Ghillie Brogues: just for formal wear

[andycwb]

I personally wouldn't wear them for anything- but I know a lot of people who do. I wouldn't wear the "Brigadoon" Jacobite shirt either, but I know a lot of folks who love them.
I'm definitely NOT one of nature's peacocks- So take my advice below with the above in mind.

I'm no peacock either, and I'm with you on the Jacobite shirt.

Then again, by English standards, turning up in a kilt makes you something of a peacock!

Thanks for all the comments - I still haven't decided which shoes to be wearing, but I guess this thread has confirmed what I expected - that it's a matter of personal taste more than there being a hard and fast rule. I'm leaning towards the Ghillies at this point just for the "Scottish" look.

The family wedding in a couple of weeks with be only the second time I've worn a kilt in public, and the first departure from the "hire shop look", so I'm probably over-thinking it at this point, but trying to avoid a serious faux-pas for the initiated at the same time. Hell, most people there will never have seen a kilt outside of watching "Braveheart", so they won't be picking fault anyway.

Andy

[piperdbh]

If it were my decision, I'd keep my money and wear the shoes I already had in my closet. I haven't worn my ghillies in 6-8 years. They're too heavy and uncomfortable, especially when worn with thick-yarn hose.

[andycwb]

If it were my decision, I'd keep my money and wear the shoes I already had in my closet. I haven't worn my ghillies in 6-8 years. They're too heavy and uncomfortable, especially when worn with thick-yarn hose.

It's not a question of what to buy - when I got the kilt the deal to get a Prince Charlie jacket for free if I bought the whole outfit effectively meant I spent about £70 more than I'd planned to on the kilt+sporran+hose and got the PC and ghillies for that. I've worn them in a bit, so comfort isn't the question here; it's what'll look right.

[davidlpope]

I wear black full brogues with day wear and bar and buckle brogues for formal events.

[OC Richard]

About ghillies being heavy and uncomfortable, it isn't necessarily so.

I remember well when I went to buy my first pair, back around 1976. The vendor carried Keltic brand ghillies, and explained to me that they came in two styles, a heavy one made of thick leather, and a lighter one made of soft thin leather. The lighter, softer ones were NOT dance ghillies. Both styles had soles and heels like any dress shoe.

Anyhow I bought the lighter softer ones (paid IIRC $70, a lot of money in 1976) and they were just about the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. I wore them regularly for around 30 years, when, after being resoled a half-dozen times, it was finally time to retire them. I switched to my "new" ghillies, an identical pair of Keltics I purchased in the 1980s. After several resolings these also had to be retired, a few months ago. I wish I could get their like now!

All I could find recently was Thistle brand ghillies, fairly comfortable, but rather heavy as you say, and a far cry from those Keltics!

Anyhow like 99.99% of the world's Highland pipers I wear ghillies both in the band and when playing solo.

But for formal events I recreated the 19th century "buckle loafer" look, which I prefer to the Mary Jane style. Here I am wearing them



Here's the original, in 1860

[andycwb]

Funnily enough, the ones I have are Thistle brand. They're marginally heavier than my normal dressy shoes, but having worn them in most of yesterday (funnily enough, they are surprisingly unremarkable with jeans and dark socks) they are at least as comfortable, so this is now down to entirely the choice of look rather than other factors.

Since I'm intending to dress up the daywear jacket with a dress sporran and cream hose (with a lot of black in the tartan, it would start looking a bit funereal with a plain sporran and darker hose), I'm leaning towards the ghillies. Now I just need to decide between blue or silver tie.

This from someone whose usual approach to attire is "whatever's next in the wardrobe that's not to smart/scruffy for the day ahead". :-)

[Tobus]

Stevie dig these.
I am a bit of a shoe whore and these are on my list.
Attachment 13932

I bought a pair of these (Sanders & Sanders "Braemar" brogues) several years ago. They're very good shoes. I wear them with normal trouser-based dress as well as with my kilt. They're appropriate for all levels of daywear. They're not really a formal evening shoe, though. The soles are very thick leather, and very stiff. They take quite a long time to break in. The uppers are pretty thick too, although they have a soft feel. It took a long time for me to get the polish to work, since the upper was a bit "sticky" (for lack of a better term). They definitely aren't made with a glossy finish that readily accepts polish. But after several repetitions with polishing and buffing, and wearing them in between, it finally started to work. The pebble texture tends to smooth out over time, the more you polish and buff the shoe. They will still keep the pebble texture on most of the shoe, but the toe area really starts to smooth out and shine.

I remember well when I went to buy my first pair, back around 1976. The vendor carried Keltic brand ghillies, and explained to me that they came in two styles, a heavy one made of thick leather, and a lighter one made of soft thin leather. The lighter, softer ones were NOT dance ghillies. Both styles had soles and heels like any dress shoe.

Anyhow I bought the lighter softer ones (paid IIRC $70, a lot of money in 1976) and they were just about the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. I wore them regularly for around 30 years, when, after being resoled a half-dozen times, it was finally time to retire them. I switched to my "new" ghillies, an identical pair of Keltics I purchased in the 1980s. After several resolings these also had to be retired, a few months ago. I wish I could get their like now!

I snagged a vintage pair of Keltics ("The Scottish Shoe") from eBay a while back, and I have to agree. These are wonderful shoes. Mine are the thinner ones like you described. I wish they still made these! I've never worn them with the ghillie-style laces, though. I put on regular shoe laces, and they work fine. I can always lace them ghillie-style later if for some reason I want to (which isn't likely).

Mine were in pretty rough condition when I bought them, all scuffed up and permanently creased on the top. They have that well worn-in look. But you can see below, when comparing to the other shoes I showed above, how much thinner the soles are and the heel is not as tall either. I actually prefer these shoes because they don't feel as "clunky".

[creagdhubh]

I wear black full brogues with day wear and bar and buckle brogues for formal events.

Same here, yet I'll sometimes wear black ghillie brogues from Loake with silver buckles and scarlet laces for black tie events. Much along the lines of P/M Gordon Walker and the late P/M John D. Burgess.

[Tony]

I happen to like ghillie brogues, so long as they are very very shiny.
Black tie or semi-formal only. Looks like trying-too-hard with casual, and too get-out-of-here-ya-numpty for white tie.

[OC Richard]

I happen to like ghillie brogues, so long as they are very very shiny.
Black tie or semi-formal only.

I'm the opposite, I guess because I'm used to the ones in The Highlanders of Scotland which are rough (suede) tan leather, and look quite rustic.

Ghillies look odd to me when dressed up with buckles and used as Evening Dress shoes. And, at least in the mainstream Highland Dress of the early 20th century, buckles are the sine qua non of Evening Dress footwear. Ordinary Ghillies without buckles definitely look out of place with Evening Dress to me.

So Ghillies are more or less the odd man out; in TCHD it's plain shoes for Day Dress and buckled shoes (usually Mary Janes) for Evening Dress, and so it is in the Army. Ghillies are nowadays, and have long been, the footwear of the civilian piper.

Here are some pipers c1950. The Army fellows and some of the civilians in plain shoes, others wearing Ghillies, one with buckles



A piper c1900 wearing Ghillies