Ghillie brogues, yes or no?

[Phil]

Not all buckle shoes are created equal.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/a...&pictureid=546

On the other hand, we call the shoes you're referring to "Mary Janes" simply because they are very similar to what little girls wear/wore.

As a shoemaker, I think they look silly or odd because they violate a number of aesthetic principles...not the least is having a big honking buckle right over the ball of the foot--the area of the foot that must bend and flex, and deeply. I've never worn a pair but I suspect they cannot be all that comfortable.

They are actually quite comfortable - more so than ghillie brogues which I find leave grooves around my legs where the laces were or if you don't tie them tight enough they slip down and you trip over them.

Here's a picture guaranteed to incense all the "Mary-Jane" police who cry out for tolerance on all other aspects of kilt-wearing -



To re-iterate something I have said before, these were the dress shoes to be worn with the kilt. Here are a couple of pictures you will have seen before -





Ghillie brogues along with white hose only started to appear in the 1970's - before that you wore "Mary-Janes" with your kilt to a dressy occasion and ordinary brogues (wing-tips) during the day. Of course nothing in fashion stands still but we of an older generation prefer to retain the style which others have now discarded. No doubt similar arguments will rage in 20 years' time about the merits of white hose etc.