How to Match Your Leather Purse with Your Shoes and Accessories
I wasn’t planning to write this, to be honest. It just came to me while waiting for my oat milk flat white this morning—no one ever tells you how weirdly hard it is to get your bag and shoes to not fight each other. Not match, just… get along?
Last Tuesday I was running late (as usual) and I just grabbed whatever was by the door. White sneakers. Black leather tote. Oversized grey hoodie. Earrings I forgot I even owned. Looked in the elevator mirror and—meh. Something was off. Not ugly-off. Just... not right.
I mean, does it really matter if your purse and your shoes “go together”? Probably not if you're walking your dog or, I don’t know, buying bananas. But at work? Or out with friends? You feel it. Or maybe I just overthink these things.
Anyway.
Matching vs. Balancing. Learned That The Weird Way.
I used to think matching meant same color. Like, brown shoes = brown bag. Which is fine if you’re a mannequin at Zara. But real life? It’s too flat. I wore head-to-toe beige once and someone asked if I was okay. Since then I’ve been experimenting.
Now I do more… coordinating. So, for example:
My dark burgundy leather satchel (which I love even though it squeaks??) — I wear that with these off-white boots and a scarf that has this tiny red stripe most people wouldn’t notice. But I notice. That’s enough.
Some days I don’t even think about it. And then I catch my reflection somewhere and I’m like, “Oof, that purse looks like it came from someone else’s outfit.” That’s when I know I messed up.
Textures… Yeah, I Didn’t Expect That
I didn’t think leather could clash with… other leather? But it does. My shiny black crossbody—looks wrong with my matte boots. It’s too clean. Too stiff. It’s like when you wear full makeup with pajamas. The energy is weird.
But the brown slouchy tote I thrifted? It’s soft, kind of worn, goes with basically anything that doesn’t sparkle. Even canvas sneakers. That one’s my favorite, mostly ‘cause I dropped chocolate on it and no one can tell.
Oh, and metal stuff. Zippers. Buckles. If your bag has silver hardware, gold jewelry can sometimes feel like… static. Not always. But I try to pick one and go with it unless I’m in a mood. (Sometimes I am.)
Practical Bits — I Guess This is the “Tip” Part?
I don’t have a formula, but I do a few lazy checks:
If the bag has bold color, I keep the shoes chill.
If the shoes are super white, I avoid deep-black bags unless my outfit connects the dots.
If the leather texture screams “polished,” I won’t wear gym clothes with it. I learned that one the embarrassing way.
And sometimes I ignore all of this and wear whatever’s clean. Which is... most Tuesdays.
Anyway, not sure if this helps anyone, but if you’ve ever stood in front of a mirror wondering why your outfit feels off—it might be your bag giving you side-eye.
I found a few leather bags that don’t cause that problem, if you're curious: https://woyaza.com/