These are the only 3 shoes a guy needs in his closet

Regardless of personal choice, there are a few types of shoes every man should have in his arsenal.

We're not saying you should only have three pairs of shoes in your closet — we hope you have a little more variety than that. We're just saying these are the three shoes every guy must have in their closet, no matter his profession, age, or personal preference.

These three shoes are non-negotiable.

A shiny black pair of dress shoes

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For formal occasions, you're going to need a super-formal pair of shoes. The most formal possible is the shiny patent black that is customary to wear with black tie. 

No need to go crazy on these — you probably won't be wearing them very often. A pair from Calvin Klein like these ($110) aren't going to be great quality, but they'll hold up for the few times a year you wear them.

A brown, brogued pair of shoes

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Here is the workhorse of your shoe arsenal. A brown pair of semi-dress shoes can we worn with everything from a navy suit to work or a pair of jeans for a night out on the town.

Brown is the color you should choose because it is the most versatile color and can be worn with both navy and gray suiting.

For these, you're going to want to invest in quality. The very cheapest you should go, in our opinion, is Allen Edmonds. We love their brogued styles like the Leiden Wingtip Blucher ($395), but a plain toe version like Alden's Plain Toe Blucher ($559) also works.

A pair of weekend sneakers

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For every other time, you're going to need a casual shoe that can go across any season and most weekend or after-work situations. For that, we recommend what we've been touting for a while now: a sleek minimal white sneaker that will go with literally everything.

The best bang for your buck is the Rancourt & Co. court classics, which we think have the best look-to-quality ratio at the best price ($260). If you're looking for a more athletic-looking weekend sneaker, Adidas has you covered.

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