Down with the brown: black gets all the raves, but brown is no slouch in the style department

The last time you saw brown shoes, they were probably propped up on your Grandpa's La-Z-Boy footrest. Yeah, right next to his denture cleanser, just behind his hearing aid, on top of the AARP Bulletin.

But dorky dadwear they are not. Brown shoes are back, and they're kicking up a storm.

First, they're a lot more versatile than you probably imagined. (Bet you didn't know that brown goes great with gray, for example.)

Second, brown is a helluva lot like the World Series. That is to say it's a Fall Classic. (Added bonus: None of these shoes has been accused of improperly taking anabolic steroids.)

And let's not forget that, because it's been relatively out of fashion for so long, brown almost has an underground chic to it these days. Now black is practically boring, while brown is the revolutionary color. The soles--make that the roles--have been reversed.

So whether you pick slip-ons or wingtips, brown shoes will take you straight from the boardroom to the bar for happy hour. How's that for wardrobe multi-tasking? Maybe Gramps had the right idea after all. Then again, Grammy dressed him.

BROWN SHOE-GAR

(clockwise from top right) Parker Oxford by Cole Haan, $184; Touch of Class by Kenneth Cole Reaction, $135; Faulkner by Johnston & Murphy, $170; Fashion Trend by Geox, $175; Lance by Johnston & Murphy, $160; Filato by Salvatore Ferragamo, $445; and (center) Limerock by Sebago, $90

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