Down here in Australia spring has just sprung and I have found my eyes drawn to all these wonderful chinos that are appearing. My only question is what shoes should I wear that can also fit into my student budget? The only shoes I have are hightop cons, Volleys and boots.
Actually, even with what you have now, you can easily go for a spring/summer-ish look.
Going with what you have now, both the Converse and the Volleys will work with the chinos for a dressed down casual look. Depending on how they look, the boots can work as well — really, chinos are just as versatile as jeans, and can be worn with equally as much.
If you want a cheap pair of shoes that would definitely pair with the chinos well, go for a pair of boat shoes or a loafer-like shoe (even espadrilles). The key here is actually going sockless — as silly as it may sound, bare ankles are a pretty relaxed, summer-y look.
If you want to dress the chinos up a bit, look for a pair of brown, cordovan, or even black dress shoes. Avoid anything too dressy (formal patent leather shoes, etc) — stick to something a bit classic and laid back. Just like with the boat shoes or espadrilles, you can also wear dress shoes sockless. If the dress shoes chafe when you wear them sockless, look for a pair of super-low-cut socks made to hide inside of the shoe.
To keep your purchase affordable, look for used shoes, especially if you want dress shoes. Anything too new might actually look more professional than you want, and a vintage pair of light brown shoes would look awesome with chinos. For boat shoes, many Sperry-esque knockoffs exist that are of decent quality — look around your local stores.
In any case, the point here is that chinos are just as versatile as jeans, and for the most part, you can do anything you like with them.
Tags: boat shoes, chinos, converse, espadrilles, loafers, Shoes, sockless, sperry, volleys
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