Which Kicks to Wear with Which Cuts

By Contributing Blogger Joe Walsh

Baseball to football. Swimwear to sweaters. Seafood to comfort food. September leads us from summer to fall in some familiar ways, but one of the most difficult seasonal transitions is going back from shorts to pants and from flip-flops to shoes. For a few weeks in early fall, things never look right in the mirror: either the shoes look too bulky or the pants don’t break right.

Part of the problem is mental, but you may also have issues with your gear. Today, some quick lessons on pairing the right shoes with the right cut of jeans or pants.

BOOT CUT
Okay, so this one is pretty obvious. Here is where you deploy those big brown or black lace-up boots. But, if you are looking for a go-to pair of jeans, stay away from boot cut styles. They will tend to look bell-bottomy over lower profile sneakers, slip-ons or other shoes.

STRAIGHT LEG
A good pair of straight leg jeans should be in heavy rotation for you all year-round, but they are especially useful in fall. You will be wearing a lot of different kinds of shoes. They will work equally well with this fall’s high-top sneakers, a heartier rain-ready boot, or weekend shoe like a driving moc.

SLIM/TAPERED
Still reading? You must be adventurous…and in good shape. Low-rise, fitted denim has retreated a little bit in the past year or so, but it is still out there. IF you can pull of the look, you’ll be doing it with something like those high tops mentioned above. Even a really sleek loafer is going to come off like a slipper.

BAGGY/RELAXED
Relaxed fits can be tempting. It’s the weekend, you want to kick back and be comfortable. Be careful to buy the right fit so you don’t wind up looking sloppy. As for shoes, relaxed fits have good versatility: you can wear them with the boots, casual leather shoes or sneakers. But, make sure the sneaker is styled enough and stay away from athletic sneakers or running shoes. Also, the risk with the relaxed fit is that you’ll have too much break in the pants: be sure to pick the right length, even resort to hemming if necessary.

COLOR GUIDE
Remember when picking your jeans and shoes that you want an ensemble, not individual art pieces. Just because you really like a vintage pair of Jordans does not mean they will be a good fashion investment – they probably are not going to go with much but a t-shirt. If you go with color, choose one that you wear frequently so that you can incorporate the shoes often with similarly colored accessories, like fabric belts or a colorful cardigan that you will wear over a variety of t-shirts and button-downs.

As for the jeans. Stick with a medium to dark azure wash without too much distressing or whiskering. A pair of jeans like that will go well with a lot of different shoe styles and colors.


Based in Boston, Joe works in the renewable energy industry. His views on the law, policy and politics of energy and the environment are often cited by worldwide news agencies like Reuters and leading media outlets like the Wall Street Journal. He is currently running a week-long feature series on getting past NIMBY in renewable energy facility construction at RenewableEnergyWorld.com.