I know we've all been 100% converted to wearing trainers with everything and they're pretty much acceptable everywhere now, but wouldn't it be nice to have an alternative too?

That's what a lot of my clients have been looking for on recent personal shopping trips. They want something that looks good with smart casual clothes like dark jeans and a chore jacket, a casual blazer and chinos, or a sweater and bomber jacket.

Here are some of the shoes that my recent clients have bought, to go with those types of outfits: 

The crepe sole on these shoes makes them comfy and durable. They'll look great with jeans or chinos, and a chunky jumper for daytime or a shirt and blazer for the evening.

I love this colour as well - not a bright tan but a little more versatile than chocolate brown.

'Archie' crepe sole chestnut suede Gibson shoes - Sanders - £285

I was first attracted to go and look in Martel + Ram by their tagline "smart shoes that are as comfortable as trainers" - what more could you ask for?

Navy shoes are super useful to have in your wardrobe....especially with summer coming up, and look great with beige chinos or lighter coloured denim or sage green (yes, blue and green do look good together!)

And if you're London based, pop into the store and meet the founder Kevin, who's extremely helpful but never pushy. 

Navy suede derby shoes - Martel + Ram - £295

In fact, two separate clients have bought these ones - one got this chestnut colour, and another got the black. They're reassuringly sturdy, and all the guys who work in Trunk have them and say they're super comfy and hard wearing.

The chestnut colour looks excellent with denim, cream cords or navy chinos and the black is great with indigo denim and grey jeans as well as navy or black chinos.

Oh yeah......and Steve McQueen wore them. Enough said!

Hi top suede chukka boots in polo snuff - Sanders at Trunk Clothiers - £245

Okay, so if you're not going to give up your trainers, then make sure you have some smart ones like these.

You can easily wear them with a casual blazer, t-shirt and chinos., or jeans and a button down shirt,  or even with tailored trousers, a fine knit sweater and a bomber jacket.

'Belèratt' navy blue suede low sneakers - Velasca - £280

You just can't go wrong with a pair of chukka boots in your wardrobe. They perfectly bridge the gap between smart and casual and are great for weekends and work alike.

Once you've got a pair, I'm pretty sure you'll wonder how you ever did without them!

Mahogany suede ankle boots - Slowear - £525

Want to go shopping for smart casual outfits including shoes? Hit the button below to book your personal shopping trip and I'll have you sorted in no time.

Book in today, and you could be saying the same as this client who I took shopping a few weeks ago:

"I now have 43 outfit combos to choose from! All contained in a handy app on my phone.

Sarah has a great eye for what works with what and what doesn't, and really helped me get out of my comfort zone (in a good way:)

We had a very fruitful shopping trip and Sarah's attention to detail and contacts within stores made it a very stress free session. I would highly recommend both the Wardrobe Edit and a Shopping Trip to really give your look a dynamic refresh."

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