It is commonly said, the best way to understand whether a man is well dressed is to look down.

And in the words of Hardy Amies, dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II, “It is totally impossible to be well dressed in cheap shoes. But to fail to look after shoes is profligacy.”

If there is one tip to give to improve the look of your shoes, it would be about how to tie the shoelaces. We must pay attention to this detail because specific lacing styles are suited for different shoes.

Bar Lacing

Bar lacing

This is a perfect option for Oxford shoes as the laces are parallel to one another and achieves it’s historical, classic look. Choose a thin round black lace with the length of 80cm. Most Oxfords have 5 rows of slots and when lacing an odd amount, remember to keep one side of the shoe lace a few centimeters shorter, starting with the longer end.

Other Refined Classic Dress Shoe Methods

Bow Tie, European and Roman lacing

A few to try are the Bow Tie and the European lacing. These show the crosses and horizontal lines. As well as the Roman lacing showing an alternating series of lines and crosses.

The Slim Double Knot

Double Knot

If your shoes are always untying, this is the elegant alternative to the standard chunkier look. To start, tie half a knot and create a loop. Wrap the other lace around the loop twice. Then pull the other end through the loop. This is a similar procedure to tying a bow tie.

Barrel Knot

Barrel knot

Also known as the Heaving Line Knot, it is classic lacing for the Boat shoe. Creating a decorative coil instead of a standard knot. Each end is coiled around itself, wrapped skin side inwards. The end is put through the keyhole made at the top of the coil.

A Quick Yet Efficient Knot

Begin by holding each lace with the tips pointing in opposite directions. Bring them together and grab underneath each other and pull through. It creates a half knot. Repeat this step again but do not pull the ends of the laces all the way through.

Lattice or the Double Back

There are thousands of techniques you can achieve when tying laces. 43,200 styles for six pairs of slots, to be exact. These two are some of the more unconventional but attractive approaches. Both these are used for a casual look and are also appropriate for longer laces.

A great advantage of understanding alternative techniques of tying laces is to be able to add flair to a dress shoe or personality to a casual look.