Back in 2018, I wrote an article called Why Are Black Suede Shoes Still So Underrated? At the time, I couldn’t understand why one of the most versatile materials in menswear was so consistently ignored by both shoe brands and customers.
Eight years later, I’m starting to wonder whether the tide is finally turning.
Kirby Allison recently received his first pair of black suede shoes, made by Daniel Wegan of Catella Shoemaker. And while one pair of bespoke shoes obviously does not constitute a movement, I found it interesting because Kirby is someone who owns — and has worn — just about every conceivable version of classic men’s footwear. Yet somehow, black suede had escaped him until now.
Maybe that tells us something about black suede in general.
It would appear that black suede is finally gaining some ground, and I think that has a lot to do with the way menswear has been moving in general. People want to dress a little more casually, a little more comfortably, but without necessarily looking sloppy or giving up on elegance altogether.
And in my mind, black suede is almost the perfect material for that. In 2024, I showed how I style black suede in many different ways, from completely casual to dressed up with a suit in my post, How to Wear Black Suede Shoes. And to this day, I probably wear it more consistently than any other material.
Black suede allows you to soften a look without completely changing its character. You can feel more relaxed while still maintaining something smart and refined.
That is partly why I found it interesting to see Kirby Allison recently getting his first pair of black suede shoes. Kirby is about as traditionally dressed as it gets. He wears a suit more often than most people wear jeans. So when someone with that kind of wardrobe starts introducing black suede, I think it says something about where the material can fit.
There are inevitably times when even the smartest dresser wants to tone things down slightly — an evening at home, smoking a cigar, having dinner, or simply wanting something that feels less formal without suddenly looking casual.
Black suede makes that transition very easy.
One of its greatest qualities is the way it absorbs light. It is elegant, but subtle. It does not shout. It does not have the shine of polished calf leather, and because of that, it naturally feels softer and more relaxed.
At the same time, it is still black.
That is important, because black retains a certain visual seriousness. In smooth leather, that can sometimes make a shoe feel very dressy. In suede, you still get the elegance and versatility of black, but with much of that formality stripped away.
And I think that is precisely why black suede makes so much sense right now.
This post was really inspired by seeing Kirby finally get a pair himself. Here is someone who, for years, has predominantly thought in terms of traditional calfskin shoes, and now even he is dipping his toe into black suede. For me, that is encouraging.
I have been fighting the good fight for black suede shoes for years, so it is nice to see more people slowly opening up to them.
Of course, in true Kirby fashion, he still chose probably the most traditional shoe you could possibly make in black suede. But at least he chose black suede. That is progress.
Now we just need to get more men into black suede loafers, monk straps, boots, and everything else, and then I will really feel like we have arrived.
One step at a time is good enough for me.
—Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
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