To Brogue or Not to Brogue

Brogues are common shoe model of the past that has undergone a renaissance today and can be seen in shoe racks of many fashionistas. The humble shoe that was once considered only for the country life fashion is now an acceptable and fashionable in many occasions save a few very formal ones. There is a rich history to the shoe and the unique varieties that have sprung up over the years. Even the trademark holes have a reason for being there. If you want to know these facts and what occasions you can wear them, read on.

Brogues came from the country side of Ireland and Scotland centuries ago, exactly where the holes in the shoes were meant to drain quickly without taking the shoes off if you had to mongrel creek or a bog. The perforations on these first brogues were functional and not just decorative. At some point the wide use of the shoe got brogues incorporated into the traditional wear of the Irish. One kind of brogue, the Ghillie type is still used in Scottish formal dresses and is characterized by having no center tongue with interlocking laces that are wound up on the foot to just under the calf. At some point the design became popular as a type of formal shoe in England and in the United States the place it began to take on other forms.

The basic Brogue has an oxford shoe type structure with a serrated and ornately perforated toe cap and end cap, with "wings" that prolong from the toe cap towards the middle of the foot. This design is now commonly known as the full brogue or wingtip in the United States .There is also another type of brogue that is a well-known type of dress shoes known as spectator shoes. These are just wingtips with a darker colored toe and end cap and a light, often white colored main body. Semi brogues are brogues with a regular rounded toe cap instead as a substitute option of the wing cap but still retain the serrated edges and ornate holes the center, made as a more refined choice to wingtip brogues. The quarter brogue is similar in shape to the semi brogue except that they do not have the detailing at the middle of the toe cap but still retain the serrated edging.

Now that you know what the different kinds of brogues are, the only thing left is to know when and where to wear them. For men, most casual and formal occasions can be a reason to bring your brogues along. Only note that in very formal occasions like weddings and company parties, spectator shoes can seem a little too gaudy for some tastes. Brogues can be worn on parties paired with dark denims and earthy jackets for that out of era look. In fact, most of the time brogues are called for is when you can play around with the style although you can actually pull off a black quarter brogue for formal occasions. Probably the only place one can never wear brogues is in an important business meeting or very formal gathering.

Brogues are one of those shoes that have so much character that they either fit the occasion or they don't. Different varieties of brogues can add fashion to an often boring look or tone down the formality a notch. To brogue or not to brogue? The answer is brogue at your own discretion.