Do you know how to lace dress shoes or is it as simple as getting the lace through the eyelets?
You would think it is, but apparently, there is more to it than that, some touch of art.
Read our article on: How to clean white shoelaces
If you are hearing about dress shoes for the first time, they are probably not what you think. These are just regular shoes that you wear daily to the office, with your suit.
Sometimes, you have to add some art in the way that you tie your shoelaces. You can try a few patterns and see what comes out. Keep reading to see smart ways to lace up your nice shoes.
How to lace up mens dress shoes
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The way that you do your shoelaces is going to impact your overall look. Doing it with a touch of style and finesse will help a lot. Try these methods here:
Straight Bar Lace Style – how to straight lace dress shoes
This is the simplest and the most popular style for lacing up dress shoes. To use this method, get the shoelace to go into the eyelet passing over it rather than under it.
Start with the bottom most eyelet, with both ends of the shoelace going to the corresponding eyelets.
Under the eyelets, the shoelace will form a beautiful diagonal pattern. Keep pulling the lace tight so that it runs in a straight line all the time. By the time you get to the topmost eyelets, the shoelace will come out from under the eyelets.
The good thing with this shoe lacing style is that you need not tie the laces after you are done. Just tuck them into the shoes so that they stay out of sight.
Cross lacing style
If you need to know how to lace dress shoes in a unique style that could make you stand out in the crowd, you should try the cross lacing style.
Straighten the shoe laces. Just as the name suggests, using this style, the laces go over each other in a criss-crossed pattern.
To start, pass the lace ends into either bottom eyelet, but this time around, you are passing the laces from under the eye holes rather than over them.
To make the crisscross pattern, loop one end of the shoelace into the left eyelet and then loop it over again over the second eyelet on the right. Now, take the other end of the lace and re-loop it over the first bottom eyelet.
If you do this correctly, you are going to have a pattern that looks like ribbons. In the topmost eyelets, you will have a double strand of lace going into each eyelet. You can also tuck the lace ends into the shoes so that they stay out of sight.
How to lace navy dress shoes
Lacing navy dress shoes is almost the same as lacing shoes using the straight style. But in this case, you just need to start with the lace going under the eye holes at the bottom. You can then pass the lace end on the left and loop it through the right eyelet.
The right one goes to the left eyelet from the inside. Keep doing this with all the eyelets until the shoes are completely laced up.
How to lace dress shoes with 3 eyelets
There is no particular, recommended style for how to lace dress shoes with 3 eyelets. Some people just do the straight lacing style and some people think this is too boring, so they want to try something different, like crisscross lacing.
If the number of eyelets is three or other odd number such as five on each side, after looping both ends of the lace through the bottom eyelets, keep one end longer.
Take the longer end of the lace and loop it into the second eyelet, still on its side but from underneath the eyelet.
Pull the lace and loop it into the second eyelet on the opposite side, but this time, over the eyelet rather than from under it.
Now, you have both ends free and only two top eyelets remain. Take the shorter end of the lace that runs from the bottom eyelet and loop it into the top opposite eyelet.
You can loop the other (remember the longer) end on the top opposite eyelet and you are ready to tie the shoelaces.
That is how you tie laces in a shoe with just 3 eyelets.
How to lace dress shoes with 4 eyelets
The best and the fastest method to lace dress shoes with 4 eyelets is to use the straight line style.
Also called the straight bar lace style, insert one end of the shoelaces into the left bottom eyelet and do the same with the right bottom eyelet. Size the lace ends up so that they are of equal length.
Take the end of the lace on the left side and loop it through the second eyelet, still on the same side. Loop this same end of the shoelace over the second eyelet on the opposite side. Now, take the same end of the lace and loop it to the topmost eyelet.
By now, you have three empty eyelets – one on the top and the third eyelet. Take the second end of the lace and loop it through the third eyelet, on the side where the first eyelet went through the topmost eyelet.
Loop it over and through the third eyelet on the other side and then loop it through the top eyelet. Now, you are finished and you are ready to tie the shoelaces when you wear the shoes.
How to lace dress shoes with 5 eyelets
In this case too, straight bar lacing works well with an odd number of eyelets. Loop both ends of the shoelace into both bottom eyelets, over them.
Make sure one end of the shoelaces is longer than the other. Take the left end of the lace and insert it into the second eyelet from under. You can then loop it over and through the second eyelet on the other side.
Skip one eyelet and insert the lace into the fourth eyelet. Loop it over the opposite, fourth eyelet. Loop the same end through the fifth eyelet on the top.
Take the second lace end and pass it through the third loop from underneath. Continue to loop it over and through the opposite eyelet. Loop the same end to the last eyelet (on the same side) and you are done.
That is how to lace dress shoes using different styles for different number of eyelets. The best one is the straight bar lacing style.