(I’ll Save The Oxford Comma For Another Day)
There is a hierarchy of shoes in the menswear world, though in the 21st Century fewer men follow the rules of style than a few decades before. But for some environments and situations these time honored dress codes survive and continue to support the sobriety and respect for the setting.
What does it say to show up at a funeral in boogie shorts and flip flops? Or how long do you think an interview for a banking junior executive would last if the candidate presented himself in faded blue jeans and a tie-dye T-shirt?
This morning I watched the US Secretary of State and the FBI Director appear at a press conference. Both in suits and neckties, and though I didn’t see their feet, I am confident they wore dress shoes. Almost surely black ones.
When we are talking about shoe hierarchy, we should first cover special occasion footwear. Here I’m talking about white-tie attire. This is more formal than black tie (tuxedo) and typically has a jacket with tails. For the occasions that demand this dress code, there are special shoes that go along. Patent leather pumps or oxfords. And apart from military dress, patent leather is too formal for most any other outfit. Not to mention the risk of damage to this type of leather in regular wear. (It is very hard to remove scratches from patent leather.)
For the other dress occasions, it is the black, cap toe oxford that reigns.
The black cap-toe oxford is considered the most formal of dress shoes, once we leave the formality of evening shoes. You would expect to see patent leather shoes worn with black tie as well, but some prefer to mirror shine a plain toe oxford shoe. But here a man has this one other option: he may bring his black, cap-toe oxfords up to a mirror shine. Sometimes called the poor man’s evening shoe, it is passable, but technically not formal enough for black tie, and never formal enough for white tie.
And while there are various pumps (shoes without laces) that are very formal, such as venetian slippers and opera pumps, in normal daywear it is the cap-toe oxford shoe that tops the category.
Black shoes are most formal. The lighter the less formal.
Brogue designs are less formal, and the more you add the more casual they become.
Remember that line from the first Kingsman movie? It was the password to get into the club. “Oxfords, no brogue.”
(And as a note, too many people misunderstood the actor Colin Firth’s English accent and thought he said, “oxfords, not brogues,” which created a great deal of confusion in the world of men’s styles. Brogue is the holes punched into the leather on the toe and sides as a decoration. It can be on a derby, a blucher, or an oxford.)
What the character Harry Hart was telling him, was that an oxford dress shoe without any brogue is the standard of dress for those in the club.
So what is an oxford and where did they come from?
An oxford shoe is a leather dress shoe with laces that has a low heel and an exposed ankle. It got its name from the town of that name in the United Kingdom, and the University of that name in particular. For it was there that students began dispensing with the wearing of boots for the convenience of the lace up shoe.
They date back to the first half of the 19th century. Prior to that, the typical footwear for gentlemen were long boots.
A man new to the world of dress shoe terminology would notice right away that such a definition as above could also describe shoes that are called derby and blucher. What is the difference?
It is simple enough really, and is all to do with the construction, and where the lace holes are attached.
A shoe is divided into many parts. The part that touches the ground is the outsole. Above that there is a midsole, and an insole that your foot rests upon. The part of the shoe that covers over your foot is called the upper. The upper is further divided into basically three parts: the toe, the vamp, and the quarters. The toe is self-explanatory and the quarters are the part that goes from the back of the shoe above the heel, and wrap around the sides to join with the vamp. The lacing holes are in the quarters. The vamp stretches across the forepart of your foot.
So the difference is how they are joined. If the vamp is on top of the quarters, then it is an oxford; and if the quarters are on top of the vamp, then it is a derby or a blucher. What this does in practice is determine whether the lacing system is closed or open.
As you can picture, if the quarters are on top of the vamp when they join, the lacing holes, which are in the quarters, will be able to flap open. This makes the derby and blucher easier to take off and on, and can be more easily adjusted for different foot shapes. It also makes those styles more casual by appearance and subsequently by convention.
With the vamp overtop of the quarters, the lacing system is closed, and it cannot as easily be adjusted. Therefore the shoe must be better sized for the wearer. Where the lace holes emerge from under the quarters they are next to each other, and they widen out as they go up, depending on the fit of the shoe to that man’s instep.
There is a difference between a blucher and a derby, which I have mentioned before, and will cover in depth in a future post. But for this discussion understand that those two styles are equal in formality.
Here are some pictures of the three pairs of oxford shoes I own.
The first is the most formal. The black cap toe.
This has a separate piece of leather stretched over the toe to create a cap.
This shoe is what you would wear for formal business meetings, funerals, weddings where formality is expected, and other occasions where the one wished to express himself with the most respect for the occasion.
This pair is (as are most of my dress shoes) made by Allen Edmonds. They were manufactured at their plant in Port Washington, Wisconsin by hand, using the Goodyear Welt construction method. I’ve covered this before, but it is worth looking up to understand. It is the gold standard of shoe construction, and has the outsole attached to the upper by way of a thick strip of leather called a welt.
These shoes are called Hopkinson, and are from Allen Edmond’s Independence Line. A now discontinued line of premium dress shoes all named after signers of the Declaration Of Independence. They feature premium quality calfskin uppers, lambskin lining, and premium leather soles and stacked leather heels.
You can see in the pictures that the vamp stretches across the quarters and holds down the lace holes so they cannot flap open like you would see on a blucher or derby.
In the second picture you can also see the channel along the sole where the stitching holds the outsole to the welt.
I like these shoes shined to the point of gleaming. I can see the outline of my head in the shine, but not as distinctly as when they are mirror-shined.
These are at home with any full suit (for clarity, a suit is a pants and jacket made of the same exact material.) They are a must for black or navy suits, and with other colors during formal office hours, or at evening events.
The next pair are a step down in formality, both because of the color and the brogue decorations.
As you can see, these are much lighter in color (called walnut, though one might say tan, or light-brown,) and have brogue decorations on the toe cap and around the joints of the pieces of leather that make up the upper. This is often referred to as a “half-brogue.”
The vamp is still over top of the quarters, which is the mark of an oxford style shoe.
These are also from the Independence Collection from Allen Edmonds, and are called Bartlett. I keep them shined similarly to the black version, but under no circumstance would I mirror shine them. (Not that it is wrong, merely that it is unnecessarily ostentatious.)
This lighter color and brogue pattern reduce the formality of the shoe considerably. Though they are still a good choice for wearing with a suit (other than black or navy blue) and wouldn’t be appropriate at a formal business office, except on casual friday,) they are a better choice for wear with a blazer or sports coat. They can be worn to dress up chinos, or even bluejeans, so long as a button down shirt is worn. For outfits more casual than this, one should lower the formality of the shoe as well.
The last pair is even less formal.
As you can see from the lacing, these are still an oxford shoe. But now, instead of the brogue being on the toe cap, it now wraps down the sides of the shoe, and the part on the toe forms a “W”, which has given rise to the moniker Wingtip.
These shoes have leather soles, but have added V-tread toe taps, and rubber top lifts. The heels are still stacked leather, but with a top lift of rubber for traction.
Though these shoes are darker, they are still less formal than the Bartlett, as they are now a full-brogue, which is less formal. Here I would still give them a higher mark of formality, because color trumps design, but the material makes the difference. They are not made of calfskin, which decreases their formality as well. These are made of kudu leather, which is the skin of an antelope native to South Africa. The leather is very soft yet still strong. It will not appear smooth, and because of the finishing cannot be brightly shined. The picture shows the normal, fully shined appearance.
So, we have no brogue, half-brogue, and a full-brogue – or wingtip. To answer the question that may be forming, yes there is a quarter-brogue, though I don’t own any (yet). Picture the Bartlett, but without the medallion on the toe. So the only brogue would be along the edges where the pieces join.
There is also something called an austerity brogue. This is where the lines indicating where brogue would be is in the leather, but no actual holes are cut. I haven’t a desire for this style.
Derby and blucher shoes can also vary in formality, with the same guidance of color and brogue, and in truth a black or dark brown derby or blucher without brogue is more formal than a light oxford with brogue. In this there is overlap.
If you’re struggling to figure which to pick, you’re generally better off overdressed rather than underdressed. But if a gentleman wants to eliminate a difficult decision, it is best to have a variety of shoes.
I think the three oxford shoes I have are sufficient to cover whatever dress occasions I encounter. I also have a variety of other choices no matter the formality. These include dress boots in leather, nubuck, suede, and kudu; dark brown calfskin loafers, long-wing bluchers (see post dedicated to this style), dress sneakers, boat shoes, and espadrilles.
If you see me in trainers it is at the gym or out running. Trainers have no place outside of exercise.
The oxford shoe is a must in every well-dressed man’s wardrobe.