Who designed Ghillie shoes

[fortcollinsjerry]

and why are they made with such long laces?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

"It is interesting to note that in addition to a wide variety of lacings, "Scotch" shoes were designed in 1928 by Andrew M. Gillis, who was the owner of Gillis and Sons, Wax Lace Makers Ltd., trading from No. 24, Ladysmith Road, Birmingham, England. The Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd., sold the shoe making rights to The Celtic Shoe Company of Wolverhampton in 1935, but retained the exclusive contract to provide laces for the shoes, now called "Ghillies" (it is thought that this change of name was due to a misspelling of the name of the original makers, Gillis).Originally the laces were offered in a choice of four colours: black, red, green, and white. By the 1950s only black or white laces appear in the Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd. catalogue. In 1967 the Gillis patent on long white laces expired. This coincided with a decline in the manufacture of high top basketball shoes, and the Gillis Wax Lace Company (1934) Ltd. which had been founded by Jonathan Gillis in 1796, was forced to close its doors, another fine English firm brought to its knees by changing fashions in the modern world."

Excerpted from the July, 1996 issue of SHOE FASTENINGS MAGAZINE from the article "Lost Laces of England" (number six in a series) by Horton Goodchild.

I hope this answers your question.

[Bugbear]

Eek!!
* Sorry, I was overwelmed by the information for some reason... Interesting that they do not date back to early eighteen-hundreds, though... *

[English Bloke]

Blimey! How did you find that article! You have some resource Mr MacMillan. My hat is off!

[Zardoz]

So, as a "traditional" kilt accessory, "Ghillie Brogues" as we know them are a tradition that is;

A, less than 100 years old.

B, English.

[Larry124]

A high Victorian dandy or fop...?
Just saying...

[ForresterModern]

I guess that might be why so many hard core "trads" on the board like those buckle brogues recently discussed at length. Think I will keep my ghillies, regardless of their historical accuracy.

Or maybe I should try a pair of high-top Converse AllStars----same length laces, afterall. Now the only choice is what color?

[Rex_Tremende]

Blimey! How did you find that article! You have some resource Mr MacMillan. My hat is off!

When you make your pilgrimage to No. 24, Ladysmith Road in Birmingham, take a picture, will ya?

Regards,
Rex.

[English Bloke]

Hi Rex.
Nice Auld Lang Syne by the way. Regarding 24 Ladysmith Road, Birmingham according to Multi Map it's 100+ miles from me however an interesting aside is, it's just around the corner, well 2 miles anyway, from Halesowen which is where X-Marker Philip S. Tibbetts, designer of the two Black Country Tartans comes from. Perhaps he's available to pop round and take a picture for us all.

What say you Philip??

[Rex_Tremende]

On second thought, maybe not. Snooping about the neighborhood on a quest for the origin of ghillie laces could arouse suspicion among the residents.

Thank goodness for satellite imagery.

Regards,
Rex.