Timeless is a term that’s often thrown around by fashion pundits, but when it comes to men’s footwear, one of the most enduring dress shoe styles to this day is still the monk strap. It’s an odd name for a shoe, but there’s a very good reason for the religious tie-in.

Monk Strap History

During the 15th century in Europe, the life of a monk was relegated to worship and manual labour. Part of their daily ritual revolved around traversing the hills of Europe in order to reap, sow, plough, and bind crops for their villages.This was conducted arduously from sunrise to sunset and in order to carry out these tasks efficiently, the monks had to wear double strap sandals. In the hills, however, they required footwear with a bit more protection that wouldn’t slow down their work; therefore, a closed version of the sandal was devised as a practical and robust shoe that covered the foot.Since then, monk straps have entered the fashion realm and are more of a formal dress-code statement shoe than a manual labour shoe.

How To Wear Monk Straps

The beauty of the modern monk strap shoe is its ability to be worn both casually and formally. Make no mistake though, if you’re rocking monk straps, you will be noticed – for the right reasons.

Monk Straps With A Suit

The most stylish pairing for monk straps is a nicely tailored suit. Obviously, there are some colour rules to follow but they are pretty flexible these days. Like other dress shoes, black and brown monk straps are still the most versatile colours that can be matched with various suit colours and styles.

Monk Straps With Jeans

Keep the jeans fitted or slim and you have a winning look that straddles the fine line between formal, stylish, and smart casual.

Monk Straps With Chinos

For a purely fashionable statement, monk straps and chinos are the way to go. This combo is especially popular with the smart casual crowd and can often be seen at parties or race days.

Monk Straps With Shorts

One of the harder looks to pull off is the monk strap and shorts combo. It follows the same principle as suiting, and the only rule is no baggy shorts and no exposed socks.

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If you’re after a pair of monk straps to add to your wardrobe (which you should be, as they’re extremely stylish and versatile), we’ve rounded up the brands selling the absolute best monk strap shoes for men.

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