Is there a place for Italian/French shoes in a classic wardr

[uppercase]

I love the elongated, sleek, whippet like silhouettes and patina of these shoes.
Think Berluti, Corthay, Aubercy, Scafora, etc. etc.

But can they be worn with an essentially conservative, English leaning wardrobe, of flannels, tweeds with larger, fuller proportions?

I ask because I dug out a pair of Berlutis today and they felt very alien , as if they were someone else's shoes, when paired with the kind of casual clothes I have been wearing lately of Scottish knitwear, flannels and English field jackets. And they felt too flashy as well. I had to run looking for an English shoe, round, fat and stubby.

Can the twain meet? The English wardrobe and the continental shoe?. The continental wardrobe and the English shoe ?

Are these French /Italian shoes just flash gems only to be worn with a matching slim modern and stylish continental wardrobe? Or maybe not worn at all??

[raykalendek]

I love the elongated, sleek, whippet like silhouettes and patina of these shoes.
Think Berluti, Corthay, Aubercy, Scafora, etc. etc.

As well as Bettanin & Venturi, Bontoni, Septieme Leguer, Caulaincourt, etc, etc. etc...
My feeling is that most of the styles of shoes made by these makers are a bit too forward for conservative business ensembles. Of course, I speak from the perspective of a man nearing 60. This being said, I love wearing some of the shoes of these makers with more casual attire.

Are these French /Italian shoes just flash gems only to be worn with a matching slim modern and stylish continental wardrobe? Or maybe not worn at all??

They are flashy, perhaps too flashy for some; however, I believe that there is, at least for me, a place in the wardrobe for shoes such as these. They can be beyond great when properly combined. Think Corthay Arca, Bettanin & Venturi Vento or Bontoni Violino.

[alden]

My thoughts on the subject as published in Esquire UK have not changed:

Shoes are to be heard but not seen. The crisp clack on the pavement when we walk indicates the presence of good leather and not something made of formaldehyde pate. If you try to make a big fashion statement with your shoes you can be assured to wind up with your foot in your mouth. So, choose something black or brown with a round toe from Northampton. Shoes that come to us from south of Southampton and resemble deflated Pirellis or the fuselage of F-16s will get you sent packing to the back of the line. Remember that at this stage in our sartorial development we are simply trying to get past the third hurdle and want our potential mistress to glance past our shoes and back onto the sheet where she will check the box that says “OK, not a complete buffoon.” From there her eyes will move up our figure towards our faces where things can get more complicated.

Cheers

[hectorm]

I had to run looking for an English shoe, round, fat and stubby.

Nothing (not even a Fabergé egg) that you can describe as round, fat and stubby sounds like very elegant to me. And English shoes needn't be like that. RTWs Gaziano & Girling or Edward Green come to mind. Nobody would mistake them for flashy Corthays or flimsy JP Tods, but they are still stylish and flattering to the whole silhouette the way most Northampton traditional shoes (like Church's) are not.
At the same time, I agree with raykalendek, not all Italian and French shoes need to be showboats and they would stand their ground when matched with Savile Row tailoring. Although, of course, it would be too much of a stretch trying to pair them with a old tweed suit or a field jacket. But this mismatch would also happen with English business city shoes.