Formal Buckle Shoes

[CMcG]

<snip> I would be concerned that this shoe will not take a glossy shine because the leather seems to have a soft finish. That being the case, it really won't look it's best in a formal setting. It is also just a trifle "costumey" to my eye, although I am sure others will be attracted to its neo-Georgian style, just as some people are attracted to neo-Georgian architecture.

What is it about those shoes that looks costumey as compared to the buckle brogues?

Would these ones from MacKenzie Frain be any better?

<snip> Patent leather evening pumps with silk bows are another option; for a more distinctive look the silk bows can be swapped for cut steel buckles, as with the dress brogues.

What I'm thinking is to try and find formal slip on shoes of some sort at my local thrift or second hand shops. I'll then jazz them up with some buckles from eBay. This means I'm somewhat at the mercy of whatever is available...

To this end, what if I could find something like the following. Note I'm not saying these exactly... just something similar.






Finding these sort of shoes would probably be more of a stretch...

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

What is it about those shoes that looks costumey as compared to the buckle brogues?

As I see it, the broad boxed toe, the stacked, undercut, walking heel, and the high-over-the-instep tongue give this shoe an undeniable "George Washington wore these" look, and makes them the perfect candidate for a costume picture set in the 18th century. Dress brogues, on the other hand, are still an accepted item of 21st century formal Highland attire and in that context are no more costumey than a sporran.

Finding these sort of shoes would probably be more of a stretch...

Check with your local tux shop and find out when they are selling off their ex-rental stock. A friend of mine did that last year and bought a nearly new pair of similarly styled shoes for about $35, as I recall.

[CMcG]

MoR, I can tell you that stepping into a puddle with both feet is no picnic, either. My "velvet" slippers are ectually suede, which is just a little sturdier- and it smells even worse when you get it wet.

Are those your infamous skull and crossbone slippers? Something like this:

<snip>

Check with your local tux shop and find out when they are selling off their ex-rental stock. A friend of mine did that last year and bought a nearly new pair of similarly styled shoes for about $35, as I recall.

Good idea!

I've consulted with my ladyfriend and she prefers the slip-on style to the bar and buckle dress brogues. That is rather strong motivation for me in terms of which way I'll go...

[Spartan Tartan]

I've consulted with my ladyfriend and she prefers the slip-on style to the bar and buckle dress brogues. That is rather strong motivation for me in terms of which way I'll go...

That is a GOOD idea as well

[DWFII]

The buckle shoe was de riguer during the middle 18th and early 19th centuries. So George Washington would probably have worn something similar. As would many at Culloden and the aristocracy of both Scotland and England until about the 1830's.

But the shoe depicted in the first photo of post #1...technically and historically speaking...a poor facsimile. Fundamentally it is a loafer. The buckle is purely decorative and performs no real function in holding the shoe on the foot.

A traditional buckle shoe would have a functional buckle that closed on two "latchets." The buckle itself might be moved between two or three pair of shoes. And if one of the buckles were lost or the latchets wore out, the latchets would be cut short, two holes punched on each stub and the shoe worn as a laced shoe.

The square toe is probably correct for the time period and even up into the late Victorian era. Although the round toe would have been present as well.

The higher heel...especially undercut as it is in the photo...is probably not historically correct. In fact the entire shoe is (in my opinion) a compromise and a sop to modern sensibilities and price/profit considerations.

Made correctly and with modern techniques and materials, however, I believe the buckle shoe looks much better and much more masculine than the Mary Janes depicted in the second photo of post #1. That's just my opinion...for what its worth.

[CMcG]

Nice post DWFII, you certainly know your buckle shoes!

<snip>

But the shoe depicted in the photo above is...

Could you clarify which of the many photos above you are referring to?

<snip>

I believe the buckle shoe looks much better and much more masculine than the Mary Janes depicted in the second photo. That's just my opinion...for what its worth.

That is also my lass' opinion.

[DWFII]

Nice post DWFII, you certainly know your buckle shoes!



Could you clarify which of the many photos above you are referring to?

Page one, post one...the first shoe is a faux buckle shoe, the second is a "Mary Jane."

[MacLowlife]

Those slippers you show are a more elegant version of mine.

MoR's comments remind me of a very funny sequence in the movie version of Tristram Shandy, in which heel height becomes an issue.


I do have some calfskin pumps which I sometimes wear with the kilt, but I am content to leave them with a bow instead of a buckle. I like the look of the buckle, mind, but an old sweetheart was crazy about a shoe famously made by Roger Vivier and worn by Catherine DeNeuve. She called them Pilgrim Flats and thought they were swell. Were I to put a square buckle on my calfskin pumps, they would look a great deal like her Vivier flats. I am ready to defend either the grosgrain bow or the Jolly Roger, but I ain't no pilgrim, Pilgrim...

For those who must have just a little more tartan, at least one company will make up the "Albert" style dinner slipper in your tartan fabric. If wearing them with a kilt, though, I suspect you would want to balance the outfit with a tartan sweatband at the forehead...



http://www.shiptonandheneage.co.uk/c...rs-2559-0.html


(It does also come in a number of plain black versions that might look good with those buckles- and not a bit like Catherine DeNeuve...)

http://www.shiptonandheneage.co.uk/l...rs-2362-0.html

[DWFII]

Those are some nice buckles! They deserve a hot link:

the problem is that they are not really buckles. They're just ornaments pretending to be buckles.

[CMcG]

Thanks for those links MacLowlife. I like the way the tongue on the Albert slipper looks much better than the dainty openness of the pump:

Yes:


Not for me:



It's also very interesting to read people's associations with these different shoe styles. To some, the buckle shoe is too "pilgrim" or "costumey," perhaps a bit "pirate" even? To others, the bar and buckle dress brogue is a "Mary Jane" and "not masculine."