The Best Business Casual Shoes For Men (2024)

There’s no question that your shoes silently convey volumes about your personality and style. Yet, the business casual dress code can be particularly challenging for men to master.

Sartorially adequate shirts, jackets, and trousers tend to be the easy part. However, finding the right business casual shoes can be complicated, as it’s easy to go too casual or too formal.

This has become an increasing issue in the modern day when offices are opting for more casual dress codes. Additionally, more men are looking for footwear that can serve a dual role, shining both at work and outside of it.

Taking into account style, quality, comfort, price, and versatility, on this page we’ve presented the best business casual shoes we could find. If you’re looking for inspiration, you’ll want to browse through them. From loafers to brogues, boots, and even sneakers, they’ll help you walk the blurry line between understated elegance and informality.

Further down, we’ve also covered the shoe styles, materials, and colors that best represent business casual, so you’ll be best equipped to find your quintessential pair.

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In This Guide

• Best Men’s Business Casual Shoes
• Defining Business Casual
  • Shoe Styles
  • Shoe Materials
  • Shoe Colors

Other Casual Shoe Guides

• Best Casual Summer Shoes
• Best Casual Shoes For Men

Casual Boot Guides

• Best Casual Boots For Men
• Casual Boots Under $200

Recommended Shoe Guides

• Best Casual Dress Shoes
• Best Dress Shoes For Summer

Best Shoe Styles For Business Casual

As mentioned in the introduction, business casual is a dress code that’s hard to define in precise terms. In fact, it’s easy to get it wrong and find yourself either too casual or too formal, the former being much less advisable than the latter.

Fortunately, we’ve previously put together an extensive guide covering the business casual dress code. In terms of footwear, there are many business casual shoe styles that you can choose from.

Loafers

Loafers are perhaps the epitome of business casual footwear. In their various forms, they offer excellent options for those who seek to merge convenience and style.

Classic penny loafers provide a timeless choice, whereas the dressier bit and tassel loafers, adorned with a metal link or tassels, respectively, bring additional visual interest.

Brogues

Brogues sport unique decorations on their upper, known as pinking, which effortlessly meld sophistication with a dash of casualness.

They’ve got just enough traditional structure to keep things professional at work while those extra decorative touches add a subtle, casual spin, making them spot-on for business casual settings.

Derbies

Derbies, characterized by their open lacing system, offer a versatile option that elegantly bridges the gap between formal and casual. Slightly less formal than Oxfords and Balmorals, derbies can effortlessly complement business casual attire, presenting a polished yet not overly rigid aesthetic.

Norwegians, closely linked to derbies, offer a similar look with a moccasin design.

Boots

Dress boots serve as a worthwhile alternative when it comes to business casual shoes, given that they offer a sturdy yet elegant appeal. However, not all boots are adequate, so note the particular styles that are best when working with a business casual dress code.

Brogue boots, for instance, embody a harmonious blend of the traditional perforations and structure of brogues while introducing an elevated ankle support. This juxtaposition crafts a look that is both rooted in classic aesthetics and imbued with a slightly casual demeanor.

Chukka boots, with their distinct ankle height and traditionally sterile design, likewise navigate effortlessly between formality and casualness. Their understated form allows them to pair agreeably with a variety of outfits, fortifying their position as a staple in the business casual shoe arena.

Best Materials For Business Casual Shoes

Most shoes are made of some kind of leather, but not every shoe will function well in the average office environment. Here are our do’s and don’ts as it relates to business casual shoe materials:

Ideal Business Casual Materials

Pebbled leather: Pebbled leather looks like it has, well, pebbles on it. While smooth leather is of course appropriate, pebbled leather has a certain casual vibe to it that fits perfectly in a business casual office.

Suede: Also known as “reverse calf,” suede is the nappy underside of a cow’s skin. It often makes for a more comfortable shoe due to its softness and pliability, but it also has a more casual air that makes it well-suited to the office when you’re not wearing a suit.

Materials To Avoid

Patent Leather: Patent leather is excellent for tuxedo shoes and women’s wallets. It has no place on your feet at the office as it’s far too formal. This applies even if you were to wear a suit every day.

Exotic Skins: While you might get away with it in some contexts, shoes made of alligator, ostrich, stingray, crocodile, or any other exotic leather are generally a bit much for the office and can be more distracting than anything else.

Leather Colors For Business Casual

There are a multitude of colors in which shoes are made (and you can check out our shoe & trouser coordination guide for a comprehensive list of what they are and how to best pair them), but not all of them will fly at work.

Below, we’ve organized them by Ideal, Acceptable, and Avoid:

Ideal Colors For Business Casual Shoes

Brown: Medium to dark brown in autumn and winter, light to medium brown in spring and summer. Brown shoes should be a staple of the business casual shoe wardrobe. Note that a chocolate suede blucher is one of the most stylish shoes a man can own, so make it a point to seek out such a pair.

Brown shoes go with anything but black.

Burgundy: This reddish-brown tone, also known as cordovan, is an excellent option for business casual offices. Pair them with grey or navy trousers for maximum effect.

Tan: Tan shoes are unbeatable in spring and summer, especially in natty shoe styles like double monkstraps. They are a smash with blue trousers in particular.

Acceptable Colors

Black: No one will be offended if you wear black shoes with the average business casual ensemble; no one will likely be excited about it, either.

Black shoes will get you in and out of the office in a very incognito way, so it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of pairs of basic black shoes in your rotation.

Darker Non-Standard Colors: Deep tones like plum and forest green can work for business casual environments.

You will want to be sure that your office skews casual instead of business, so give it a few weeks at least before you throw on your purple suede loafers.

Colors To Avoid In Business Casual

Bright Non-Standard Colors: Unless you work for a style magazine that would be into such things (ahem), it’s best to avoid wearing brightly-colored shoes like fire engine red, electric blue, yellow, and the like. They run the risk of distracting your co-workers and looking unprofessional.

If you’re going to get called into HR for something, it should be for an interview for a promotion, not to get you sent home for your crazy shoes.

What Next?

Business casual can be a confusing dress code, but even if you get only two or three shoes that we mentioned above, you’ll be appropriately dressed from the ankles down for any situation.

Now that you know how to dress your feet for the office, are you sure what to put on in other situations? If not, take a look at our other shoe guides:

• Best Men’s Summer Dress Shoes
• Best Dress Shoes For Men
• Men’s Casual Shoes