Who designed Ghillie shoes

[fortcollinsjerry]

and why are they made with such long laces?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

"It is interesting to note that in addition to a wide variety of lacings, "Scotch" shoes were designed in 1928 by Andrew M. Gillis, who was the owner of Gillis and Sons, Wax Lace Makers Ltd., trading from No. 24, Ladysmith Road, Birmingham, England. The Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd., sold the shoe making rights to The Celtic Shoe Company of Wolverhampton in 1935, but retained the exclusive contract to provide laces for the shoes, now called "Ghillies" (it is thought that this change of name was due to a misspelling of the name of the original makers, Gillis).Originally the laces were offered in a choice of four colours: black, red, green, and white. By the 1950s only black or white laces appear in the Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd. catalogue. In 1967 the Gillis patent on long white laces expired. This coincided with a decline in the manufacture of high top basketball shoes, and the Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd. which had been founded by Jonathan Gillis in 1796, was forced to close its doors, another fine English firm brought to its knees by changing fashions in the modern world."

Excerpted from the July, 1996 issue of SHOE FASTENINGS MAGAZINE from the article "Lost Laces of England" (number six in a series) by Horton Goodchild.

I hope this answers your question.

[Bugbear]

Eek!!
* Sorry, I was overwelmed by the information for some reason... Interesting that they do not date back to early eighteen-hundreds, though... *

[English Bloke]

Blimey! How did you find that article! You have some resource Mr MacMillan. My hat is off!

[Zardoz]

So, as a "traditional" kilt accessory, "Ghillie Brogues" as we know them are a tradition that is;

A, less than 100 years old.

B, English.

[puffer]

So, as a "traditional" kilt accessory, "Ghillie Brogues" as we know them are a tradition that is;

A, less than 100 years old.

B, English.

IMHO, MOST OF WHAT "MANY" TOUT as "TRADITIONAL SCOT'S WEAR" is of "LATE DATE" & HIGHLY ENGLISH INFLUENCED OR "CREATED" BY THEM.

1."CLAN TARTANS"
2."TRADITIONAL" 8 yard "Tanks"
3. "DRESS ATTIRE" (Jackets, ETC)
4. The "current" DRESS DIRK & SQIAN DUBH
5. ETC, ETC

Puffer

[Phil]

IMHO, MOST OF WHAT "MANY" TOUT as "TRADITIONAL SCOT'S WEAR" is of "LATE DATE" & HIGHLY ENGLISH INFLUENCED OR "CREATED" BY THEM.

1."CLAN TARTANS"
2."TRADITIONAL" 8 yard "Tanks"
3. "DRESS ATTIRE" (Jackets, ETC)
4. The "current" DRESS DIRK & SQIAN DUBH
5. ETC, ETC

Puffer

I would agree wholeheartedly with Puffer's statement here. Sadly what most people here regard as "Scottish" is largely a confection created for and by the English "new money" classes who populated the Highlands of Scotland, buying up huge swathes of land for the exclusive use of them and their guests to massacre every living thing in sight. The impetus for this was solely down to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who embraced all things Scottish and bought a little holiday home (Balmoral Castle) on the banks of the river Dee. They were quickly followed by rich English industrialists etc., eager to join their monarch in this Highland idyll, never mind the poor locals whio just happened to live there. Their ancestral hunting and fishing rights were removed at a stroke to conform to the English practices of their new landlords (not Lairds but a whole different English-based relationship between owners and tenants). Take Lord Leverhume (Lever Bros. the soap/detergent people) buying and having sovereignty over a whole island and all of its people (Lewis). How does that appeal to today's egalitarian ideals? Of course they wanted the appropriate dress when visiting their Highland dominions so they got their tailors to run up kilts, jackets etc. - whatever seemed appropriate - and, of course they wanted to dress up with as much "bling" as possible hence the dirks, swords, sgian dhubhs, pistols, powder horns etc. ..etc... So, yes, pretty much everything seen today as "traditional" highland dress really goes back to those Englishmen who colonised the Highlands of Scotland, much as they colonised many other parts of the world. Why do you think that Scots are referred to as "Jocks?". Americans as "Yanks" and so many epithets such as "Frogs", "Eyties", "Dagoes", "Wops" the list is too long to mention but has its roots in a colonial superiority complex where anyone - and I mean ANYONE, who is not English is regarded as a member of an inferior race.

[Rex_Tremende]

Blimey! How did you find that article! You have some resource Mr MacMillan. My hat is off!

When you make your pilgrimage to No. 24, Ladysmith Road in Birmingham, take a picture, will ya?

Regards,
Rex.

[English Bloke]

Hi Rex.
Nice Auld Lang Syne by the way. Regarding 24 Ladysmith Road, Birmingham according to Multi Map it's 100+ miles from me however an interesting aside is, it's just around the corner, well 2 miles anyway, from Halesowen which is where X-Marker Philip S. Tibbetts, designer of the two Black Country Tartans comes from. Perhaps he's available to pop round and take a picture for us all.

What say you Philip??

[Larry124]

A high Victorian dandy or fop...?
Just saying...