Formal Buckle Shoes

[Cowher]

I hope I don't upset the rabble to much that it disrupts the conversation. I have never seen a kilted item on this forum that I hated. Sporrans, kilt pins, hose and on and on. This buckle brogue thing just turns my stomach. I HATE them! It boggles my mind how so many here prefer them to ghillie brogues. The bad taste might be that my town here in New England has a thong called Olde Sturbridge Village and they reproduce the colonial days of old America and these shoes just smack of the pilgrim look rounded buckle or not.

[GMcNab]

I hope I don't upset the rabble to much that it disrupts the conversation. I have never seen a kilted item on this forum that I hated. Sporrans, kilt pins, hose and on and on. This buckle brogue thing just turns my stomach. I HATE them! It boggles my mind how so many here prefer them to ghillie brogues. The bad taste might be that my town here in New England has a thong called Olde Sturbridge Village and they reproduce the colonial days of old America and these shoes just smack of the pilgrim look rounded buckle or not.

I have to agree, I think they look awful; too close to feminine for my tastes. I far prefer a lace up brogue. I have a pair of army issue Highland brogues for outdoors and a nice pair of Florsheim brogues for best. It depends on what you can afford, I guess.

[DWFII]

I may be wrong but I think the buckle shoe (not the Mary Jane) that we see being worn with kilts dates back to the mid 18th century--the Jacobite uprisings, Culloden, Prestonpans, etc....Scottish hopes for sovereignty, and so forth.

And the buckle shoe was the fashion in men's shoes right through the 1700's and early 1800's.

The Pilgrim era was at least a century previous, beginning in 1620. So no matter what you think about buckle shoes, I suspect it is a little off-base to equate them with Pilgrims. It's a little like saying that the Pilgrims had pumpkin pie on their harvest day (which in the 19th century we decided to remember as Thanksgiving). Or that they wore black all the time.

[longhuntr74]

...and a nice pair of Florsheim brogues...

The words "nice pair" and Florsheim don't belong in the same sentence unless you are referring to a vintage pair made in the 70s (or maybe early 80s). Refer to my somewhat recent thread about my experiences with Florsheim...what a HUGE waste of money these days.

Regarding people's extreme dislike of buckle shoes...it seems a bit over the top...but to each their own I guess.

[GMcNab]

The words "nice pair" and Florsheim don't belong in the same sentence unless you are referring to a vintage pair made in the 70s (or maybe early 80s). Refer to my somewhat reason thread about my experiences with Florsheim...what a HUGE waste of money these days.

Regarding people's extreme dislike of buckle shoes...it seems a bit over the top...but to each their own I guess.

They're a pair made in the early 80's. I got them from a vintage shoe dealer on ebay.

[smacw]

I like the idea of simple brogues and thats what I tend to do. I have a pair of pipers ghillie brogues which are pretty sturdy for tartan day parades etc, but never have taken to the laces.
The buckle thing does kind of cross the line into period costume. But if thats what you are going for, fine.
Prince Charles seems to wear standard brogues with his day wear and Mary Janes for evening. Never got around to investing in MJs and have decided never to as my Alden black cordovan monk straps with perforated cap toe seem to work just fine for most formal or semi-formal occasions.

[longhuntr74]

Never got around to investing in MJs and have decided never to as my Alden black cordovan monk straps with perforated cap toe seem to work just fine for most formal or semi-formal occasions.

Hmmm...I don't know that I would consider a monk strap shoe formal (as they are intended to be on the low side of semi-formal)...but you do bring up a very good point. The right pair of perforated toe tied shoes (with a thin enough sole) could make a very smart evening shoe.

[creagdhubh]

I hope I don't upset the rabble to much that it disrupts the conversation. I have never seen a kilted item on this forum that I hated. Sporrans, kilt pins, hose and on and on. This buckle brogue thing just turns my stomach. I HATE them! It boggles my mind how so many here prefer them to ghillie brogues. The bad taste might be that my town here in New England has a thong called Olde Sturbridge Village and they reproduce the colonial days of old America and these shoes just smack of the pilgrim look rounded buckle or not.

Cowher,

Today's buckle brogue are quite a modern invention and differ quite a bit from its ancestors (18th-century and previous centuries). Everyone is definitely entitled to their own likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to something as personal as the wearing of Highland attire. However, the wearing of patent or highly-polished buckle brogues is very traditional. Pipers and officers of various Highland Regiments wore buckle brogues as either a part of their uniform, or for certain formal/mess dress occassions where it is a standard part of their military kit.

I understand that if one is not accustomed to the wearing of Highland dress - both day and evening attire - then the look of the buckle brogues may indeed be a wee bit shocking at first. I personally have always admired them, but of course I have seen many members of my family and extended family (my fellow Clan Macpherson cousins both here in the States, and especially abroad in Scotland) wear them for formal events. They look far better when wearing diced or Argyll style hose than ghillie brogues, which are completely boring to my eyes for evening attire (unless of course a silver buckle, perhaps embossed with some sort of Celtic design is added, along with red laces instead of the standard black) and do not allow for diced or Argyll style hose to look their best, since the laces cover up a portion of the hose design. I believe there are many members on this forum who share my opinion on the formal buckle brogues and its counterparts, but again, 'to each is own', people will indelibly wear what they wish.

I ecnourage you to further research the Highland buckle brogue, view more photos of them in their native habitat of Highland evening events, and understand the history of them. They are a beautiful accessory to Highland evening attire and a necessity to some members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

A pair of buckle brogues in action during an Eightsome Reel in London, John Macpherson of Montrose (in Macpherson dress tartan) wearing his buckle brogues, which are quite comfortable whilst dancing.


Me (in the middle) wearing my buckle brogues a few years ago - note the different styles of ghillies on the two Macpherson chaps on either side of me.


Slainte,

[DWFII]

^ I know I'm being a bit stuffy or stubborn but I just don't care for that style of shoe. People have said that it looks too feminine. And while I am not really sure I would go that far, it is just too similar to shoes made and worn by little ladies.

And as a shoemaker the larger buckle is one too many especially as it is just ornamentation and only adds to a sense of the gaudy or perhaps even primping.

For me, anyway, the shoe worn by the DOW below is as good as it gets. And again it sort of speaks to the centuries old dream of Scottish independence.

[AFS1970]

I have never worn buckle shoes but have been thinking about a pair, as I reassemble formal wear for kilted occasions. I used to have a pair of Ghillie Brogues and while they were comfortable, I just never really liked the laces running up my shins. I am most likely going with a nice set of wing tips that I can wear kilted and not as the occasion dictates.

I do not consider buckle shoes feminine but I have seem some styles that definitely are closer to what women wear than what men wear in modern American taste and style.

I don't understand how wearing buckles on one's shoes forwards the cause of Scottish independence at all, but I am always interested in learning history, so maybe I will try and look this up.

I have seen add on buckles on a small piece of leather like the tongue of a shoe in catalogs, that I guess could be worn with any lace up shoe, although from the few pictures I have seen I can not envision how they are actually worn in my mind. I have never seen a picture of anyone wearing these types of buckles that I know of.

Of the various buckle shoes in this thread, I have seen some I liked and others I did not. So I guess as with everything else, to some extent this is a matter of personal taste within reason.