Brogues/Ghillies

[piperdbh]

For what it's worth, "broguing" refers to the decorative holes punched into or through the leather. "Brogues" can mean any type of shoe, but usually refers to those made with the aforementioned punching. Technically, a wingtip could be called a brogue. "Ghillies" or "ghillie brogues" are the tongue-less type of shoe with the extra-long laces, which happen to have all the holes punched in. The story goes that years ago someone had the idea, after trekking through the soggy places in Scotland, of punching holes in their shoes to let the water out, and over time the holes came to be purely decorative.

[slohairt]

Keep in mind too that, like other shoes, ghillie brogues come with different soles: 'Marching' type rubber soles (good for day wear), leather soles, and soles with metal cleats.