agree that it is probably nitting it up otherwise as I don't really have to walk too much outdoors. I will definitely look into some sole maintenance though, as the leather will probably not last super long on its own.

Things will probably change in the Canadian Winter though, but I will deal with that when I have to.

Suggestions for tie colors/patterns for a summer wedding?

I'll be wearing a medium grey suit with a light blue shirt.

I'm trying to find something that doesn't look too businessy, but also not too casual. What kind of pattern would be a nice in-between?

Probably this suit in windsor (medium) gray:

https://www.jcrew.com/mens_feature/T...8205/A0536.jsp

With a light blue fine-stripe shirt like this:

http://www.ledbury.com/products/ligh...o-stripe-shirt

Wedding ties are usually a grey or silver, small pattern. Houndstooth, prince of Wales check, or similar.

Kent Wang has nice ones here.. I have the glen plaid.

And I just answered this about 20 posts ago.

Sorry, I meant as a guest, not as the groom.

I just wore the blue Kent Wang knit tie with a white shirt to a summer wedding. Worked really well IMO.

I assumed that.

Interesting. I always thought the silver colored ties like those were for the groom or possibly groomsmen, and not the guests.