"Viking Style" Brouge lacing?

[BadenochWolf]

OK, I'll bite: I've seen this terminology used several times on this forum in a derogatory way, but I have no idea what it means. Help a clueless yank out?

[ShaunMaxwell]

OK, I'll bite: I've seen this terminology used several times on this forum in a derogatory way, but I have no idea what it means. Help a clueless yank out?

I suspect it’s a reference to this look:



Cheers

SM

[OC Richard]

Yes it's people who don't know how to wear Highland Dress who hire a kilt outfit for a wedding and think the Ghillie brogue lacing should go all the way up the calves like Vikings in films, who have leather straps crossing over their lower legs holding rabbit skins etc in place. (Something akin to this does exist in Bulgarian folk dress, left, natural wool wraps held in place with leather straps.)



It's part of the dichotomy between people who view Highland Dress as clothing, and people who view Highland Dress as fancy-dress costume.

Just from a practical engineering standpoint it doesn't make any sense to tie the laces at the widest part of the lower leg, where gravity and the taper of the leg will work together to make the laces slip down to the narrowest part of the leg.

The perfect analogy is wearing a wristwatch around the widest part of the forearm instead of at the wrist.

People on this very forum have advocated wearing Ghillie laces high up the calves and pinning the laces to the socks so the laces can't fall down! It would be like gluing your wristwatch to your forearm so it doesn't slip down to your wrist.

I don't pin the laces on any of my other shoes. Once again it's Highland Dress as costume versus clothing.

In contrast to the Viking-style lacing, here's how men who have worn kilts and Ghillies since they were youths tie their Ghillies.

[Ivor]

I have to admit to being puzzled by just why the way someone chooses to tie the laces on their shoes should become a matter of contention. Nobody comments on how you tie your necktie so why should the exact position of shoe laces attract comment?

[Macman]

Ivor, if you tied your necktie around the top of your neck and not around your shirt collar, that might attract comment.

[MacKenzie]

Or wore your kilt with the pleats in the front.

[Jock Scot]

I have to admit to being puzzled by just why the way someone chooses to tie the laces on their shoes should become a matter of contention. Nobody comments on how you tie your necktie so why should the exact position of shoe laces attract comment?

Oh I am not so sure about that. I recall more than a few posts on this website discussing the merits, or not, of the Windsor knot for neck ties.:lol

[Silmakhor]

Having tried "Viking Style," I can confirm it doesn't work. The laces don't stay put and look a mess within 20 minutes.

My worst experience with brogues though came during a piping competition. Specifically a quartet competition. I love those because they were not as high stakes as solo or band contests. Musically they were fun because you function as an ensemble but can still hear each player and feed off of each other.

Anyway, this highland games was somewhere in Mississippi. We start playing our set and I feel very sharp, unpleasant sensations coming from my lower legs. It turns out that I was standing on a nest of fire ants. They swarmed over my brogues and into my hose and starting attacking during the competition. So I couldn't deal with the problem. Not fun.

[OC Richard]

Nobody comments on how you tie your necktie...

Oh there's a large amount of commentary on the tying of neckties out there!

Magazine articles and YouTube videos galore. (These are some tie-specific ones, most of the tie commentary is on videos about men's clothing in general.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEA96aV2f6E&t=90s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU9zLY421Mg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktI_0xZ_x94

[Ivor]

I’m not sure that tying laces up the calves of my legs would be the most comfortable thing and probably leave red welts afterwards so I can see a practical reason why not. So is there actually just this aspect or is it more to do with being the arbiter of all things kilt-related. I did think that Scottish dress was a free form to an extent but then rigid rules and circumspect views seen here seem to contradict this. As a non-wearer this is only confusing but as someone aspiring to it this seems not only confusing but perhaps even threatening.