For many shoe enthusiasts, these shoes have special meaning. Whether it reminds them of their father or grandfather, or if it is the invincible feeling they get when they put them on, the long wing bluchers (LWB) are icons of American menswear.
Some definitions for those who haven’t yet learned these things. First, the shoes have brogue, which is a pattern of holes in the outer layer of leather. Brogue, which actually means shoe in Scotland, may have had some practical purpose in the early days of footwear, when the holes were cut through to facilitate draining. I am not convinced of this, but we’ll let it stand, apocryphal though it may be. Today it is ornamental. And in the ranking of shoes on a formality scale, more brogue actually makes the shoes more casual. Plain toe black shoes are more formal than shoes of other color or with added brogue.
Some shoes have brogue that forms a W on the toe, and is called a Wingtip. Typically those “wings” turn down and terminate where the uppers (the pretty part of the shoe that wraps across and around your foot) meet the sole. But on some, the wings continue around the upper and join together at the back seam. These are called long wings. A fairly obvious term once you see them.
A blucher is a type of shoe construction that has an open lacing system. That means that the eyelets of the shoe are on flaps that are above the vamp (the part of the shoe that stretches across the top of your foot) of the shoe. This is similar to a Derby style, but subtly different in that the eyelets are on small tabs that are attached to the leather, rather than punched into those flaps. For all practical purposes, derby shoes and blucher shoes are the same, but they both differ from the Oxford style, which has the portion of the upper that contains the eyelets under the vamp of the shoe. That difference makes oxfords more formal than the other two styles mentioned. (So many rules in fashion!)
Whew! That is the hardest thing to explain, and since I probably explained it poorly, I recommend to all those interested to go to gentlemansgazette.com and search for oxfords, derbys, and bluchers for an excellent video describing this.
As you can see from the picture above, this shoe has the wings that go around the back, and has the tabs at the lace closures.
Another feature of the LWB is the double oak soles.
The leather is tanned in oak bark to produce the finished leather. No, it is not made of wood.
As you can see, the leather sole is two layers cemented together. And then both are sewn onto the Goodyear welt (more on that later.) In this picture, note the slight difference in texture of the edge of the leather sole. It is particularly easy to see near the toe of the shoe. There are two thicknesses of leather.
These leather soles are oak tanned and doubled for durability. All soles will wear out giving enough walking and time. And leather wears out faster that some other materials, particularly if you walk on wet concrete. The doubling of the leather adds more than double the life of the sole.
And these shoes are built using the Goodyear welt construction method. The welt, a thick strip of tough leather, (which can be seen above the sole and against the upper) is sewn onto the upper (actually to some fabric called a gemming, which is glued to the upper), and the midsole, and then sewn to the outsole (which you walk on.) The result is a shoe that can have the sole replaced without punching new holes in the upper. To understand this better, consider that before this method came about, most shoes were made by sewing the uppers directly to the outer soles. When the soles wore through, you would have to replace them, and this would mean punching new holes in the uppers. This would obviously deteriorate the leather upper and they would be ruined after one resole.
The Goodyear welt method allows for numerous resoles, and as long as you care for the uppers (which is the expensive and labor intensive part of the shoe), you can plan on keeping those shoes for many years.
Okay, Goodyear welt.
This was developed by Charles Goodyear Junior. No, not the Goodyear who first (at least in America) vulcanized rubber, but rather his son. The process revolutionized shoemaking in the industrial age, and is considered by many to be the gold standard of shoe construction.
In addition to allowing for repeated resoles, this construction method makes the shoes superior at keeping water out of the inside of the shoe.
Above you can see some wear in the leather soles of these ancient shoes. (More on that later.)
The reality of Goodyear welted construction is that it takes more time, materials, and craftsmanship to do. When you find new shoes at retail stores these days, they are most often cemented construction. They really can’t be resoled, and you wouldn’t anyway as the leather (if leather at all) is poor quality. The idea of buying a pair of dress shoes for fifty bucks seems okay to some, but they will not survive much wear, and will need to be replaced often. In addition to piling up in the landfills, these shoes will end up costing much more than you think after many replacement pairs.
This style of shoe was first constructed by Florsheim Shoes in 1959. At the time Florsheim held the spot as America’s finest mass produced shoes. They were solidly built in America by skilled workers using the best materials available.
Less than fifteen years after the end of World War II, the American man happily slid his feet into this style of shoe. Strong and well crafted, solid and heavy, they were to your feet what America was to the world: A stable and reliable base to build a future around. These were a man’s shoe, worn with suits, sport coats, and casual wear alike. Some men might have several pair in different colors. Black, Brown, Burgundy, Walnut, to fit the rotation good shoes should get. (Don’t wear shoes more than two days in a row, and be sure to store them with cedar shoes trees to draw out the moisture your feet produce.) Shine up the brown ones to take the wife out to dinner, maybe the burgundy for Sunday services.
These shoes took on a nickname that remains to this day: Gunboats.
In researching for this post I found numerous misunderstandings of the meaning of this name. Some thought it was the weight or the solid construction that gave the name. Some thought it the double oak soles, which has lead many to incorrectly refer to numerous other styles as gunboats because of it.
The truth is, like so many other nautical references, much simpler than that. They get the name purely from resemblance.
Above is a picture of the USS Maine (yes, the one which blew up and sank in Havana harbor and touched off the Spanish American War.) One can see the row of portholes running most of the length of the ship.
Likewise the long wings of the Gunboat Shoes have a similar row of holes that run parallel to the sole. The name reflects the look.
Florsheim isn’t the company they were in those days. I’m not going to explore their history here, but briefly stated, they moved operations overseas, and cut the quality of materials they used. They are not alone, of course. The trend away from classic mens styles and long-lasting quality towards inexpensive disposable products doomed many traditional American brands. And they weren’t alone in building gunboats for American men to slide their feet into.
This particular pair was made in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin by Mason Shoes, probably before 1980. That makes these LWBs over forty years old and still going strong. I found these at Goodwill, and they needed some cleaning, conditioning, polishing, and shining to bring them back to the appearance you see here. I have every reason to believe they will last me as long as I am wearing shoes, and may see life as footwear for another generation after that. Talk about sustainable practice and environmental responsibility.
Mason no longer makes shoes, or even sells shoes that meet any standard of classic wear. But when they did, they used scotch-grain leather for these uppers, and O’Sullivan rubber heels for support.
O’Sullivan is another American success story worth noting.
In Lowell, Massachusetts in 1896 an Irish Immigrant named Humphrey O’Sullivan was running a printing press. To ease the leg strain from long hours on his feet on the stone floor, he nailed two pieces of rubber matting to his heels. A few years later he patented this idea into a rubber heel company. It expanded into other things, but before Humphrey sold his interest, he had turned himself into a multi-millionaire. These are the original heels on these shoes. Mason commonly used O’Sullivan heels, and they were seen as an upgrade for many brands. And yes, though stacked leather heels were and are still popular and a sign of quality footwear, these rubber heels really are comfortable to walk in.
The only other pair of Long Wing Bluchers I own is a pair of spectator golf shoes.
These were made in Spain for a Swedish based company named Fiddler. Yes, it has come to searching the globe to find a pair of Goodyear welted golf shoes at a reasonable price.
But if the idea is to channel golf legends like Harry Vardon and Walter Hagen, these two tone spectator shoes are a must.
The term spectator likely comes from this being a style commonly seen on the feet of men who were spectators at sporting events, such as the horse races. They were, in the early days of men’s fashion, considered quite casual, and suitable for sporting events.
But mens shoe styles are in flux these days. Despite the resurgence of interest in classic menswear, the overall trend has been toward more casual options. It is more common to see men in trainers than in oxfords, and that might be best as clothing has been similarly relaxed, even to the point of sloppiness. Recently I heard an ad for T-shirts that were “dressy” enough for date night. This is the reality of the world today. Though when these Mason’s were made, a man would be far more likely to have a coat and tie on, then to go without a collared shirt on a date.
Even the venerable standard of American shoes, Allen Edmonds, who still hand makes shoes of fine quality in Wisconsin, has dropped their LWB style MacNeil, except in Cordovan leather.
They must do what they must to keep in business, and that has been to follow the casual trend towards sneakers. The latest fad is dress shoe uppers with white, wedge outsoles. These appear as a cross between sneaker and dress shoe, which seems like a trend that will pass. If a sneakers are okay, than wear sneakers. If they aren’t, than wear a dress shoe. I am not a fan of this look, but accept that other like it. In practice, I doubt anyone will ever notice that I am not wearing a trendy fashion look.
But whether it is the golf shoes or the vintage Mason’s, the appeal of these shoes come with putting them on and walking around.
These are heavy, solid shoes that make you feel invincible. They are substantial, and pack authority. Anchored as you are to whatever ground you stand, you are the captain of your personal ship, and nothing can conquer you in a pair of gunboats.