Take a Double--Cognac Shoes!

I had a friend come to visit from San Francisco this week and she arrived wearing this amazing pair of very orange cognac leather boots. They made such a great statement and ended up being quite a versatile travel shoe, working with almost every outfit she packed. We went out on the town the next day and she wore them again. She literally got compliments every 10-15 minutes on her boots. By the end of the afternoon we would start laughing when someone would ask her about them. They had a pretty basic shape, but the color had huge impact while still acting as a neutral.

She just left this morning, and ironically, as I sat down to my computer, this picture showed up on a  great blog I read called Por Homme.

Cognac shoes have been around for a long time, but they come in a very wide range of colors. To shake things up a bit, seek out a pair that is heavy on the orange tones. Besides adding some variety to your footwear, orange is such a great color for fall, but difficult for some skin tones to pull off. By wearing it on your feet you get the great benefit of some pop while not competing with your coloring. Wear them casually as shown here, or get a matching belt and pair them with a dark charcoal suit for some very classy high contrast!

This great pair of shoes from The Frye Company available on Zappos can be worn to the office or juxtaposed with some faded jeans and a sport coat for a hot Friday night look.

If you like the boot route, check out this pair by The Cool People. Be sure to show off the boot by wearing a shorter hem or rolling your pant!

**Shopping Tip**  Do not try to shop for a matching belt without having your shoes with you. As I mentioned before, there are many colors of cognac leather out there and no matter how well you think you remember the color in your head, there is a high probability the two won't match when you get home.

What do you think of this classic way to add some punch to your fall style?