Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s internet friends has asked him the question.
Dear Manolo:
Please help. I am a CPA, and as such, I am accustomed to relying on rules to help me make decisions. I am unsure of the specifics on several shoe rules, so am turning to you, the highest authority thereon, for clarification.
I was of the belief that ladies should never wear black shoes with navy blue business clothing. I thought the rule was that navy blue, brown or cordovan were the only acceptable choices for shoe color. Have the rules changed?
In addition, what are the rules for the wearing of suede shoes? The wearing of suede shoes seems wrong to me during the day in the spring and summer, but okay during the day in the fall and winter, or anytime of the year at night. Please advise if such a rule exists.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Rebecca
Unlike the summer-only rule about the white shoes, which the Manolo suggests you mostly ignore, the rule about the navy blue clothes and the black shoes is one you should mostly not ignore.
The problem is that the navy blue does not have the glamourous connotations, instead we think of it as the professional or the nautical color, and thus when we pair it with the black shoes it has the potential to become too drab, or too uniform. (Black clothing and black shoes do not suffer from this drabness because black has the glamourous associations.)
The trick to the navy blue clothing is to wear the shoes that offer the color contrast, such as the tans, the cordovans, the creams (especially in the springtime), and if you wish to really make the statement, the light blues and the greens.
Here are the pair of the super fantastic, cream-colored Giuseppe Zanotti shoes to wear with the navy blue clothing.

As for the suede shoes being acceptable only in the fall or the winter, or during the nighttime, the Manolo does not consider this the rule so much as the powerful suggestion.
Finally, and most importantly, the Manolo asks his friend the CPA Rebecca, why is she worrying about the navy and the suede? Now that the tax day has passed, should she not be laying on the tropical beach with the Raspberry Jumborita and the cabaña boy?