How to Pick the Perfect Color Tieks – For Your First Pair or 50th!

Whether you’ve been considering Tieks for a while or have just heard about the beautiful flats with the bright blue sole, you’re probably stuck on one important question: what color Tieks do I buy?

I’ll be honest: I knew I wanted matte black Tieks for my first pair from the beginning… but now that I’ve gone through two pairs, I’m ready for a change, and I don’t know which color or style I want yet! To help myself – and to help you – I put together a quiz! Answer five short questions and I’ll redirect you to what I think is the perfect pair for you.

If you don’t want to take the quiz – or you want to do it yourself – read on to think through the same questions I ask in the quiz.

This post was originally published in November 2019, and was updated in March 2021 with a brand new table of discontinued colors and alternatives.

1. Pick a Style of Tieks

Tieks offers four ‘styles’ of flats: Classic, Patent, Print, and Vegan. Here’s a quick breakdown of each:

• Classic Tieks are their traditional matte leather flat in solid colors – with one exception: as of late 2019 they have a suede classic called Rouge. These are a great style to start with because they’re less bold than some of the other styles.
• Patent Tieks are also solid color flats, but they’re made with patent leather instead of matte leather. They have a lot more shine and usually the colors pop! a bit more.
• Print Tieks are a mix of different materials – some are matte leather, some are patent leather, some are metallic or animal-print leather… but they’re all different patterns and prints (rather than one solid color).
• Vegan Tieks are made using animal-free textiles. Tieks currently offers five Vegan styles: four woven textiles and one ‘wool.’ This style comes in both solid and patterns.

So as you can tell, it helps to narrow down your style first – that’s why it’s the first question on my quiz above! Once you know you style, then you can start to choose which color/print you might want.

2. Pick How Much You Want to Wear Your Tieks

If you’re making an investment in Tieks (are Tieks really worth it?), you might want to wear them everyday – or maybe you’re just investing in them for a special occasion (wedding, big party, etc.). Keep this in mind when you browse different colors and prints – do you want to wear them with everything in your wardrobe, or just a few items?

Personally, I wear my Tieks pretty much everyday and everywhere – Jordan, Greece, London, at home in the San Francisco Bay Area, you name it! So for this one, I’m all about versatile colors and prints.

If you want to wear your Tieks with everything in your wardrobe, I recommend going for a more neutral, versatile color and/or classic style or print. If you’re purchasing them for a special occasion, you can go with a big bold color, print, or style (red patent leather, baby!). This is why my second question was about whether you want a versatile or bold Tieks color in my quiz. It really does help narrow down your choices.

My Top 3 Picks for Your First Tieks

If you don’t want to take the quiz for how to pick Tieks (or don’t like your answer), here are my top three suggestions for what color Tieks to buy first:

1. Matte Black – Black goes with everything! Both my first and second pair of Tieks were matte black, and I love having a LBS (little black shoe) in my wardrobe.
2. Rouge – If you want a pair that’s a little more bold, consider the new Rouge suede Tieks. They’re bright but not blinding, and the suede material is classy and classic.
3. Leopard Print – If you’re keen on adding some pattern to your wardrobe, Leopard is a classic print that goes with pretty much everything.

3. Think About What You Love

The final three questions in my quiz about how to pick Tieks and which color Tieks to buy are all about your interests – because these questions reveal a lot about you:

• What did you want to be when you grew up?
• If you could hop on a plane tomorrow, where would you go?
• What’s your favorite holiday to celebrate?

Using these three questions, I mapped a bunch of popular Tieks styles to different answers to try and help you find the perfect color and style. For example, if you wanted to be an Actress growing up, Aquarella or Ruby Red might be perfect for you. If New Year’s Eve is your favorite day to celebrate, you might love Starstruck – whereas big fans of St. Patrick’s Day should probably go with Clover Green. You see what I mean: the answers to these questions reveal a lot about you and hopefully help you choose the perfect pair.

If you don’t want to take the quiz, you can still do this on your own. Think about what you love, the moments, places, and people you celebrate, and where you’ll most likely wear your Tieks and feel like a star in them. Then browse the Boutiek to see which call out to you.

4. Commit Before They’re Gone!

Over the years, Tieks styles and colors come and go… And they never give warning when they’re planning to retire a style or color. In the summer of 2019, they had a whole line of neon Tieks – and now they’re gone! You then have to find a substitute for that perfect pair you fell in love with… which is a little bummer. So don’t hesitate when you pick your perfect Tieks color!

Discontinued Tieks Colors & Alternatives

Here are some of the most popular Tieks colors that are now discontinued – and alternatives.

All this to say: if you use my quiz or just pick a style you like from the Boutiek, don’t wait too long… they might disappear! Still on the fence because of other questions about Tieks (including ones like “are Tieks worth it?” and “how well do Tieks last?”)? I’ve got a whole post of Tieks FAQ and my own Tieks review for you.

Which color Tieks is perfect for you? Let me know in the comments!

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