Formal footwear

[Downunder Kilt]

Here are some formal shoes that I recently acquired, I just added the buckles. The marks in photo 1 you can see, on the top of the shoes, are the camera reflections, that's how shiny they are.

[Jock Scot]

Cheers for the prompt reply Colin. Yeah, black tie and morning dress. Just to confuse the issue, I think your reference to an oxford brogue translates to a derby in the UK. Our oxford is your "balmoral"?! I was thinking an Oxford (balmoral) brogue would be fine for morning dress, but not sure how it would suit with black tie in the evening?

Just drifting off thread, what's on your kilt instead of a pin? Looks nifty

Black, well polished, brogues are the normal way to be shod(NOT ghillie brogues, in case anyone was wondering) for morning dress equivalent kilt attire.

[OC Richard]

In the "modern traditional Highland Dress" which has come down to us, mostly codified/systematized in the early 20th century, buckled shoes are for "Evening Dress" and ordinary brogues for "Day Dress". Here are examples from the 1920s and 1930s. It's the dress of this period that even today people think of as being "traditional" or "proper"







As you can see it's mostly the "Mary Jane" style of buckled shoe, which is the shoe that the officers in the kilted regiments wear in Levee Dress, or any sort of dress where they wear full tartan or diced hose.

But in the 19th century it wasn't Mary Janes, but slip-on loafers with nonfunctional buckles which were worn in Levee Dress



and I've made my own from normal wingtip tassel loafers:

[artificer]

Shoes like these, as shiny as you can get them, will serve you well, and get us out of the pitfalls of our "common language".

This is my go-to style for semi-formal as well.

I've not yet had an occasion for white tie, but if the even should arise I'd probably go with a buckle brogue- although probably not a Mary Jane style- I've got big honking flat feet,
and if a shoe get's too delicate looking (not enough coverage/leather) it looks quite odd on me.

ith:

[Nathan]

Here are some formal shoes that I recently acquired, I just added the buckles. The marks in photo 1 you can see, on the top of the shoes, are the camera reflections, that's how shiny they are.

Love these! Nice work.

[StevieR]

Black, well polished, brogues are the normal way to be shod(NOT ghillie brogues, in case anyone was wondering) for morning dress equivalent kilt attire.

Cheers for all the pictures and advice folks, plenty of food for thought. As I've a couple of weddings to attend this summer I think I'll be going with Jocks advice for a pair of standard brogues. Messrs Sanders seem to offer a decent pair. All those pics of buckled shoes have whetted my appetite, but I don't think they'll be needed 'till the autumn, so I'll start saving the pennies! I'll post some pics as soon as I can.

[thescot]

Just for clarification, I'd like to set out a few definitions.

In the US, we call just about any lace up shoe on "Oxford." Slip-ons are often called "loafers."

This is what we would call a "Blucher Oxford" in the US; I think it's called a "Derby" in the UK, I'm not from the IK, so you can correct me:


Note, the shoe lace holes are in flaps (for lack of a more precise word) that lay over the tongue.

This is what we call a "Balmoral Oxford" or Bal Oxford:


Note that the lace holes are not in flaps.

We still are people divided by a common language.

[thescot]

BTW: in the foregoing post, either would be fine for dressy kilted wear if highly polished. For white tie, I'd likely go with pumps or plain toe patent leather with very thin soles.

[Nathan]

Just for clarification, I'd like to set out a few definitions.

In the US, we call just about any lace up shoe on "Oxford." Slip-ons are often called "loafers."

This is what we would call a "Blucher Oxford" in the US; I think it's called a "Derby" in the UK, I'm not from the IK, so you can correct me:


Note, the shoe lace holes are in flaps (for lack of a more precise word) that lay over the tongue.

This is what we call a "Balmoral Oxford" or Bal Oxford:


Note that the lace holes are not in flaps.

We still are people divided by a common language.

My Canadian understanding is that your top pic is not of an oxford at all but of a derby (or in the US and parts of Canada a "buck") as it has the shoelace eyelets sewn on top of the upper.

An oxford has the shoelace eyelet tabs sewn underneath the vamp.

Here anyway, a "brogue" is a type of oxford with holes (broguing) on the toe. This is called a "wingtip" in the United States. Jock, when you say brogue, is in a synonymous with any type of laced oxford or specifically the "wing tip" style with the holes in the toe?

[StevieR]

Quarter brogues, half brogues, wingtips and longwing!