formality of the shoe!

[luk-cha]

Recently i have read the LL shoe artical - and it has got me thinking, the level of formality of shoes. the main reason i have been pondering over this is i am going to start down the bespoke shoe road primarily with G&G and after maybe Foster and son.

now i know that more the shoes are decorated the less formal they are - but what also got me thinking is if a plain toe has a medalion such as G&G's grant or the medalion is your initials as we see on a lot of japanese bespoke shoes. how does this compare to a plain toe cap with no brogueing such as G&G's oxford or regent or a wing tip too with no brogueing!

thank you for your help with this unravelling matter for me!

[Chris Rimby]

Wow. I swear I was thinking just a few hours ago that I wanted to ask this same exact question. Weird.

Anyway, I'd like to know what others think about this also.

[kolecho]

I would hazard to guess that a cap toe with no broguing/medallion is more formal.

[luk-cha]

Wow. I swear I was thinking just a few hours ago that I wanted to ask this same exact question. Weird.

Anyway, I'd like to know what others think about this also.

i have been thinking this for some time too, just not had the time to post the question

it will help me make the right choice and having clasic shoes with a moder twist and help me stay clear of more fashiony shoes!

[Chris Rimby]

Definitely. The shoe that got me thinking about this was the John Lobb Keats:

[Concordia]

Plain caps are usually the most formal oxford. The safest choice with a suit if you think it will go to a nice dinner somewhere along the way. The plain toe has its own place with evening wear.

Manton has observed that the punch cap (no medallion) is or was often used in formal and semi-formal daywear. My own view is that daytime accomodates those sorts of accretions more gracefully than the evening (along with brighter shades of Not Black), and so the small amount of broguing is not inapproriate to the occasion.

That Lobb model-- which is one that might someday tempt me to be measured there-- is a deliberate twist on old styles. It is therefore a little outside the traditional formality continuum. I'd use it for social evenings in black, no hesitation.

[Chris Rimby]

Thanks for the info.

I know I would enjoy the Keats more than a plain toe...so I'm pretty positive this will be the shoe I purchase in black for formal situations.

[Concordia]

When you say "formal" do you mean black/white tie, or just elegant?

The Lobb will be a definite breach of protocol for the former situation, but a restrained but breezy gesture of fun in the latter. As long as that is what you intend, no problem.

[Chris Rimby]

When you say "formal" do you mean black/white tie, or just elegant?

The Lobb will be a definite breach of protocol for the former situation, but a restrained but breezy gesture of fun in the latter. As long as that is what you intend, no problem.

You're right. I used the wrong word...but yes...elegant situations.

A black plain toe oxford is still on my list of must haves for truly formal events. I don't attend many of those at the moment, but expect to in the coming years.

[Algernon]

Dear Mr. Rimby;

That pattern seems to jar rather to my eye - an oxford shoe like that is an elegant shape without sharp angles: introducing them in broguing clashes. Personally the idea of initials or 'modern' motifs on one's shoes lacks appeal as either inelegant or ostentatious. I'd recommend something with a punched toe-cap (the type with the single band of punching below the stitching is my staple oxford shoe; I feel it gets the balance right.) Unless you are comitted to more 'trendy' shoe designs one would run the risk of feeling gauche in more formal circumstances. But of course, it is a matter for personal taste to dictate.

[Chris Rimby]

I respect your views but I have to disagree. I happen to think the punched cap toe is a boring design. I don't consider myself as 'trendy' at all just because I like designs that are somewhat unique. There was a point in history where even the punched cap toe was a new design. Was it trendy then?

[Algernon]

I see what you mean - and with bespoke it is always nice to have something slightly different; that's part of the pleasure of it. I'm not averse to new designs per se; there are some nice new whole-cut designs out there. I just like brouging to follow the shape or contours of the shoe, rather than to contradict it. It makes for a more harmonious composition -- in my oppinion.

What exactly is it about that pattern that attracts you?

[Chris Rimby]

I definitely see where you're coming from. For some reason I've always been partial to plain toes, plain toes with medallions or austere wingtips. I know that plain capped toes and perforated caps are classics though. Maybe it's just that I see those styles so much that I grow tired of them.

A lot of what I like about the Keats is the shape of the last and the quality of the leather. To be honest if the medallion was a little more traditional I would still like it just as much. Tthe design as it is doesn't detract from the appearance of the shoe though (to my eyes at least).

[Algernon]

Perhaps it wouldn't be too noticable... I think that brouging could be used to accentuate the swept-back look, and the clean lines if it followed the same sort of shape as the brouge cap on a full brouge shoe, if you know what I mean - but on a smaller scale, in much the same place as the pattern is at present.

I always like to go with very nicely fitting, well polished, traditional designs; as the foundation for everything else. I feel it gives me more license with stripped shirtings and suitings. I think with a pattern like that I'd feel precocious in anything but rather sedate shirtings and sutings. Maybe this is just the shock of the new...

[Chris Rimby]

I always like to go with very nicely fitting, well polished, traditional designs; as the foundation for everything else. I feel it gives me more license with stripped shirtings and suitings. I think with a pattern like that I'd feel precocious in anything but rather sedate shirtings and sutings. Maybe this is just the shock of the new...

Good point. I guess I'll need a pair of each model then, to go with both my solid and striped suits and shirts