Formal Buckle Shoes

[DWFII]

The buckle shoe was de riguer during the middle 18th and early 19th centuries. So George Washington would probably have worn something similar. As would many at Culloden and the aristocracy of both Scotland and England until about the 1830's.

But the shoe depicted in the first photo of post #1...technically and historically speaking...a poor facsimile. Fundamentally it is a loafer. The buckle is purely decorative and performs no real function in holding the shoe on the foot.

A traditional buckle shoe would have a functional buckle that closed on two "latchets." The buckle itself might be moved between two or three pair of shoes. And if one of the buckles were lost or the latchets wore out, the latchets would be cut short, two holes punched on each stub and the shoe worn as a laced shoe.

The square toe is probably correct for the time period and even up into the late Victorian era. Although the round toe would have been present as well.

The higher heel...especially undercut as it is in the photo...is probably not historically correct. In fact the entire shoe is (in my opinion) a compromise and a sop to modern sensibilities and price/profit considerations.

Made correctly and with modern techniques and materials, however, I believe the buckle shoe looks much better and much more masculine than the Mary Janes depicted in the second photo of post #1. That's just my opinion...for what its worth.