Most people have a variety of shoes in their closet, including sandals, sneakers, casual and dress shoes. No matter what taste in shoes a person may have, the one color you can find in just about every closet is a black shoe.

One of the things that make black shoes so popular is that they compliment just about every outfit. They can transition from jeans to an evening gown or casual slacks to a tuxedo. Most men can get away with owning one or two pairs, because they usually wear business suits or casual apparel that will go with a basic black loafer. Women on the other hand wear a variety of clothes, so they may have different types of sandals, such as ones with flat heels or strappy ones with high heels. They also have a variety of pumps, boots and casual black shoes, so they are prepared for any type of occasion. Many women's shoe stores offer fancy clips for shoes in rhinestone or other gem types. These clips can change a casual black pump to an elegant shoe worthy of a cocktail party. These clips make great accessories, because a woman can now dress up a comfortable casual shoe and look great without giving up their comfort.

Another great benefit to having black shoes is that they are less likely to show wear like scuff marks, or dirt and scratches. If you scuff them while on your way to go dancing, no one has to be the wiser. This is not the case when wearing shoes of a lighter color.

Athletes are now favoring black sports shoes for the same reason. It's rare to see the white sneakers of the old days that started off looking clean and were soiled by the end of a sports match. Black sports shoes can look as good as they did when they arrived at the event, when it's time for the athlete to go home. You will now see them adorning the feet of many baseball and soccer players for this very reason.

Black shoes that do get scuffed or dusty are easily cleaned with a damp cloth and can regain their luster by using a good black shoe polish. This adds to their appeal because lighter colored shoes may not clean as well. You can get black shoe polish that has a "scuff" remover ingredient that make your damaged shoes look like new again. This means the shoes will be wearable for a longer period of time than their lighter cousins.