Our experts believe that business casual shoes should be defined by the looks of the shoes, not the styles—i.e., even sneakers can work if they are dressy enough. "I'd say business casual shoes can mean anything between a sneaker and a hard-soled dress shoe, which includes some of my favorite shoes, like moccasins, penny loafers, bluchers, desert boots, driving mocs, and deck shoes," says Michael Bastian, the Creative Director at Brooks Brothers.

John Peters, the CEO of footwear brand Amberjack echoes and zooms in on the sentiment of "anything works" by suggesting shoes that can work well with slacks, khakis, or suit pants as the best business casual shoes—so please, nothing too funky! "That usually means brown or black lace-up dress shoes, boots, or loafers with a leather or suede upper... nice leather sneakers can definitely work for a more smart casual look," says Peters.

All in all, the look is all that matters. For dress shoes, Oxfords, brogues, derbies, loafers, or even monk strap shoes—so long they look the part, they'll work. For dress boots, chukka boots and Chelsea boots are both no-brainers for business casual shoes