Can anyone direct me to a pair of good quality brogues made in Scotland? Both Loake and Thistle Shoes seem to have outsourced production recently. Thanks!

I can't endorse them but you could try Edinburgh Brogues who offer traditional handcrafted brogues and the price seams very reasonable or Buchanan Bespoke Tailored Footwear who seam to specialise in using tartan and tweed but also make more traditional full leather brogues (it also looks as though companies like Scotweb and MacGregor and MacDuff use these guys).

In the USA we are accustomed to shoes being clearly labelled as follows:

1) country of manufacture

2) material of "uppers"

3) material of "balance"

which labels must appear on all shoes sold in the USA by law.

None of my ghillies have such labels, suggesting that in the UK shoes could be made anywhere. Customers are left to guess or determine as best they can.

Oftentimes firms include the name "Scotland" in their title, and we Americans have to keep in mind that it's merely the firm's title and not a legal declaration of country of origin for the goods they sell.

All that being the case, we can only be assured of Ghillies being made in the UK if they're labelled "made in Scotland" or "made in Britain" or "made in the UK" or if we have other reliable knowledge.