What Color Shoes To Wear With A Red Dress
Best Picks – What Color Shoes to Wear With a Red Dress
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Whether worn as holiday appropriate attire, a daring date dress or an evening look, one thing is for certain: we ladies love a bold red dress!
Am I right? But that’s the easy choice. What color shoes to wear with red dresses is a little bit more tricky.
I’ve created an in-depth guide to help you select the best shoe color to complement your crimson frock (and what heels for red dresses work best!).
What Color Shoes to Wear with Red Dresses
Keep in mind that if your dress is a burgundy, poppy or a pink tickled-red hue, it doesn’t matter. The following are the best color shoes to wear with a red dress outfit; any red dress, no matter what type of “red” it actually is 🙂
But if you want to specifically see what shoes paired with a burgundy outfit look best, feel free to skip over to my post on what color shoes with burgundy dresses to wear!
Funny enough, the shoes that pair great with a red dress outfit are the same shoe colors that look good with green dresses too. Maybe because green & red are complimentary colors? Who knows!
Oh, and be sure to check out the images right below for the best red dresses available at your favorite stores, at all price-points. Right now!
Shop Red Dresses from Net-a-Porter or Nordstrom, below:
RELATED POSTS:
- Shoes to Wear with a Navy Dress
- What Shoes to Wear with a Jumpsuit
- Best Shoe to Wear with Dresses
- Red Dress Quotes
Pssst…if you’re looking for styling suggestions on how to wear crimson shoes, head on over to my post on how to wear red shoes. Because I prefer to stay clear of matchy-matchyness of red dresses and accessories!
Scroll way down to see which shoes not to wear with red too 😉
1. Red Dress and Gold Shoes
My absolute favorite footwear match for a red dress is a metallic gold shoe. Whether a warmer or cooler toned heel, sandal or flat, gold definitely reigns supreme.
This is one of the best color shoes to wear when pairing with a gown for a formal and a fab color shoes for a cocktail dress.
A flat, simplified gladiator-like sandal in this rich color also works well with a casual streamlined or laid-back, bohemian style dress.
If you’re looking for a wear-with-everything gold sandal, check out Sam Edelman’s Yaro. Out for a pump? Nordstrom’s Abilyn pump with a chic strap is a great contender.
Looking for a strappy party heel? Check out these Sam Edelman Alisandra sandals, which are amazing!
Shop Gold Shoes & Heels:
2. Red Dress Nude, Beige or Blush Shoes
What color shoes to wear with red dresses? Beige to taupe to blush hues! These neutral footwear colors look fabulous with red & are likely easily accessible from your shoe closet.
However, a red dress and nude shoes & heels (no matter what your shade of “nude”) is a fan favorite! Which is surprising to some, but believe me when I tell you that these are neutral color shoes that go with everything!
It really makes the red outfit stand out & a Nudist-type sandal is a great way to let a more intricate red dress speak for itself.
Stuart Weitzman’s Nudist sandal & the designer’s new satin Square Nudist which is all kinds of amazing! A less pricey alternative is Sam Edelman’s perfectly minimal Patti Strappy Sandal.
I’d opt for a shade close to skin-tone for the maximum shoe diminishing effect. But whichever your skin color is, beige is fantastic paired with any red dress outfits!
Although I don’t always like a blush tone as it’s usually too ‘pinkish’ for red, it can often work.
For a more casual look, a beige chunky heeled ankle boot would look amazing!
Shop Nude Heels – Each Style is Available in Various Tones:
3. Red Dress Black Heels, Sandals & Boots
Ah, of course, black shoes: they go with almost, if not, every color & type of dress, am I right? I love the stark contrast they create compared to the red color & if your dress is one solid shade of red, you get an instant color-block effect between frock & shoes.
I love how Zara paired black oxfords with a simple mini-dress (left), giving it a quirky spin! Opt for strappy sandals for instant glam.
Chunky heel boots look great with a red sweater dress & are a definite contender for a simple, yet sexy no-nonsense style. It’s a great, “I’m not trying too hard” look that’s great for more laid-back first or second date, as the Topshop image on the right illustrates so well.
Looking for black sandals? Stuart Weitzman’s NudistSong strappy sandals (available here at Nordstrom) is a great choice. Or if you’re looking for a lower price, Steve Madden makes a nice minimal sandal called Stecy that you can also buy here.
Sam Edelman makes a great, simple but comfy pointed pump called the Hazel. It comes in many hues and & you can take it from the ballroom to boardroom and then to the bar!
So yeah, if you want an all encompassing choice of shoe color to wear with your scarlet dress, black is a solid one!
Shop Black Shoes & Heels:
4. Silver Heels & Shoes
When looking for shoes to wear with a red dress, another great metallic besides gold, is silver. Whether it be pointed-toe pumps. brogues or sandals, they make a great pair!
Silver shoes are best matched with metallic jewelry in the same shade along with a red dress.
If you’re looking for a closed toe silver shoe, J.Reneé’s ‘Maressa’ silver pointy toe pump from Nordstrom has been quite the hit this season with it’s interesting texture & reasonable price.
Popular strappy silver heeled sandal is Chinese Laundry from Nordstrom (priced for under $100).
I love how the silver pumps are perfectly matched with the Proenza Schouler dress on the far right, bringing out the white detailing in the printed fabric.
All three looks are a spectacular example of how to wear a red dress with silver shoes! On a side note, silver shoes are actually a great staple to have in your wardrobe as they match with almost any hue.
They’re also an easy solution to the frequently asked question of what color shoes with navy dresses to wear!).
Shop Silver Shoes & Heels:
5. Clear Heels with Red Dresses
Trendy, fun and somewhat festive, clear heels are all the rage right now! How to wear clear heels? With bold colored dresses like red! Choose from fully transparent straps to bejeweled clear pumps.
Shop Clear Heels for Women:
6. White Shoes with Red Dresses
Great for Spring/Summer! Especially if you live in snowy winter wonderland Toronto. The alternative to black or silver shoes is a bright white boot, sandal or sneaker with your red dress outfit.
Less bold than black, but still contrasting (depends much on skin-tone & tights -if any- chosen), white shoes are the freshest of them all, when parked against a red dress.
White sneakers look amazing with a simple red style of dress & are a great way to dress down the vibrancy of the scarlet outfit. Obviously not the best choice, however, if off to a romantic Valentine’s dinner 😉
White sneakers and heels are some of my fave shoes to wear with black dresses, if you haven’t read that post of mine yet!
Shop White Shoes & Heels:
7. Red Dress Blue Shoes
If you’re feeling like pushing the fashion envelope, a red dress with blue shoes is a great & unexpected outfit mix.
Keep the purse simple or over-the-top. But as long as the dress & shoe type makes sense, this red and blue combo is even more fun & eye catching way to wear with red dress outfits. Or any red outfits, for that matter!
Shop Blue Shoes:
8. Brown Shoes with a Red Dress
Can you wear a red dress with brown shoes? I’m on the fence about this one, because it’s a bit of a ‘tricky’ color, so to speak.
As you can see with the image on the far right: the model’s brown shoes are actually a very close match to her skin tone, making them pretty much nude for her.
The styling of the maxi dress in the middle with the chunky slides looks good because it matches the boho style of of the look.
In the pictures right above, brown/tan shoes with red dresses work well for more easy-going, less dressy looks. And particularly so if they match your skin tone and you want a leggy look!
Shop Brown Shoes & Heels:
Two-Tone Colored Shoes with Red Dresses
If all of the above shoe colors look great with a red dress, why shouldn’t a mix look just as good? Below are my favorite two-tone combinations of shoe shades to make your hot-hued dress look even better!
9. Black & White Shoes
If you can wear black shoes with a red dress as well as a pair of white ones, why not wear a two-tone shoe with your outfit?
Although it’s more tricky to style red with a black/white shoe, the simpler the dress, the easier it will be to style a colorblock shoe.
That being said, if you’re style savvy & have a good eye for detail, a more intricate black & white shoe with an even more complex printed dress can work.
Just check out how Neiman Marcus replicated Saint Laurent’s runway red/white/pink floral dress with a two-tone ancient Greek printed platform (above pic on the left).
It works really well, but not the easiest combo to pair! Then again, the dress isn’t completely red, now is it? 😉
Shop Black and White Shoes :
10. Gold or Blush Combo Shoes
If you take gold or nude shoes that have another color that, on its own, works well paired with red, then you’re good to go. Gold toe-caps on nude pumps looks amazing with Kirsten Bell’s intricate dress (left).
The heel “capped” black pointed-toe pumps look just as fabulous with the bow-waisted red dress on the far right. The black/blush floral pump in the middle is a surprisingly fun match!
Again, this last one is more difficult to put together, but the blush clutch & the black nail polish really brings the shoes & the dress together in an atypical & fun way.
11. Black Shoes with Metallic Embellishments
Again, if one shoe color works great with a red, why shouldn’t a bedazzled or studded shoe look good? Usually it will, so if you have some metallic or rhinestone adorned nude, black or white sandals, go ahead & wear them with your red dresses!
Now that sums up my what color shoes to wear with red dresses post, but that doesn’t mean other colors can’t look great too. A minimal red dress outfit with simple lines could look amazing with the following:
- Patent yellow pointed pumps
- Purple shoes
- Fuchsia heels
- Leopard print shoes
But…What About Red Shoes with a Red dress?
Going matchy-matchy with your shoes & red dress ONLY works if you’re going to a black tie/red carpet event. Or possibly going for a bridal or matchy prom look. Is that your case?
Then keep your shoes minimal, like Rosamund Pike did, at the Oscars here, wearing a stunning red lace gown with her what is Givenchy’s version of a red satin Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal.
If you’re specifically looking for what shoes to wear with a lace dress, click on the link to read more about the best shoes styles to choose, in my latest post.
If you MUST wear red shoes with your red frock & you’re keeping it more casual than glam, do it with a dark burgundy shoe or bootie, which will compliment your red dress.
Shop Red Shoes & Heels :
Shop Burgundy Shoes:
For more inspiration, find out here what to wear with red shoes & shop some pretty burgundy numbers, below:
Final Thoughts on What Color Shoes for Red Dresses
One thing to keep in mind is that when wearing red, is it’s best to go for bold contrast or barely-there shoe looks.
Although personal taste is subjective, the colors listed up above will do your red outfit the most justice & can easily be considered your easy go-tos.
So hopefully I solved your red dress dilemma. If not, please a comment below & be sure to let me know how I can help you shoe-style your dress!
PS: If you’re looking for an even more statement-making dress, check out ShoeTease’s styling guide to the best shoes to wear with sequin dresses, skirts and pants!
Love skinny jeans? Find out which shoes with skinny jeans look best, here!
xo ShoeTease