How to Pick a Shoe Color Part 3b: Cool Metallics (Pewter/Silver)

In this warm weather footwear series, I am reviewing our choices when we select a shoe color for our outfits.

Previous posts in the series:

Part 1: Match Your Skin Tone (Nude to You)

Part 2: Match Your Hair (Bookend)

Part 3a: Warm Metallics (Gold)

Today we'll continue our examination of metallic options with the cool-tone colors of pewter and silver.

As a recap, here are some of the benefits of wearing metallic shoes:

• Metallic footwear works as a neutral, so it is easy to add to an outfit no matter the color palette.

• It adds shine, glam, and a bit of a dressy vibe to an outfit.

• It offers a surprising/paradoxical "low key statement" element to a look.

• It can create a harmonious bookended look when you repeat the metal color from your jewelry in the top half of your outfit in your shoes.

• Depending on your hair color, it can double as a "match your hair color" option.

• Depending on your skin color, it can double as a variant of the "match your skin tone" option.

As I discussed in my how to stack bracelets post, I divide my metals into 3 categories:

--Warm-tone metals: gold, brass, bronze, copper

--Cool-tone metals: silver, pewter, gunmetal, platinum

--Rose gold

In this post, I'll talk about my metallic shoes in the cool category, specifically a pair of pewter loafers. Cool-tone metals look great with my skin tone, but because my hair is golden blonde, they do not create a bookend look with my hair (though they will once I start getting grey hair). But if you have ash blonde hair or hair that is greying/silvering, these cool options are a terrific choice. My shoes are loafers but metallic ballet flats, sandals, and sneakers (and heels, if you roll that way) are all excellent ways to go.

Pewter Loafers

I bought these Madden Girl shoes at Kohls in December 2020 for $4.75 (the rest of the price was covered by Kohls Cash). They have a nice snakeskin pattern and are the pointy-toed version that I prefer in loafers due to their sleeker profile. The color is interesting because it has a pink quality to it; if "rose silver" or "rose pewter" were a thing like rose gold is, that's what I'd call the color. So far I have worn them 17 times, for a cost per wear (CPW) of $0.28, and they have a lot of wears left in them because they are basically in immaculate condition.

As with my gold loafers, I wear these pewter loafers with pants, not skirts or dresses. I tend to wear them more in the cooler spring and fall periods than in summer, but I do have some warm and semi-warm weather OOTD photos to share examples of how I've styled them. With my pink skin tone, these loafers are arguably a better "match your skin tone" option for me than beige shoes are!

Outfit #1: 5/12/22

Outfit #2: 5/6/22

Outfit #3: 2/28/22

Outfit #4: 6/3/21

Outfit #5: 5/13/21

No discussion of cool metallic colors on the feet could be complete without showing the wonderful black and silver stylings of the Silver Marten rabbit! The Silver Marten originated with grey Chinchilla rabbits. Breeders in the US attempted to enhance the color of Chinchillas by breeding them with Tan rabbits. (In the rabbit world, the terms tan/otter/marten refer to bunnies with the recessive genes that produce a solid color on the top of the body but lighter fur around the eyes and head and down the belly and feet. The Tan breed is mostly black with tan edges.) This cross breeding of Chinchillas and Tans produced some "strange little black rabbits" with the Tan color pattern but with silver instead of tan fur. The "strange" rabbits were bred to each other to develop the black Silver Marten we know and love today! Isn't the combination of black and silver gorgeous?

Do you like wearing silver, pewter, or other cool-tone metallic shoes? If you were to wear a metallic shoe for spring/summer, would you prefer flats, loafers, heels, sandals, and/or sneakers?

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