This Is How to Lace Dress Shoes for a Wedding
Your shoelaces are more important than you may think.
Believe it or not, knowing how to lace dress shoes can make or break your wedding guest look. While that may seem like a lofty claim, there's a reason why A-list Hollywood celebrities favor one particular style of shoe lacing on the red carpet. Formal events, such as weddings, call for special attention to detail when completing your look, and that includes how you tie your shoelaces. To break it all down, we spoke to both Jenni Lee, expert fashion stylist and founder of Style Club, and Lily Ertischek, SuitShop style editor, for their expert insight. From the different types of shoe lacing to how to lace up dress shoes, we've covered all of the basics, so you'll be lacing your shoelaces like a star in no time.
In this article:
How to Lace Dress Shoes
You may be surprised to learn that there isn't a one-size-fits-all way to lace up your dress shoes. While you could experiment with different ways to lace them, the two most common ways are straight bar and criss-cross lacing. "Straight bar shoe lacing can be a bit more formal compared to criss-cross lacing, since the more minimalist look gives a bit more polish to the overall feel of the shoe," Ertischek explains. "Criss-cross lacing, with its more busy and everyday look, can be seen as more casual. Ultimately, though, both lacing styles look lovely and appropriate on any pair of dress shoes."
The type of dress shoe lacing you decide on depends on the wedding dress code and formality. Straight bar lacing is the more formal option and is the most common fail-safe choice for wedding guest attire. When in doubt, we recommend straight bar lacing as the default when it comes to men's dress shoes for weddings. "For black-tie and white-tie affairs, opt for the more formal straight-bar style. You'll come off as polished and quite literally on your toes. It shows you're stepping up with attention to the smallest detail," Lee advises. "The exception would be an outdoor wedding, garden party, or event where the terrain may be more rugged or you'll be walking on uneven surfaces—then criss-cross provides better stability."
FEATURED VIDEO FROM THE KNOT
Best Dress Shoes for Criss-Cross Laces:
- Brogues
- Derbies
- Wingtips
- Dress boots
- Casual-style oxfords
Best Dress Shoes for Straight Bar Laces:
- Patent leather dress oxfords
- Tuxedo shoes
- Formal suit shoes
Straight Bar Lacing Steps
"The straight bar style is the more formal option, creating clean horizontal lines across the shoe front," Lee explains. "It originated in military dress uniforms and photographs beautifully with its precise, uninterrupted lines." Later on, this became a popular lace style for classic Hollywood movie stars of the '40s and '50s who needed "camera-ready sophistication," Lee says.
Straight Bar Lacing Method
While it looks straightforward, straight bar lacing can be a bit tricky if you've never done it before, especially because it varies slightly depending on the number of eyelets on your shoes. This method takes a bit more effort to adjust once it's laced up, so straight lace shoes will fit slightly differently on the foot than traditional criss-cross lacing. "Straight bar lacing is a great way to give yourself a slightly roomier fit in your shoe or to dress up your footwear," Ertischek shares.
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- Lace the bottom eyelets: To start straight lacing your shoes, begin by lacing your shoelace over the bottom pair of eyelets in a straight line as you would any pair of shoes.
- Cross the lace horizontally across to the next eyelet: Then "feed the lace from one hole to the one directly opposite," Ertischek explains.
- Thread the lace underneath: Next, thread the lace underneath the other side and up two holes. You will need to skip a hole so that the laces going horizontally across can alternate sides from left to right.
- Repeat: Repeat on the left and right sides as you make your way up the sides. The goal is to have the laces hidden underneath the eyelets instead of criss-crossing underneath.
- Tie the laces at the top: Once you've laced all the way up, you can tie the laces at the top and tuck them away into your shoe. If your shoes have an odd number of eyelets, you will have to loop the top lace across one more time in order to have a lace end on both the left and right sides. Pro tip: You'll have to account for this extra crossover by adjusting the length to be a bit longer on one side when you begin lacing on a pair of dress shoes with an uneven number of eyelets.
FAQ About Lacing Dress Shoes
Now that you know how to properly lace dress shoes, you might have a few questions about how to complete your wedding guest look. From styling tips to what kind of shoes go best with each lace type, below we've broken down some common FAQs about how to lace up dress shoes.
What are the proper laces for dress shoes?
Most men's formal dress shoes come with round laces in a color that's tonal to the rest of the shoe. Typically, these round laces are considered more formal than the flat laces you see on sneakers and casual shoes. For a more lenient dress code, you could opt to switch out your laces for a daring colorful or patterned shoelace.
Can you tie dress shoe laces into a bow?
Lee's rule when it comes to men's dress shoes is to always tuck the bow away out of sight. "In my 20+ years styling for red carpets, high-stakes photoshoots, and on-stage events, we never leave lace ends visible on formal footwear. It's considered unfinished styling—like forgetting to remove jacket sleeve tags, leaving the X-thread on the back of a jacket or keeping shirt collar stays in. All the details count to create the full look."
Besides the fashion faux pas of leaving the laces out, dress shoe laces are much shorter than those on casual shoes and sneakers, so the bow could easily come undone. We suggest you tuck the laces in to avoid any potential wardrobe malfunction, though the decision of whether to bow or not to bow truly comes down to a matter of personal preference. "It just comes down to the aesthetic you want for your shoes—and the full outfit they're a part of," Ertischek tells us.
How do you hide the laces on dress shoes?
The easiest way to hide your lace ends is to simply tuck them underneath the tongue of the shoe. You could also invest in a pair of elastic no-tie shoelaces to eliminate the bow altogether.
How do you know which lacing method is best for different dress shoes?
"Straight bar lacing pairs best with the more formal shoes," Lee tells us. "Think glossy patent leathers, sleek Oxfords where the eyelets are sewn under the vamp, cap-toe Oxfords with their horizontal toe line mimicking the straight lines of the laces, and the minimalist design of whole-cut dress shoes.
For criss-cross lacing, go with highly decorative options such as wingtips and full brogues or derbys. They all have a more relaxed construction and curved details that complement the crossover lines of the lacing style."
