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People and Shoes

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People and Shoes

No laces and no buckle – this can only be a slip-on. Though slip-ons do also come in welt-sewn versions – like this penny loafer where people used to slot a penny into the decoration over the tongue.

Here a line drawing of the classic Oxford shoe.

When a gentleman’s shoe looks like this it is most definitely a monk.

Typical for the Derby is its open lacing.

In the 30s men’s shoes became quite fashion-focused, often even two-toned. Here a newer style by Lloyd.

Actually a must in everyone’s shoe cupboard, this classical, elegant and yet still everyday pair by Lloyd.

This style automatically conjures up images of sharp-cut suits, slick haircuts and swing music.

The right shoe for the right cut.

Anyone who thinks men’s shoes are boring is wrong. Because here, too, fashion can have a great impact – on the lasts, the materials and the colour.

Industrialisation at the start of the 19th century cut the cost of producing gentlemen’s shoes significantly. Here a shot of a cutting room.

Until the 18th century lasts were only ever symmetrical – i.e. the dimensions for both were taken from the measurements of one foot. This often led to a need for shoes to be “worn in”. Since the 19th century the right and left foot have been differentiated.

Brogues. Their perforated patterning and high toecap were always characteristic. Today they look cool worn with casual jeans.

People and Shoes

High heels, sandals, brogues – every so often a different shoe style is pronounced the next major trend you cannot do without, the absolute must for your fashion outfit. But where do these shoes actually come from? What is their history? We regularly compile the most exciting shoe stories for you to read – for instance, here about Oxfords, Derbies and the like.

The vintage look now is a thing of the past – also in men’s fashion. Instead of faded jeans and chinos menswear is now becoming neater, cleaner and more serious. Flannel, cord and Tweed abound. Blazer coats and shawl collars along with cashmere pullovers and cardigans with leather patches. Clear, straight-lined, modern looks are in demand. And these are teamed with? Classic men’s shoes. They’re back at last. Obviously, they were always around since brogues, monks and derbies are classics, pure and simple. And classics thrive on needing little for them to be needed. So fashion professionals are now at last counting on them again, making these classics into fashion must-haves. And it was high time they did after all those casual canvas Converse looks. Some people even say that classic men’s shoes are the most important item in a man’s wardrobe. And even my grandmother, an intelligent woman with great experience of life, would always urge her grand-daughters to first check a person’s shoes. As that is where style and taste – if existent – will shine through first. And anyone dealing with shoes on a professional level has always known that proper gentlemen’s shoes are something really valuable. Especially Oxfords, Derbies and monks. Without these three staples men’s shoes would be lost. But how long have they been around?

In the Middle Ages shoes were welt sewn for the first time: soles and uppers, both made of different thickness of leather, are sewn together using by hand using a welt. The welt forms the shoe’s basis holding the upper, insole and sole together. Today welt-sewn shoes are rather a luxury. As they were in the 12th century. While during this time the first shoemakers specialising in leatherworking became established, they only worked for solvent clients and the lower classes continued to make their own shoes as before. In the early 18th century the quarters and vamps on men’s shoes became higher and a cross strap with a buckle was fastened at the side or crosswise over the instep. Often made of calf or sheepskin leather the buckled shoe – or monk as it is known – was born. It is seen as a down-to-earth, plain shoe style, hence the name. Its elegance primarily stems from the long vamp. As in every aspect of life, technical progress then also impacted shoemaking. This brought an end to handmade shoes for everyone. From 1821 it was possible to mass produce shoe lasts on a turning lathe. 1856 saw the arrival of the first sewing machines for leather and the first shoe factories sprung up. Last-making, tanning, upper stitching, shoemaking – countless individual operations are required to turn a piece of leather into a gentleman’s shoe. And already at this stage handmade shoes were and remained the very best mark of quality.

Around 1880 the lace-up low shoe was developed to wear with a suit. And this remains true to this day. The styles vary – for instance, there is the Oxford: an elegant shoe with closed lacing. On this shoe the quarters are sewn under the vamp. The Derby style, by contrast, has open lacing where the quarters lie on top of the vamp which goes into the tongue. However, it is not only the fastening method that characterises the shoe type – the number of components in a shoe’s uppers can also determine the shoe style. For instance, a brogue consists of a vamp, quarters and an outer counter. Another distinctive feature on men’s shoes are patterned perforations (brogueings). This elegant form of decoration was an invention coming from Irish farmers: to make their damp shoes dry out more quickly after walking on marshland they put perforations on the vamps and quarters of their shoes. Over the decades this practical trick became decoration. Other key shoe styles include the semi-brogue (with a straight toe cap) and the full-brogue (the toe cap is winged, so bigger). The British first knew brogues as tough sports shoes for the golf course. At the start of the 20th century these then became more elegant. Though hardliners still insist to this day that a semi or full-brogue cannot be worn after 6 pm… Nevertheless, even these classics are subject to the whims of fashion: at the start of the 20th century they were flat and extremely pointed and even referred to as “skinny” shoes. In the 30s men’s shoes become rounder and more curved at the front and were sometimes even two-tone. And so gradually sportiness crept into (men’s) fashion and crepe and rubber soles paved the way for casual shoes and trainers.

When men’s shoes are made by hand today the professionals basically work as their forefathers did 200 years before them – because the roughly 200 individual operations required here have not changed significantly. Since these classics are made of leather from the uppers to the sole their price was, and still is, heavily dependent on the price of the raw materials. And due to heavy demand the price for cowhide, calfskin and small animal skins has more than doubled over the past few years – the prices for lamb and calfskin have now reached all-time highs. Nevertheless, there is still good money to be made with these classics. You only need to make men realise how up-to-date proper footwear really is.

Text: Julia Mönnich
Bilder: Lloyd, Salamander, Peter Kaiser

To the History of Sandals

To the History of Pumps