After a great deal of debating, I recently acquired a pair of leather-soled "dress" ghillie brogues. They're not quite to my liking just yet, but I have a pair of vintage court-shoe buckles (that I got with a pair of pumps that were worn to the Queen's coronation in 1953, but the shoes were in such sorry shape as to be beyond repair) and some long, red laces that should get them to be different enough from the hire-shop brogues that seem ubiquitous these days while still being strictly traditional.

Once the cobbler is back from holiday I'll see about getting a small leather strap stitched to the shoes, which is how the buckles attached to the sadly-defunct court shoes.

Pictures will be posted when the shoes are complete.

Finally, to the point: as the title suggests, my question is about the tassels for the lace ends. Should they be red to match the laces? If so, are they always made of leather?

Thank you for your input!