I have been wondering what "wingtip brogues" were, now I know. Another trans Atlantic English language mystery solved. How did they get the title "wingtip"?
Well..because that's what my Dad (who wore them) always called them. Not an entirely satisfactory answer to your question, I know; so I looked it up:

"Brogues, often called wingtips in the USA, are low-heeled shoes that are made of heavy and untanned leather, said to have originated in Scotland. Brogue also refers to Oxford shoes that have fringe or wing tips. The term wingtip derives from the toe cap pattern, which forms a W and resembles the profile of a spread bird wing."

So...what do you call them on that side of The Pond?
(looking at them...perhaps I lack imagination, but "bird wing" doesn't leap to mind.)

Another gem from my research:

"Brougeing refers to the holes in shoes that make an ordinary shoe look snazzy.

Legend holds that holes in shoes were put there by the Scottish who had to step in and out of bogs all day (back before malls were built) and they needed a shoe that would allow good drainage."

And here I was thinking that's why ghillies haven't a tongue and lace up in such an odd manner...learn something new every day.