Scot McKay Ghillie Brogues?

**OC Richard** · 7th December 18, 03:32 PM

I just picked up a new pair of Ghillie Brogues on Ebay for around $50.

It's not a maker/menswear shop/Highland outfitter I'm familiar with, Scot McKay.

The end of the box says

STYLE SPEY
COLOUR BLACK
SIZE 12 (overwritten to make the 2 into a 3)

The inside of the shoe has printed SCOT MCKAY and SPEY 13

I Googled Scot McKay Shoes, Scot McKay Menswear, and Scot McKay Highland and the only thing I come up with are a few old pairs of Ghillie Brogues for sale on Ebay, Amazon, etc.

Does anyone know if Scot McKay was a shoe maker or a shop? Either way it doesn't seem as if they still exist.

**Dirk95** · 8th December 18, 10:35 AM

Hi Richard, I bought a pair Scot Mckays from Geoffrey Tailors in Edinburgh a good many years ago, and they have been fine don't know if they are stll going, perhaps someone up in Scotland knows

**Dirk95** · 8th December 18, 02:12 PM

Like I said I got mine from Geoffrey Tailor in Edinburgh which I would think they are not rubbish, also I have had them for a few years and I know it says Scot McKay of Scotland inside

**OC Richard** · 9th December 18, 05:54 AM

Thanks for the information about the Geoffrey Tailor purchase, and the question about the country of origin, something that I always question myself, when things aren't clearly marked.

As it happens these shoes have no markings stating where they were made, either on the shoes or on the box.

There was a tag attached that simply said "real leather" and as you can see below a tiny sticker on the bottom of one shoe explaining the materials used for the different parts of the shoes.

In spite of the lack stamps saying "made in Scotland" etc I am positive that these are UK-made shoes of high quality. The shoes themselves attest to that.

There's something else, which jumps out to me (as a person working in the art business) and that's the Scot McKay logo. It screams of the sort of logo popular with UK firms in the 1970s (or maybe 1980s) and suggests to me a general Menswear shop rather than a specialist Highland Outfitter. (I don't think a Pakistani firm would have a hip logo like that.)

A 1970s book cover with similar graphic design https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-19...-85318721.html

A 1970s album cover https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-...-cover/6879232

The shoes look very similar in cut to my ghillie brogues by Thistle Shoes (Scotland) and I'm going to guess that these shoes were made by Thistle or another Scottish maker and stamped Scot McKay and sold out of a Scot McKay shop.

In a way the lack of being stamped Made In Scotland/Britain/UK suggests that they were made in a time before Scotland was swamped with Pakistani imports.

That's my little theory anyhow! Soon to be disproven, in all likelihood.