Appropriate Footwear

[DWFII]

For auhenticity, remember that shoes in 1745/6 were not disctinctive for ledt and right foot. I have a pair of fugawees that can be made in the original fashion, by gum.

You're probably quite correct in that, although right and left lasts may actually predate this time period...it went in cycles.

I might also add that for truly period shoes they need to be made of a waxed flesh calf--this is a very special treatment that actually bears little resemblance to what we would think of as "waxed" today. And the black colour came from, and was renewed by using, lampblack. Not dye. As far as I know no one is making that leather today...or even anything close. The last source, Kellett (?) in England retired some few years ago.

Furthermore, the shoes would probably not have been very good fitting and for more reasons than that they were straights. Unlined, little or no stiffener in the heel area and rough edges everywhere. What's more, they would have been hand sewn throughout...and on the uppers with what is known as "round closing" or "split and lift"--a type of edge or butt stitching that is not easily mastered or done much today.

Now...an opinion from someone who is not a reenactor: If a shoe doesn't meet all the above criteria, it is obviously not really authentic or true to the period. If it is not true to the period, then it is, in my opinion, not significantly more authentic or more desirable than a modern re-creation/reinterpretation of the style. It is simply posing...no less so than a modern recreation such as the shoe in the photo I posted...but without the comforts and technical advantages of another two hundred-fifty years of shoemaking evolution.

In Civil War reenacting there is a category of reenactor that is known as a BOB (Better Off Bowling) who might, for instance, wear a modern flannel shirt to a reenactment in an attempt to pass it off as authentically 19th century...or perhaps just "good enough."

Far better in my opinion, to try to recapture the spirit and the aesthetic of the period than to reach for authenticity with insufficient knowledge to actually pull it off....unless you are a committed reenactor--at which point you're probably already talking thread counts and dye sources.

I have not handled any of the shoes from any of the sites mentioned and I would not presume to critique them short of a closer inspection. But one of my best friends and colleagues is the head shoemaker at Colonial Williamsburg and I have a fairly privileged perspective on what the construction materials and techniques for the period were.

[Woodsheal]

There were "brogan-ish" shoes during the 18th C. called "high-lows", but I've never seen any image of them being worn by Highlanders. I've cut my Civil War brogans down into below-the-ankle 18th C. shoes, with two lacing holes each side instead of four. Many common folk wore lace-up shoes instead of buckled.

So, cutting down your brogans would be your cheapest option. Check out the "1740's Commoner Shoe" on this page:
http://www.civilwarboots.com/enter.h...tml&lang=en-us
You'll see that they are basically cut-down brogans, for $160...!

Another source for decent priced 18th c. shoes is the aforementioned Fugawee:
http://www.fugawee.com/Men's%20Colonial.htm

And, many reenactors swear by Mr Robert Land's excellent footwear:
http://www.robertlandhistoricshoes.c...t/Detail?no=12

[DWFII]

There were "brogan-ish" shoes during the 18th C. called "high-lows", but I've never seen any image of them being worn by Highlanders. I've cut my Civil War brogans down into below-the-ankle 18th C. shoes, with two lacing holes each side instead of four. Many common folk wore lace-up shoes instead of buckled.

So, cutting down your brogans would be your cheapest option. Check out the "1740's Commoner Shoe" on this page:
http://www.civilwarboots.com/enter.h...tml&lang=en-us
You'll see that they are basically cut-down brogans, for $160...!

There! The above link takes you to a pair of shoes (the Commoner) that is described as a "cut down buckle shoe." That's pretty much what I was describing in a previous post to this topic.

But, although it may look a little like a brogan, from the perspective of a shoe maker, it is not. It is styled and made like a buckle shoe.

[Finn]

Great links, Brian!

[Aracos mac Domhnaill]

NH in September?
Will you be attending the Loon Mt. Games then?

[Glamrockdj]

I'll be there, I've actually timed my visit with the games in mind, Albannach, a great Scottish pipe and drums band are going to be there so it'll be nice to surprise them!!!

[Aracos mac Domhnaill]

I'm a wedding photographer by trade and therefore can never get to the Maine Highland Games (which is always on a Saturday in August) but I always try to make it over the pass to the Loon Mt. Games on either the Friday or Sunday for the weekend that they are held. This year, I don't have a wedding that weekend (yet) so I may be able to be there on the more busy (and exciting) Saturday!
I'm hoping that it will be cool enough to wear my new jacket and the belted plaid. I've been wearing my UKs for a few years and the plaid hasn't been getting much wear.

[Glamrockdj]

I'm aiming for the Saturday at least!!! Just need to get over there and organise some things with my relatives and get it all planned, hope to see you there.

[Piper]

My reenacting travels span the period from the '45 uprising to the American Revolution, and almost to the War of 1812. I frequently wear a pair of buckle shoes, but turn the latchets (the leather strap that goes through the buckle) back on themselves and secure them with a stitch, and then run some thin ribbon through them to tie them on. Not everyone could afford buckles.

[Kilted in Maine]

I'll be there, I've actually timed my visit with the games in mind, Albannach, a great Scottish pipe and drums band are going to be there so it'll be nice to surprise them!!!

Check back as it gets closer, I am sure there will be a posting to arrange an X-Marks meet up