Buckle brogues yes, Ghillie no: Come & have a go if you think you are 'ard enough

[Good Egg]

I have a pair of Buckle brogues and think that worn with diced or tartan pattern hose they are the only thing for formal evening wear. I noticed that some one has put them on their list in the stuff you hate thread so I'm here to declare that he is wrong!

My wife doesn't like the bucklies because they evoke the memory of school sandals for her.

I have a pair of Ghillies but don't much care for them - they bring to mind dancing pumps to me and think they are too casual for formal wear and too religious (ie holy ie with holes) for wearing out and about on anything other than a guaranteed dry day - and unless you're in the desert I doubt you can guarantee that. I wear them as casual indoor shoes because they are comfortable.

[DWFII]

There is some confusion about what is being talked about when the term "buckle brogues" is bandied about.

If you are referring to the shoe with the buckle low on the foot...over the "treadline"/joint area...and which have an additional small strap and small buckle at the ankle, well, I personally don't like them. I much prefer the 18th century buckle shoe.--what I call a "Jacobite shoe" although they would have been pretty common in all of the UK and the colonies.

That said, I am a shoe and bootmaker by trade (35 years)...and I got into a slightly heated discussion here with someone about buckle brogues and whether they could possibly be comfortable with that buckle mounted over the very area where the shoe has to flex. To this day I still don't see how it could be comfortable...the mechanics of it raise all sorts of alarums for me...but it wouldn't be the first time I was mistaken about something. Quite obviously, the buckle brogue has been worn, in pretty much its current form, for decades, maybe even a hundred years.

Since I've never owned a pair, never even tried a pair on, I must apologize to the other participants in that earlier thread...I yield to first hand experience and should have done so earlier.

Nevertheless, they are a little too fru-fru for my tastes...just my personal opinion.

[thescot]

Personally, I have always kind of liked the "Mary Jane" style buckle shoes. Like these:



I don't own a pair. Since I so rarely dress that formally, I can't justify the expense. But I do kind of like the look. (Took a little getting used to, though I will admit.)

As to the placement of the buckle and its comfort, I would think that it is similar to a pair of loafers with a low vamp. I wear shoes like that a lot, and they are quite comfortable if the fit is correct. Ah, there's the rub (pun intended). No shoe is comfortable without a proper fit.

It's all matter of taste. And as we all know, de gustibus non disputandum est.

[RedBeard]

Go look thru the vintage photo section. They are woren with pretty much anything.

[Good Egg]

Go look thru the vintage photo section. They are woren with pretty much anything.

Its now the convention that they are formal evening wear worn with diced or tartan hose but that was not necessarily the Victorian/Edwardian way.

Anybody got any views on whether I should wear buckle brogues with pink hose with a hodden grey kilt or should I lash out on a decent pair of London/Toronto Scottish diced hose?

PS I usually wear 1000 mile diced golf socks when I wear them with trews.

[macwilkin]

Anybody got any views on whether I should wear buckle brogues with pink hose with a hodden grey kilt or should I lash out on a decent pair of London/Toronto Scottish diced hose?

The latter; INMHO, the TOR SCOT/LS diced hose are some of the most strking diced hose; when I ordered my new pair of diced hose from Skye Highland Outfitters, I based them on the TOR SCOT/LS pattern.

Regards,

Todd

[Good Egg]

The latter; INMHO, the TOR SCOT/LS diced hose are some of the most strking diced hose; when I ordered my new pair of diced hose from Skye Highland Outfitters, I based them on the TOR SCOT/LS pattern.

Regards,

Todd

What kilt do you wear them with?

I have designed a Tartan using hodden grey, light and dark blue based on the Govt tartan. I doubt I will ever be able to afford to get it made but... maybe one day. Probably look dreadful anyway but as I grow older I can get away with greater eccentricity...

[svc40bt]

The latter; INMHO, the TOR SCOT/LS diced hose are some of the most strking diced hose; when I ordered my new pair of diced hose from Skye Highland Outfitters, I based them on the TOR SCOT/LS pattern.

Regards,

Todd

Pictures? Or at least a description for those of us who are not particularly familiar with regimental uniforms?

[Hamish]

I much prefer "Buckle Brogues" to those ghastly long-laced Ghillie Brogues which, to my mind, look absolutely terrible - especially when worn as day-wear, which many do. Dress belts with waist plates have a similar effect on me, but that's another story.

The 'Mary Jane' style of buckle shoe was popular in the Victorian era, but I am afraid it is just too 'girly' for my liking. This is what I wear as formal footwear - the Glenfinnan shoe from Mackenzie Frain in Scotland, with a higher tongue than usual and slightly higher, shaped heels:



By the way, Ghillie Brogues are no more suited to dancing in than are any solid, stiff-soled shoes with heels. They are 'clumpy' and noisy and far too heavy - alright for clog-dancing perhaps! Dance shoes should be light and flexible. Ghillie pumps being designed for the purpose!

Take care,
Ham.

[Good Egg]

I'm talking about these wee beasties:



I've never had an issue with them being uncomfortable except that mine are quite heavy certaily not a problem across the fold line