Quote Originally Posted by Cowher View Post
I hope I don't upset the rabble to much that it disrupts the conversation. I have never seen a kilted item on this forum that I hated. Sporrans, kilt pins, hose and on and on. This buckle brogue thing just turns my stomach. I HATE them! It boggles my mind how so many here prefer them to ghillie brogues. The bad taste might be that my town here in New England has a thong called Olde Sturbridge Village and they reproduce the colonial days of old America and these shoes just smack of the pilgrim look rounded buckle or not.
Cowher,

Today's buckle brogue are quite a modern invention and differ quite a bit from its ancestors (18th-century and previous centuries). Everyone is definitely entitled to their own likes and dislikes, especially when it comes to something as personal as the wearing of Highland attire. However, the wearing of patent or highly-polished buckle brogues is very traditional. Pipers and officers of various Highland Regiments wore buckle brogues as either a part of their uniform, or for certain formal/mess dress occassions where it is a standard part of their military kit.

I understand that if one is not accustomed to the wearing of Highland dress - both day and evening attire - then the look of the buckle brogues may indeed be a wee bit shocking at first. I personally have always admired them, but of course I have seen many members of my family and extended family (my fellow Clan Macpherson cousins both here in the States, and especially abroad in Scotland) wear them for formal events. They look far better when wearing diced or Argyll style hose than ghillie brogues, which are completely boring to my eyes for evening attire (unless of course a silver buckle, perhaps embossed with some sort of Celtic design is added, along with red laces instead of the standard black) and do not allow for diced or Argyll style hose to look their best, since the laces cover up a portion of the hose design. I believe there are many members on this forum who share my opinion on the formal buckle brogues and its counterparts, but again, 'to each is own', people will indelibly wear what they wish.

I ecnourage you to further research the Highland buckle brogue, view more photos of them in their native habitat of Highland evening events, and understand the history of them. They are a beautiful accessory to Highland evening attire and a necessity to some members of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

A pair of buckle brogues in action during an Eightsome Reel in London, John Macpherson of Montrose (in Macpherson dress tartan) wearing his buckle brogues, which are quite comfortable whilst dancing.


Me (in the middle) wearing my buckle brogues a few years ago - note the different styles of ghillies on the two Macpherson chaps on either side of me.


Slainte,