Best brogues for the best price?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I honestly thought that ghillie brogues were the only things that were really acceptable for more black tie affairs...

Generally speaking, at least as far as Highland attire is concerned, there are two basic types of shoe, indoor shoes and outdoor shoes.

Outdoor shoes have thick soles, are made of tough leather, and look their best when worn clumping around out in the field, or marching in a parade. The ghillie brogues commercially available fall into this category, as do really heavy wingtip oxfords.

Indoor shoes are just that, lighter weight shoes that are at home on carpeted surfaces (or the dance floor), and wouldn't last an hour hiking through gorse and bracken in pursuit of stag or hare.

Now it may be possible to obtain "dress" ghillie brogues, although as far as I know none are commercially available. This means that the only option is the awfully expensive route of having them custom made-- expect to lash out something the the vicinity of $1000 for proper pair of dress ghillie brogues.

Because of the cost, and a certain "lack of knowledge", many gentlemen do wear outdoor ghillies at black tie events-- however, in my opinion, this is rather like wearing Doc Martens with a tuxedo. A far better alternative (and certainly the best way to spend your money) is to look around for a pair of very light oxfords, either with a toe cap or wing tips. These have the advantage of being able to be worn with either a suit or kilt.

Another excellent source of evening footwear is available from any tux shop-- patent leather oxfords, or slip-ons, are equally correct for formal kilted attire. If you shop around these can often be purchased for around $100, not a bad investment when you consider that if worn four times a year the shoes will probably last 50-60 years! (I'd avoid the "patent leather" shoes sold by military outfitters like Marlow White as they are really intended for "parade wear" and aren't the best for dining and dancing.)

Your last choice, and these are commercially available, is to by a pair of either formal Highland shoes (the kind with the buckle and strap at the ankle) or a pair of "Jacobite" shoes with buckles on the front. These will run you several hundred dollars, but will cost way less than truly custom shoes. For what it's worth I think the Jacobite shoes tend to look a little costumey, and when it came time to "vote with my wallet" I opted to buy the formal Highland shoes (these are the same as worn by officers in kilted regiments).

I hope the above comments set you off on the right foot when looking for shoes for formal Highland events!