You are considering buying lace-up boots to get you through the winter. These may even be your first quality boots. As such, you have looked at our brand recommendations carefully.
You are now hesitating between two pairs whose style is similar: one is more dressy
Left: Seventh Width . Right: Wolverine 1000 Mile .
In the spirit of this question asked by Jérémie:
“ It’s pretty much the same, right? ”
It would be a mistake to put them both in the same basket.
From a distance, you might think that the two boots look similar.
But let's take a step back:
We see on the left that dress boots have a more slender and elegant shape.
On the contrary, the workwear model, on the right, is very rounded. The shape is heavier, massive. Logical thing for a “work boot”.
On the feet, this difference is also clearly visible:
Photo left: The Rake . Right photo: The Mensch
We cannot make a direct comparison. A workwear boot is not a strict equivalent of a dress boot.
As you may know, when we talk about low laced dress shoes, we differentiate between the brogue, which has closed lacing, and the derby, which is characterized by open lacing.
Richelieu (oxford in English) on the left, derby on the right
The same distinction exists with boots:
- With closed lacing = balmoral boots
- With open lacing = derby boots, or high-top derby boots
On the left, balmorals. On the right, derby boots. Meermin Models
Balmorals are formal shoes, intended to be worn with a suit, or at least dress pants.
We won't talk about it here.
In this article, the term boot will always refer to a derby boot . A high-top shoe with open lacing, therefore.
Two boots for two styles
If your style is definitely very marked tailoring or workwear , the choice is quickly made.
Likewise if you don't like the aesthetics of one or the other shoe at all: for example I know that workwear shoes are divisive, with some finding them clumsy and unattractive.
The real question is what to do if your style isn't very strong? That you oscillate between casual style with sometimes a little workwear and formal?
1. Workwear boots for a raw, rustic style
As we have seen, the Red Wing type workboot is quite imposing.
It will therefore go very well with other clothing from the world of work in the broad sense, in thick, rustic, raw materials.
What's interesting is that a lot of pieces fall into this category.
Some are obvious like denim clothing (shirt, jacket, pants). You will find a plethora of looks with this type of combination
Some others come to mind less easily, although you may already have them.
I'm thinking of the peacoat or duffle coat , coats perceived as relatively basic and neutral in terms of style. This would be forgetting that these are clothes originally intended for sailors.
Work clothes therefore, which had to be warm, robust, practical. We are in the same spirit as the workwear shoe that interests us.
Peacoat + jeans + Red Wing = it works every time, even if you don't have the same beard as this model. Source
We can add to this list all clothing of military origin (such as chinos, cargo pants, fatigue pants, trench coats, parkas, etc.) or thick, very textured knits , whose raw materials respond well to shoes.
I can see this Inverallan sweater perfectly with workwear boots. This type of thick, twisted mesh was originally used by fishermen on the Aran Islands in Ireland. A work sweater then.
At this point, you may be thinking:
“Great, I can wear workwear boots with really everything!”
Quite a few things, yes. Everything, no.
Formal or “casual chic with a chic trend” clothing will not go very well with workwear boots.
I am of course thinking of formal outfits:
There is an idea here. With workwear boots, you should rather go “casual + chic + workwear”. You have denim at the bottom and fairly raw materials at the top (a little thick wool on the tie, the vest and the jacket) to bind with the boots. If we put on a smooth silk tie and a smooth wool blazer, it wouldn't work. Source
More specifically, we can also talk about the classic wool dress overcoat , which a number of you own. It is a little too formal and serious, status-like to go with boots with a more rustic appearance . The styles are a little too far apart.
(I haven't found a look combining overcoat and workwear boots, that's to say.)
Finally, I have in mind fine knits (sweaters and cardigans), a little plain compared to chunky boots.
Dress shirt, thin sweater and blazer: chunky boots have no place in this type of outfit. Brogues are enough for this BonneGueule look
💡 Things to remember about workwear boots:
They are not recommended if you are wearing:
- A wool dress overcoat as a main coat
- Lots of fine mesh
- The business suit, even mismatched
On the other hand, with all clothing having origins in the world of work, any clothing with a slightly rustic material or style is all good.
→ Work boots allow you to make a statement and add character to any style between casual and workwear.
2. Dressy boots, serving casual chic
I think that dress boots are a little easier to understand for a majority of men, who are used to seeing or wearing derbies or brogues.
The boot here is only the high version of these low shoes.
In addition to going with strictly formal and dressy clothes, more elegant boots go with everything between casual and chic , including a little workwear in the mix.
We are therefore talking about a very wide variety of clothing:
- Thin and thick sweaters
- Denim jacket and blazer
- Wool pea coat, duffle coat, parka and overcoat
- Jeans, chinos and wool pants
Dressy boots allow you to break away from the raw styles previously mentioned to explore other avenues, for example like this look proposed by Septième Largeur:
More imposing boots would not necessarily go with this other look below, which is rather wise:
Source
Finally, I found this outfit with a more creative spirit, quite inspiring. Watch the thinness of the shoes contrast with the more generous volume of the pants. We couldn't have this effect with workwear boots:
"I'd be interested in dressy boots...but I'm afraid they'll look too dressy. What should I do?"
Here are two boot options to consider for boots that are elegant but not too formal:
Grained leather boots
Very beautiful boots lined in grained leather Löf&Tung
Grained leather has the following advantages:
- To be more casual than smooth leather while remaining completely elegant
- To hold up well in the rain
- It is quite easy to find
In a medium brown color like in the photo above, I think it's very good.
The risk-taking is minimal and you get a shoe that is comfortable in casual, a little dressy and a little workwear styles.
Look at the outfit that Benoît offers with such boots, casual with elegance and workwear:
Suede leather boots
Commando sole, Goodyear welt, oily suede leather... our Canberra boots don't fear bad weather.
Of course, suede leather is also a suitable material to lower the level of formality of a pair of boots.
We come back to our pea coat + jeans + boots combo. The hold is softer than its higher equivalent. The boots, the patterned scarf and the smaller buttons of the peacoat contribute to this effect.
💡 Things to remember about dress boots:
They are not recommended if you mainly wear workwear clothing. Even if they can fit in, it won't be ideal.
On the other hand, with everything that falls into the spectrum of casual chic style, it's all good. They will add character to your outfit without overdoing it.
→ Overall, I find that dress boots are a little more versatile than workwear boots.
If in doubt, these are the ones I would recommend.
And to find out more about boots, click here:
