Best brogues for the best price?

[greenfordranger]

Try www.zappos.com enter SKU: #7370413 into their search. This is a pair of Dr.Martens (wingtips) made in England. $100 & very comfortable. I have them in black & brown. Bought well before I ever knew of my Scottish Heritage but now will be worn kilted

[greenfordranger]

If you don't mind the synthetic sole then also search for Florsheim Bristow on www.zappos.com , those also could be yours for $100 & free shipping

[ShaunMaxwell]

If you really want ghillie brogues, and want them on the cheap, you might check out this thread that was posted yesterday: http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...es-35-a-61734/

Also consider eBay as a possible source. You'd be surprised what you can find there if you aren't opposed to something previously worn.

[artificer]

Try www.zappos.com enter SKU: #7370413 into their search. This is a pair of Dr.Martens (wingtips) made in England. $100 & very comfortable. I have them in black & brown. Bought well before I ever knew of my Scottish Heritage but now will be worn kilted

I'm pretty sure that most Dr. Martens are now made 'off shore'. Only the Heritage Line (or whatever they call it) is actually British made. This may be different if you're living in the UK though.

[troxel87]

I went ahead with the Cali Brogues from SportKilt. Inexpensive, look like decent quality. For the price, even if they do fall apart, I haven't lost much. Hopefully I'll be shocked and they'll last 20 years lol.

If worse comes to worse, I'll probably be willing to drop $200 on a pair....

[greenfordranger]

The Doc Martens I have were made in England, maybe I got the last of the real ones Sorry Troxel if the was misleading but all my Doc Martens were made in England and I was unaware that they're made anywhere else...

[Danwell]

Sorry to drag this one up again......I'm looking for some ghillie brogues (for band use), and I am looking at a couple of different pairs. Can anyone provide any information on either of these "Piper's Brogues"??


These are from Taran Web and are GBP70 (inc VAT) plus postage.


And these are form The Scotland Kilt Company, for GBP90 (inc VAT) including postage.



Is there anyone who can give me any pointers as to the value or quality of either of these?

[JerseyLawyer]

For band use, I would recommend the "Piper" Brogue, which is the first one, with the rubber sole and steel heel tap. They're quite comfortable, and the rubber will be much more forgiving in terms of marching. Also, the heel makes a nice clicking sound if you compete solo in one of the few places where you still get "up on the boards."

For band use, I would avoid a leather sole, which can be slick on wet pavement, and can soak through in heavy rain - nothing is worse than marching with wet feet (except maybe marching chafed). I'm sure our many military vets and bandsmen will bear me out on this.

I have been very happy with my pair of piper brogues. The only problem I've found is that shoemakers often won't have the metal tap to replace the one in the heel, which as you can see is half an inch thick and set into the heel. They usually only have the nail-on heel plates, which wear out more quickly, but are more easily replaced. Although, honestly, as the price for a new half sole and heel climbs, it's becoming questionable in this case whether it isn't just better to buy a new pair of shoes when they wear out. And I'm not the sort of person who usually takes that position (I prefer to buy quality once, rather than shoddy several times).

[Danwell]

I think you might be misunderstanding? These are both "Piper's Brogues" as I said in my fist post, but they're made by different companies. They both have rubber soles with the metal cleat in them. If you click on the pictures (I made them link back to their respective websites), you'll see what I mean.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I honestly thought that ghillie brogues were the only things that were really acceptable for more black tie affairs...

Generally speaking, at least as far as Highland attire is concerned, there are two basic types of shoe, indoor shoes and outdoor shoes.

Outdoor shoes have thick soles, are made of tough leather, and look their best when worn clumping around out in the field, or marching in a parade. The ghillie brogues commercially available fall into this category, as do really heavy wingtip oxfords.

Indoor shoes are just that, lighter weight shoes that are at home on carpeted surfaces (or the dance floor), and wouldn't last an hour hiking through gorse and bracken in pursuit of stag or hare.

Now it may be possible to obtain "dress" ghillie brogues, although as far as I know none are commercially available. This means that the only option is the awfully expensive route of having them custom made-- expect to lash out something the the vicinity of $1000 for proper pair of dress ghillie brogues.

Because of the cost, and a certain "lack of knowledge", many gentlemen do wear outdoor ghillies at black tie events-- however, in my opinion, this is rather like wearing Doc Martens with a tuxedo. A far better alternative (and certainly the best way to spend your money) is to look around for a pair of very light oxfords, either with a toe cap or wing tips. These have the advantage of being able to be worn with either a suit or kilt.

Another excellent source of evening footwear is available from any tux shop-- patent leather oxfords, or slip-ons, are equally correct for formal kilted attire. If you shop around these can often be purchased for around $100, not a bad investment when you consider that if worn four times a year the shoes will probably last 50-60 years! (I'd avoid the "patent leather" shoes sold by military outfitters like Marlow White as they are really intended for "parade wear" and aren't the best for dining and dancing.)

Your last choice, and these are commercially available, is to by a pair of either formal Highland shoes (the kind with the buckle and strap at the ankle) or a pair of "Jacobite" shoes with buckles on the front. These will run you several hundred dollars, but will cost way less than truly custom shoes. For what it's worth I think the Jacobite shoes tend to look a little costumey, and when it came time to "vote with my wallet" I opted to buy the formal Highland shoes (these are the same as worn by officers in kilted regiments).

I hope the above comments set you off on the right foot when looking for shoes for formal Highland events!