You can do anything but don't step on our brown suede shoes

The Duke of Windsor first made them respectable when he sported them in the 1930s. The Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, routinely wears them beneath his rumpled suits.

But sales of men's brown suede shoes, once an icon of British footwear, have hit an all-time low.

Department story Debenhams announced yesterday that it had enlisted some of its top designers - Jeff Banks, Jasper Conran and John Rocha - to save the humble suede, whose popularity has plummeted in the last decade.

Prince Charles is known to wear them, and the film star Cary Grant was a fan. Romeo Beckham, of the fashion-conscious Beckham clan, stepped out in them at the age of six.

But the Queen was said to be "appalled" when Kate Middleton's father Mike wore them on an early visit to the palace - with a suit.

More damagingly, fashion experts say young men have come to associate them with "dreary suburbia", while a tidal wave of sports shoes is taking over the casual market.

"For years, this shoe has represented the sole of the nation," said Debenhams spokesman Tom Watson.

"All over the world, Britons are still renowned for wearing brown suede shoes with blue shirts. It's as well known as our penchant for afternoon tea, and we want to do all that we can to enable everyone to continue this great tradition".

Scottish fashion guru Tessa Hartman applauded the move. High-end brogue suedes still carry a fashionable "continental look", but the casual culture was pushing them out in favour of sports shoes, she said.

"The look nowadays is so casual, people aren't wanting to wear them any more, they are much more sport-orientated. The concept of getting designers to reinvent the suede shoe is great because we can do with a little more formality."

The Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, is credited with bringing the brown suede in from the cold, taking what was country footwear to town. He helped make them the shoe of choice for the Jaguar-driving, G&T-drinking man.

Actors Grant and Terry-Thomas cemented their popularity and sales soared in the 1960s and 70s, with brown suede worn alongside blue blazers, flannels and Pringle jumpers. They were common in golf clubs and among British Army officers.

Etiquette expert Liz Brewer yesterday called brown suede shoes "a British design classic", still perfect for country-house weekends. But sales began to falter towards the end of the 80s, during Margaret Thatcher's final years in power. They fell still further with Tony Blair's drive towards Cool Britannia in the 1990s.The only suedes Mr Blair was ever seen wearing were blue - to convey the casual atmosphere in a US stay with President George W Bush, in what was billed as a fashion faux-pas.

Mr Watson said the Debenhams designers would be asked to "develop a new approach which incorporates the best of classic style". Contrasting coloured laces could play to this season's colour-block trend, he said, while altering heel height or length and width could make the shoe more modern.

"However, any changes our designers make must still ensure that the shoe can be worn with blue shirts," he said.

"Though this combination is often derided in other countries, it undoubtedly makes a unique statement which some believe is the quintessential mark of a British man."