How To Wear It: Red Shoes

Red shoes outfit ideas: a warm-toned outfit with red loafers, chino pants, v-neck sweater, and gold-toned jewelry. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

The question was raised on Monday’s post, “what do you wear with red loafers?” I’ve been eyeing a pair myself, so I decided to take up the challenge!

Warm-Toned Outfit With Red Shoes

Scarf | Sweater | Earrings | Bracelet | Bag | Pants | Shoes

Of course, you can always wear red shoes with denim (jeans or skirt). It’s an almost foolproof combination! Add a white or striped shirt, or a tee and blazer and you’re good to go. But I wanted to create outfits that went beyond denim, so have put together one based on warm tones, and one on cool. I stuck to simple, classic pieces to let color be the focus.

Above, chinos or any tan pants will look great with red. I’ve used a scarf with some red in it to “bookend” the shoes and tie the outfit together. Instead of a scarf, you could add a printed shirt with red in the pattern.

Cool-Toned Outfit With Red Shoes

Red shoes outfit idea: a cool-toned outfit with red loafers, plaid pants, grey cardigan and silver-toned jewelry. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

Scarf | Sweater | Earrings | Watch | Bag | Pants | Shoes

Here, I’ve used grey as a base, and tied in the red shoes with bits of red throughout the outfit. (Just a note: that grey cardigan is washable merino wool, and would be a great addition to a fall travel wardrobe. Other colors available.) Again, you could include a blouse with some red, rather than the scarf.

Put Some Pep In Your Step…

Do you have a favorite pair of red shoes in your wardrobe? How do you style them?

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39 Comments

  1. Excellent post, Susan! Thank you.

    I bought some deep red Brighton mules this summer that I really like, but haven’t worn them enough because “I don’t know how to match them to my wardrobe.”

    And now bam! Just like that, it seems simple. Just wear ’em. 🙂 With a little red accent piece. And confidence. After all, they’re new red shoes! 🙂

  2. I wear my red shoes with all-black outfits … Eileen Fisher straight-leg knit pants with a white T and a black jacket or cardigan, maybe a scarf with black and white checks or polka dots … and red flats. The red shoes really kick up a simple black ensemble.

    1. I’ve done that for decades. Perhaps some other red, a scarf, a béret etc and some neutrals. But mine are jeans. I don’t wear knit trousers except for schlumpy old ones to work out or do housework. I don’t look good in them so I don’t buy expensive ones for work or soirées. Skirts.

  3. My goodness, I don’t even own a pair of plain black shoes in any heel height. I have black patent leather and suede but the rest of my shoes are all colours or prints. Interesting shoes completes an outfit.

    1. Well, I do have a couple of pairs of black or dark shoes or boots, booties, becausen we have snow and slush.

  4. I prefer my red shoes with camels, khakis and browns. I consider them a neutral. I also like them with cropped glen plaid pants or black, that sort of highlights them more. I don’t like them with white pants—too harsh a contrast. They never fail to elicit compliments and have really led me down a path of colored loafers in general, which I now love. Great for fall imo.

  5. I have a fabulous pair of red loafers that have been in my wardrobe for 20 years. I don’t usually wear pink but there is a pink sweater I keep because primarily I love how it looks with red shoes.

  6. These are beautiful combinations. I have to confess, I have a pair of red Birkenstocks (Mayari) that go with pretty much every warm weather article of clothing in my closet.

    1. Proud to confess that my current favourite shoes are RED textile Doc Martens Mary Janes: Winona. Funky, and I can walk (or cycle) many km in them. And they are so cute.

    1. I do too, but my chosen grey is considerably darker than the ones une femme shows. Not charcoal grey, but abour 50% saturation. Cool grey. Parisian zinc roof or lead pipe.

  7. I like red sandals or sneakers in Summer months. In other seasons I’m more conservative and switch off to a Wine colored shoe. Cordovan/Wine/Burgundy – I find that to be the real workhorse for me.

    1. Wine is red, unless you mean white or rosé. Seriously, I know you mean the primary colour, but there are many shades of red, hotter or cooler, and even many shades of wine. I love wine red PROVIDED that it is a deep berry colour, and not muddy or brown. Once again that depends on our colouring.

  8. Well….this gal has a gorgeous pair of red booties with some subtle tooling and you can find me sporting those with jeans starting in the fall and going on through spring! Red has always been on of my favorite colors and methinks a pair of red shoes is in my future! Fun post Susan.

  9. Great post! Red is my go-to for shoes and boots. Love how a red boot looks in the snow and how a red sandal completes a summer look. I love red shoes so much that I have a hard time shopping for anything else!

  10. I have lightweight red brogues (quite a light red) and red sandals. T hey go with almost anything!! Good with monochrome, with black with brown with blue. When would i NOT wear them? Perhaps not with green trousers, perhaps not with a yellow skirt. But such a fab colour. And if they don’t work, then I put on my orange shoes instead!!

  11. I don’t have any red shoes. In fact, I don’t have much red at all. I think it’s to harsh for me (I’ll find out) I tend to go to more of a wine or burgundy. Since sweater weather is coming up, could you explain how cashmere should be stored year round. Great post!!

    1. Wine/burgundy are reds. The reds in une femme’s photomontage aren’t the primary colour either.

      This takes me back to art school – decades ago. We had to do colour wheels – by hand!

    2. Eva -living in eastern Canada cashmere sweaters and jeans are my basic winter wardrobe. I wash the sweaters in cold water soap and dry them on racks. Fold them up and put them back in the drawer in my dresser – where they live year round – no problem with storing them and sometimes in the summer I need one of the cardigans. Hope this helps.

  12. I just ordered those J. Crew loafers after seeing this post and they are having a 40% sale today! Looking forward to getting them.

  13. I bought a pair of scarlet booties in last years Nordy sale because I wanted to try something new. I own no red items and consider red not my color. I bought a contrasting red belt have worn them all year round except summer. It’s amazing how they fit in with my neutral wardrobe. Just experiment and see that they really jazz up an outfit. I get so many compliments because red is not the usual color for shoes unless you’re Dorothy!
    I enjoyed your color combos.

  14. Now we are talking! This is the most exciting way to elevate any outfit.
    Just choose a colour orange, red, bright blue, green and step back for the compliments.
    Great post Susan.

  15. Loving these ideas! Today I have finally ordered a pair of classic red Loafers that I have been eyeing for months because I am now inspired that I CAN make them work! I have some beautiful tall red boots that I have only worn twice in the past year, so I need to dust those off, too. Never thought to pair it with cool grey plaid or mustard yellow, or my multicolored bright scarf with red in it. I only kept thinking red+ animal prints or neutrals and it was very limiting. Thanks for this post.

  16. Love these ideas! As I look to buy something new for Fall, I am thinking first of shoes and handbags, all in color. Susan, could you do a post on Fall handbags?

  17. I have red shoes and red sandals. I wear them with the many gray and black pieces in my wardrobe. I always wear red lipstick and I also have a red handbag, though I rarely wear it with my red shoes. My everyday watch has a red band; obviously and I am looking to add red pieces as I expand color in my wardrobe. Since I let my hair go white I’ve reduced the color and it’s time to add some back. I recently bought some gorgeous red double faced wool cashmere coating for a winter coat. I am planning some red tops too. Then I have to figure out another color that looks good and I like.

  18. I have had a pair of bright red Rothys pointed toe flats for several years, and I wear them all summer with pretty much anything other than my red dress that doesn’t quite match the shoes. I don’t worry about having red elsewhere either. Most recently wore with a black & white print dress, with white jeans with black & white polka dot top, and with navy ankle pants with a white shirt and pale pink/white linen herringbone jacket. I work with a lot of young people and to my surprise frequently get compliments on the shoes.

  19. Haha…..you are going to cost me a fortune Susan as a summer post featured red sandals (fab) and now you’ve piqued my interest again for another season. Since I find breaking in loafers too taxing it will most likely be trainers to take me into our southern hemisphere Spring. Love red footwear with grey (any tone) and especially with white. White jeans, red trainers 😉

  20. Rich Burgundy with either beige/tan or grey. Bright red with architectural cut white pants plus an arresting large geometric or floral red and white blouse, or black pants cum red print a la Ruti and a fab cut red shirt. I also wear bright red shoes with multi color embroidered jeans. For fun!

  21. My WiFi is Comcast (Xfinity) and i continually get the message that the link may lead to a suspicious site. When I turn my WiFi off and rely on ATT the link works just fine (albeit) much slower. I’ve had this problem in the past too.

    1. Hi Mary, thanks for that info, it’s very helpful! Just a quick question, which browser are you using (Chrome, Safari, etc.) and have you tried clearing the cache?

  22. I wear red pumps with my leopard dress. Also, have some Gucci slides I wear with all black or jeans and a navy cashmere v neck. I like that tonal look as I’m short. Also, during the Fourth of July party season with white jeans, a navy tee and red sneakers or slides depending on the venue.

  23. When my daughters were young, I loved when they wore red shoes on them and treated those as a near-neutral. Then I had the revelation that I could do the same for myself. Since that time, red loafers, red pumps, red sandals have all been part of my shoe stable. Red shoes work with most of my wardrobe, but I don’t wear them when I am trying to be invisible. They don’t shout, but they do have some visual impact.