Buckle Shoes

[M. A. C. Newsome]

You can always think outside the box a bit and shop around at some reenactment suppliers, such as James Townsend & Sons.

They have 18th century style buckle shoes for $90.

You have to attach your own buckle (which they also sell, a few different styles from $20 to $50). And these are made in 18th century fashion, which means they are straight lasted (no difference between right and left).

So I doubt they would be quite as comfy as a modern shoe, but they certainly would have an authentic look and the price is much lower than what you'd pay for a buckle brogue at most Highland dress suppliers.

[Bugbear]

You can always think outside the box a bit and shop around at some reenactment suppliers, such as James Townsend & Sons.

They have 18th century style buckle shoes for $90.

You have to attach your own buckle (which they also sell, a few different styles from $20 to $50). And these are made in 18th century fashion, which means they are straight lasted (no difference between right and left).

So I doubt they would be quite as comfy as a modern shoe, but they certainly would have an authentic look and the price is much lower than what you'd pay for a buckle brogue at most Highland dress suppliers.

Thanks for posting that link, Matt.

Actually, those were the shoes I was talking about as the replica shoes. I saw a post that said they were fairly comfortable. I just didn't know if they had an acceptable finnish: glossy.

Perhaps spit shining...

[DWFII]

Thanks for posting that link, Matt.

Actually, those were the shoes I was talking about as the replica shoes. I saw a post that said they were fairly comfortable. I just didn't know if they had an acceptable finnish: glossy.

Perhaps spit shining...

Ted,

I'm going to put a bug in your ear...and anyone else who is following along...

Don't take someone else's endorsement of comfort as scripture. In the first place, our feet are far better able to accommodate themselves to oddly shaped confinements, and uncalled-for insults, when we are young.

Secondly, some people are far more tolerant of what others might call pain...this is known as the pain threshold and in some folks it is set higher than in others. Some people can actually wear...without obvious discomfort...shoes that do not fit their feet in any wise, do it for years, never complain, until one day all the unseen abuse adds up and suddenly the body rebels and they become dern near crippled.

I'm not saying these shoes you are looking at will automatically be uncomfortable. But buying a pair of shoes is not like buying a shirt or even a kilt. If shoes don't fit they can cripple...just as an improper job of shoeing a horse can cripple it.

Oh! and if the period shoes are historically correct they will almost certainly not be glossy.

[Disclaimer: I do not make historically correct shoes but one of my best friends (seen in a couple photos in my picture album here on Xmarks) is the head shoemaker (and head of the shoemaking department) at Colonial Williamsburg...and that's all they do make. I might add that he is also recognized as the foremost authority on the history of shoes in the US. So I take my cure from him. ]

[Bugbear]

Ted,

I'm going to put a bug in your ear...and anyone else who is following along...

Don't take someone else's endorsement of comfort as scripture. In the first place, our feet are far better able to accommodate themselves to oddly shaped confinements, and uncalled-for insults, when we are young.

Secondly, some people are far more tolerant of what others might call pain...this is known as the pain threshold and in some folks it is set higher than in others. Some people can actually wear...without obvious discomfort...shoes that do not fit their feet in any wise, do it for years, never complain, until one day all the unseen abuse adds up and suddenly the body rebels and they become dern near crippled.

I'm not saying these shoes you are looking at will automatically be uncomfortable. But buying a pair of shoes is not like buying a shirt or even a kilt. If shoes don't fit they can cripple...just as an improper job of shoeing a horse can cripple it.

Oh! and if the period shoes are historically correct they will almost certainly not be glossy.

[Disclaimer: I do not make historically correct shoes but one of my best friends (seen in a couple photos in my picture album here on Xmarks) is the head shoemaker (and head of the shoemaking department) at Colonial Williamsburg...and that's all they do make. I might add that he is also recognized as the foremost authority on the history of shoes in the US. So I take my cure from him. ]

I understand what you're saying, DWFII. I've had to wear shoes that didn't fit well,. Thanks.

[Dall_Piobaire]

Oh man can I ever tell you about that!

whats good for a day of formations or drills ain't great for those long marches.

I had to, well not at gunpoint, march from Williamsburg to Yorktown for the Bicentennial, couldn't wait to get out of those articles of torture. The common shoes didn't have a left of right either, which didn't help. Better than barefoot which, was more than often, the case!