If you are interested in knowing a little more about how to wear a suit with sneakers, then you are in the right place. What once was taboo – wearing a sneakers with a suit – is now becoming more and more acceptable. When paired with the right combination wearing a suit with sneakers can not only be a smart casual move, it can also help you make a good first impression.

When to wear a suit with sneakers

While wearing a suit with sneakers has become more acceptable, there are still situations where you should not pair them. Any event with a formal dress code is likely not a good candidate, and while rules are meant to be broken, sometimes it doesn’t pay to be the odd-man-out when trying to impress your boss, business partner, or important clients, so pay close attention to the situation.

On the other hand, if no specific dress code exists or if you’ve been encouraged to dress more casually, then pairing a suit with sneakers can be a great way to strike that balance between serious and casual.

Suit type matters

Simply donning your favorite pair of sneakers and a random suit is likely to lead to disappointment. You see, wearing a suit with sneakers only really works for the right types of suits.

Suits that are too baggy are an instant fail. Instead pair sneakers with slim leg pants and single breasted jacket. This isn’t to say that other types of jackets and pants won’t work, but you always want to be careful of not looking careless – instead be intentional and thoughtful with every piece of your outlook to hand craft that smart casual look you’re going for.

Another thing to be mindful of is the color of the suit and shoes. Select neutral colored sneakers, with white being an excellent choice, be sure to complement that color with your undershirt.

Keep it simple

A suit is a wonderful thing, and can be styled in a myriad of ways. From pocket squares to ties, to cufflinks and lapel clips – there really is no end to how a suit can be styled.

When wearing a suit with sneakers, however, you want to be mindful to not out-style your shoes. This means ditching the tie, pocket squares, and just about any other accessories other than a belt.

You may want to even consider ditch the typical dress shirt entirely and wearing a t-shirt or turtleneck directly under your jacket for that added casual look.

Common concerns when wearing a suit with sneakers

Some of the most frequently asked questions are: do all sneakers fit? with all types and colors? when is it appropriate to wear them?

Shoe Colors

If you want to be the center of attention and steal all the looks you could wear a maroon suit with all white sneakers. Such a bold combination will make you stand out in any event.

If you’d rather having something more relaxed, you can combine the suit with white or neutral sneakers. The thing to be most mindful of when wearing white sneakers is that they must be spotless, and look as if they were brand new. That detail is the one that will mark the difference between perfecting this style or failing.

Another infallible combination is black or navy blue suits with clean white leather sneakers, this will provide a minimalist and Scandinavian look. In other words, white sneakers work perfectly well with almost all shades of suits.

What we do recommend is that you don’t wear black sneakers with a suit, as this is a combination that doesn’t work well. The gray suit with silver sneakers provides a perfect harmony of casual elegance that is perfect for any number of occasions.

If you want to show a more youthful look you can opt for a suit with a white shirt and matching white sneakers.

Shirt Fabrics

During the warmer months, suits in linen and/or light cotton fabrics are an absolute comfort and provide a perfect opportunity to dress things up a bit. A white tee and retro sneakers are all you need to finish off the look for summer days.

Another combination that doesn’t fail are looser suits, these provide a relaxed style and complimented with sturdy sneakers and an open Oxford shirt layered over a crew neck t-shirt give a perfect look.

Linen suits have a bad reputation as they are said to be wrinkled, ill-fitting and misshapen but as with everything quality is very important, if you have a good quality linen suit in dark colors you can put together an outfit of supreme quality simply paired with classic sneakers.

Shoe Style

A fundamental aspect to take into account is that the shape of the sneaker fits well with the pants. For this reason, it is more advisable to wear low top sneakers, as the boot type ones can generate problems such as raising the hem creating an unnecessary accordion effect or that it does not fall correctly. A more fitted suit pant will always work better than a straight or wide one to wear with sneakers.

Recap

Wearing a suit with sneakers can be a great way to stand apart, but only if you pull it off. Otherwise you risk looking like a kid who borrowed his dad’s suit. So, let’s do a quick recap of the top consideration.

When wearing a suit with sneakers we have to say goodbye to ties, sneakers and sneakers worn at the same time do not have much to do with each other. If you want to wear your shirt tucked in, that’s fine! But with some buttons unbuttoned, that way the look is a little unstructured. If you still want to make it more casual, we recommend you to change the shirt for a t-shirt.

There are two ways to interpret this idea of mixing suiting with sneakers: either dress it down or dress it up with a dressy tee. Either way, this is a look that you can easily have in your closet as an everyday outfit and why not every night as well. It covers so many occasions and makes you feel exceptionally comfortable at the same time.