Highland Evening Shoes - Revisited

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I have one pair of custom, hand made shoes which were made to my specific foot measurements. The shoe maker even sent me a pair of suede mock-ups to try on and mark with a wax pencil any areas that felt too tight or too loose. (Note: I was fortunate enough to be able to trade for these shoes, I never would have been able to afford them otherwise).

The shoes are beautiful. But I will admit, even though they were made specifically for my feet, they were not all that comfortable when I first got them. I thought it odd, that the only pair of shoes I had which were custom made would be my least comfortable pair, but they were very high quality and looked spendid and fit well enough, so I had no real complaints.

Well, as these were rather precious formal shoes, I only wore them a couple of times per year. And only wearing them a couple of times per year takes quite a while to break them in. At our Burns Dinner last January, I could tell they were finally broken in. I couldn't even feel that I had them on. I wasn't aware of my shoes at all. They are now the most comfortable pair of shoes I own, hands down.

[Llama]

I've noticed that the higher-quality the shoe, the longer it takes to wear them in. I bought a new pair of Florsheim for my wedding - not super great shoes, but made of good leather and nothing to sneeze at - and I purposely wore them in short spurts around the house, to work , and when I went out for the night so they would be worn in for my wedding. I give all of my shoes a good cleaning with saddle soap every now & again which helps to soften the leather a bit, too.

[TheOfficialBren]

Ah! That makes perfect sense. I so rarely wear them that they are pretty much brand new, even years after purchasing them.

I also have a very high arch.

Thanks for the bullet points, gents.

[MacRobert's Reply]

Back to Creighdubh's original question: my criteria for evening dress loafers with a kilt is that they should take a high shine; be light weight with a thin sole; have no elastic gussets visible; be brogued or plain; and be very comfortable for dancing! BTW, I think these loafer brogues with silver buckles were once known as Cromwell shoes.

[creagdhubh]

Back to Creighdubh's original question: my criteria for evening dress loafers with a kilt is that they should take a high shine; be light weight with a thin sole; have no elastic gussets visible; be brogued or plain; and be very comfortable for dancing! BTW, I think these loafer brogues with silver buckles were once known as Cromwell shoes.

Cheers, MacRobert!