Etymology of Ghillie Brogue?

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What an interesting question. One might have supposed that this term arose in second half of the 19th century and whilst there are examples depicted in McIan's (1847) and Macleay's (1870) works, they do not mention them as such. I suspect that this was a kilt shop term that quickly found favour as evidence by this article about ladies' wear from the The Bystander - Wednesday 05 August 1925.



OC Richard has a large collection of retailers' catalogues. It will be interesting to hear the earliest reference they give.

My Paisley's of Glasgow 1939 catalogue describes the style of brogue as Box Calf Lacing which suggests that the term was not universal at that time.