Red Dress, Perfect Shoes: What Shoes to Wear With a Red Dress

If you play it safe with fashion, we love understated neutral tones that let red shine while still pulling the look together effortlessly. These shades are also our go-tos for highly embellished or hard-to-match styles, they keep the focus on your statement dress without competing for the spotlight. Here's a glance at our favorite versatile and foolproof pairings when the thought of going too bold with red makes you blush.

Nude, Beige, Brown, & Blush Shoes

Skin-tone colors create a leg-lengthening effect by continuing the shade seamlessly all the way to your toes. The trick is choosing a nude tone that complements your skin for a smooth, easy transition from ankle to shoe. While classic nude pumps or strappy sandals give you mile-long pins, point-toe flats and cute wedges are great when the goal is comfort over vixen. Subtle textures like suede or mock croc shoes add interest while keeping the monotone effect. Skin-tone neutrals also tame a red dress a bit for daytime events, summer weddings, or any other occasion where the vibe is more minimalist than red-hot. We highly recommend consulting our list of The 10 Best Nude Pumps for shoes that give height under bold red. (Image credit: @catherinevilhem)

Meet the red dress with the black shoe—the ultimate glam power couple. While this look stands the test of time, there's no harm in freshening it up with some contemporary shoe designs.

A black shoe under a red dress works for evening and formal events. Choose black whenever your goal is to make a sleek, noticeable contrast that amplifies the bewitching, bedazzling power of a red dress. With that said, a black shoe can actually skew a look elegant or bold depending on the material. For instance, high-gloss patent leather or silky-finish satin brings more of an Old Hollywood glamour look to a red dress/black shoe combo. Meanwhile, a matte black finish is bolder and more modern.

Our favorite styles for black shoes with red dresses are classic black stilettos or black pumps that play up red's bombshell reputation. For a sultry look that's a little de-escalated, we love kitten heels. To modernize this look, we suggest strappy block heels or knee-high boots. Avoid a block-pattern look by marrying black into the rest of the outfit using a black belt or clutch with the same type of finish as your black heels. (Image credit: @anastasiia_ivanova_ny)

Yes, you can be the girl with the clean, effortless aesthetic and the "red dress" girl all at the same party. We love the slightly preppy, slightly bold look of white and cream shoes with red. These light, bright neutrals create a polished look when styled with intention.

Versatile, underutilized neutrals work with both cool-toned and warm-toned reds. White shoes bring a crisp, minimal vibe to red with wisps of preppy, posh styling. Meanwhile, cream shades add softness, warmth, and gentle femininity to red. We consider both great alternatives to black shoes in summer months.

Our powerhouse picks for white and cream color shoes for red dress include cream ballet flats, white slingbacks, off-white strappy sands, white heels, and white mule sandals. Go gorgeously classic by styling with ivory or pearl accessories that wink at your shoe choice. (Image credit: @amaiarasantos)

If you’re looking to elevate your red dress with a little sparkle, metallic shoes are your go-to. While both silver and gold shoes work with dresses, they work differently depending on the dress tone and the occasion.

Silver for Cool Tones, Gold for Warm Tones

We swear by silver shoes with cherry, crimson, or cool red for galas or winter weddings for a look of silvery snowflakes against ripe, glossy holly berries. Gold flatters warm reds like tomato or brick—making it a great pick for fun parties or summer events.

Metallic tones look graceful on mules, pumps, sandals, strappy heels, and ballet flats. Make the look cohesive by matching party shoes with your accessories. Some of our favorites include subtle necklace chains with stick earrings, disco-ball clutch purses, or metallic nail polish. (Image credit: @saraurgera)

Want to go bold? Matching red shoes to your red dress is a powerful fashion move that turns heads every time. When done smartly and intentionally, a monochrome look is sophisticated and daring. While this may seem like a move that's purely to make a statement, it's practical for between-seasons events because many of the best transitional footwear finds come in red. 

Matching Red Heels, Flats, and Sandals

The first step to red radiance from head to toe is fully committing. To achieve the "pop" that comes from a fully monochrome look, find red dress color shoes that match perfectly. If you either can't or don't want to match 100%, select a tonal variation with shoes that are two to four shades darker than the shade of your dress. It's important to give at least two shades of distance to make this look intentional instead of a "close, but not quite right" match.

Classic red pumps and strappy sandals are best for going all in on the ravishing red aesthetic. For more casual, go with kitten heels or mules. For living proof of the power of red monochrome magic, think back to Simone Ashley in a strapless Prada dress and Christian Louboutin red satin sandals at Cannes 2025 this past May.

Playing With Textures: Patent, Suede, Velvet

Not satisfied until every head in the room is turned? Add visual interest by mixing textures. Think a matte red dress against slick, wet-looking patent leather heels or a silk red dress over velvet shoes. Red velvet is a moody, romantic dream in winter. Meanwhile, patent leather offers year-round polish. (Image credit: @ninnanatsvlishvili)

For the style risk-taker, this is your moment to flex your confidence with patterned shoes under a red dress. When done right, it's an unexpected twist that makes an outfit unforgettable.

First, decide if you want your look to be summertime sweet or sleek and modern. For a glam-meets-edgy vibe, it's animal prints. Think leopard, snakeskin, or zebra. For springtime and summertime garden parties or weddings, it's floral. Not feeling either one? There's always cute dots, preppy stripes, or retro geometric prints for the middle ground.

While rules are pretty loose, do pick a pattern with a hint of red or complementary tone like gold, white, or black to keep the look cohesive. Patterned shoes work best with solid red dresses with simple silhouettes. Keep the rest of the outfit minimal to let the shoes pop without visual conflict. The best shoe types for this look are patterned slingbacks, block heels, ballet flats, or printed boots. (Image credit: @jessicamulroney) 

Red dresses aren’t just for date nights and special occasions—here’s how we love to style them with casual, comfy shoes for everyday wear.

Red dresses instantly look sporty and fresh when dressed down with crisp white sneakers, slide sandals, flat sandals with stylish straps, espadrilles, lug-sole loafers, or platform slip-ons. These looks keep a red dress elevated and chic while making the outfit comfortable and appropriate for brunch, errands, travel, or weekend plans. For an elevated casual aesthetic, we love tank dresses, wrap midis, and shirt dresses in breathable fabrics that bring you from the beach to the brunch table with ease.

To accessorize everyday red dresses over casual shoes, a denim jacket is classic. We also love a belt bag for that on-the-go aesthetic over white sneakers or breezy slides. (Image credit: @ikojnlive)

For a trendy, barely-there look that draws no glances from your red dress, clear and mesh shoes reign. Clear heels, mesh mules, or lucite sandals also visually elongate the legs, making it no surprise that clear and mesh shoes are trending so hard right now. 

We love clear and mesh styles for cocktail parties, weddings, or any event begging for a fashion-forward moment. The point of clear shoes isn't actually for your shoes to disappear. Play up the naked illusion by adding crystal accents or colored soles. We also recommend prioritizing comfortable, soft mesh styles with breathability over rigid fits. (Image credit: @salvigupta16)

If you’re feeling adventurous, red pairs surprisingly well with unexpected shades that make a major style statement. We're embracing color theory and complementary shades for bold styling at the moment to make the most of what's already in our closets. Let's talk about the unexpected shades that flatter red.

Emerald, Jade, and Forest Green

Go ahead and unleash your inner forest goddess with lush shades of emerald, jade, and forest green. Red and green match vibrancies as opposites on the color wheel. It's like the contrast of fire and ice—only with much juicier colors. While green is associated with nature, red conjures primal energy. We love a red dress with green shoes for creative events, holiday parties, or garden weddings when you want to embody a mixture of excitement (red) and tranquility (green). Satin heels, strappy sandals, and pointed green loafers all do the trick. 

Navy, Royal Blue, or Cobalt

For a scaled-down contrast compared to green shoes, footwear in the blue family offers a more subtle pop that still looks intentional and statement-making. Blue tones look amazing with cool-toned berry or burgundy reds. For this, we suggest blue shoes paired with structured dresses or flowing silhouettes in a midi length or shorter to let your bold shoes peek out. Finish with a navy bag and silver jewelry to keep the palette within the same color-season. (Image credit: @nichelifestyle)