Our top 4 best men’s shoes for Christmas celebrations and formal evening wear
Christmas party season is in full swing! And, if you’ve been lucky enough to have an invitation to a black tie event, it’s time to dust off your dinner jacket and evening-wear shoes! Whether you’re heading to an awards night, formal Christmas party, opera by candlelight or a Christmas ball, you will need to know the correct evening wear dress code as well as the proper shoes to compliment your attire.
If you’re dressing up for Christmas parties this holiday season, here is your ultimate guide to dinner jacket shoes for a black tie event. In this guide, we discuss men’s Christmas fashion tips for a black tie event and our top 4 best shoes for evening dress so you don’t commit a fashion faux pas this season.
Table of contents
- What should I wear at a party as a man?
- Picking the proper formal footwear for holiday parties
- Finishing touches to your evening party wear
What should I wear at a party as a man?
Black tie is the ultimate holiday party attire for men. While other dress codes are open to a certain amount of interpretation, black tie has specific rules you must follow to achieve the dress code. Unless you want to stand out for the wrong reasons, it’s worth following the dress code rules for a black-tie Christmas party.
To tick all the boxes, you will need:
- A black or midnight blue barathea wool dinner suit, or a ‘tuxedo’ if you’re American with silk peak or shawl lapels. The jacket can be double-breasted but must have pockets without flaps.
- A white Marcella front (a stiff geometric weave) shirt with a turned-down collar (instead of a winged one) and double cuffs requiring cufflinks.
- A black bow tie (self-tied unless you’re younger than twelve).
- A pair of fitted dinner suit trousers which naturally taper and you will need to press. They must also feature a row of braid or satin piping down the outside of each leg.
- Black socks.
- And, the most crucial part of the dress code; black shoes.
The following black tie party wear shoes suggestions will also work for any other men’s formal Christmas party outfits, whether you wear a smoking jacket or embrace the wonderfully flamboyant velvet jackets in bolder colours. You can’t go wrong as long as you keep the shoes simple.
Picking the proper formal footwear for holiday parties
If you’re wondering what shoes are good for partywear, here is our ultimate list of evening-wear shoes perfect for party wear. As with the rest of the outfit, there are rules to follow with your shoes: they must be black (this is non-negotiable) without any brogue or decoration, and they must be well polished. Within these parameters, there are choices dependent on personal preference.
1. Patent leather Oxfords
These are usually the go-to for classic black tie attire as they are specifically designed for such an occasion and are a safe choice. Patent leather undergoes a specific tanning process to make that recognisable smooth and shiny finish, the perfect shoes for evening dress and your men’s formal Christmas party outfits. Some patent oxford shoes also feature a cemented sole for an elegant profile, in keeping with the sleek dress code.
Although perfectly appropriate, these shoes are specifically for black tie, so if you’re purchasing new evening dress shoes, unless you go to a few black tie events a year, you may get more value from something slightly more versatile.
2. Whole-cuts
Whole-cuts are fantastic alternative shoes for a black tie event. A whole-cut shoe personifies the elegance and sophisticated simplicity of the black tie dress code unlike any other, as the single piece of leather accentuates the sleek shape and works brilliantly with Christmas party wear. The added benefit of a Goodyear welt construction and full-grain leather gives this style more applications in day-to-day wear.
If you have non-patent leather shoes, applying a mirror shine to the toe shows attention to detail and pride in appearance. Our polishing video below offers tips on achieving this, or you are welcome to leave your Cheaney shoes with our friendly retail staff, who provide this as a complimentary service in-store.
3. Oxfords
If you don’t want to buy a new pair of evening dress shoes, you can elevate your evening wear with your quintessential work shoes with some care and attention. As long as there are no brogue details on the shoe, your trusty Oxford toecaps can pass for black tie event shoes as long as they have a mirror shine on the toe.
4. Plain-toe Derbys
A derby features open lacing, contrary to the Oxford lace, which sits flush with the shoe vamp. Although this is a more casual style, some foot shapes are suited better to the freedom that open lacing gives across the instep. If you fall into this category, plain-toe derbys are a perfectly viable option for dinner suit shoes. Just ensure you follow the same black tie dress rules – keep your Christmas party wear shoe design simple and shine the toe for that black tie appeal.
Finishing touches to your evening party wear
Evening wear isn’t the time to brandish loud or novelty socks, so keep it classic with a plain black pair. For the shoes themselves, we’d always recommend using a black creme to restore the leather colour, followed by a black beeswax polish to bring out a shine. A damp cloth works well to refresh your patent leather shoes and all you need to maintain their recognisable shiny finish.
Evening and special occasion shoes for Christmas at Cheaney Shoes
Black tie and evening wear have some easy-to-follow rules, which take away a lot of the guesswork. To find matching shoes for Christmas outfits for your black tie event, focus on quality and simplicity so this party season is yours to dominate. For our complete range of dinner jacket shoes you can wear to Christmas parties this season, visit our Black oxford shoe collection at Cheaney Shoes today!
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