Men's oxfords

Oxfords are often confused with derbies, another classic men's shoe. To clarify, you need to divide the boot into 2 components: the front (alley) and the back (tibia). The front is the toe, the back is the heel, heel and two sidewalls. So, on oxfords, the holes for the lace are on the berets and they are, as it were, closed or separated from the vamp.

Fashion historians are still debating where Oxfords came from. Some claim that they first appeared in Scotland, others - in English Oxford. However, both are right in their own way.Appearing in Scotland and Ireland, such shoes were called "Balmorals" in honor of Balmoral Castle, and only after they became popular among students of Oxford University and became fashionable throughout Europe, and later in the USA, they began to be called "Oxfords" .

Oxfords are descended from "Oxons", "half boots" with slits on the sides, which became wildly popular among students at Oxford University in 1800. Over time, these shoes began to undergo changes in the external design: first, the side slits turned into side laces, then two lacings were replaced with one and it moved up to the center. Historians are also wondering if all these changes took place in Oxford, which is really unlikely. However, it can be said with certainty that the mention of Oxfords in 1846 by Joseph Sparks Hall in The New Monthly Magazine suggests that by that time they were firmly entrenched in the men's wardrobe.

Distinctive features:

• Closed lacing;
• Open ankle;
• Low heel.

As mentioned above, the holes for the lace are usually located on the berets (the exception is shoes with a whole vamp and seamless shoes). To lace up the boot correctly, you need to draw the lace inward on both sides, so that the overlap of both ends occurs inside the boot.

As a rule, ordinary oxfords consist of berets and vamps. They do not have a separately outlined and highlighted by a seam sock or a perforated ornament along the perimeter of the product. Their style is simple yet elegant. For evening dresses, black patent leather shoes are usually chosen - this is traditional. However, today you can also choose calf leather polished to a shine - to each his own.

Cap Toe (Kaptoi) oxfords are perhaps the most common of the existing ones today. The most popular color is naturally black, although they are also available in brown, tan, and red.

These shoes are worn with both an elegant suit and jeans. If you can't afford a separate pair of patent leather or polished leather shoes, then Cap Toe Oxfords will come to your rescue. That is why they are called "poor men's evening shoes", which means they cannot be worn at events where the dress code is "Evening toilet".

A distinctive feature of Brogue shoes is a well-defined sock in the shape of wings, leaving on the sides to the back of the product. Visually, they resemble the Russian letter M or the English W, depending on which side you look at. Unlike Cap Toe, this model is more suitable for an informal style of clothing. And although they are technically a type of oxford, brogues have long been associated as a separate shoe model.Perhaps because it has lost the properties of classic shoes.

This model of oxfords does not have a clearly defined toe, but they have an additional strip of leather that runs along the center of the boot from above and to the sole, repeating the length of the lacing. Usually the color of this piece of leather differs from the general color of the product and resembles a saddle. Historically, Saddle oxfords have been considered the American style of oxfords.

Kiltie (Kilti) oxfords are not particularly popular today. Their peculiarity lies in the presence of an additional tongue with a fringe, which is located on top of the lacing.

Such a model is made using one single piece of leather and therefore has only one seam on the back of the product (on the heel). Usually shoes are sewn from several pieces. Sewing shoes from one piece is quite difficult, so these oxfords are quite laborious to manufacture, require more raw materials and special skills, and, accordingly, are expensive. Outwardly, they look very streamlined and impeccably smooth.

Seamless oxfords are certainly very similar to Wholecut oxfords in that both models are made from the same solid piece of leather. However, Wholecut shoes have a single seam on the back of the product, while Seamless Oxfords do not have it at all, thereby complicating the process of their manufacture. This model of shoe requires more raw materials to produce than Wholecut, and twice as much as regular Cap Toe Oxfords.In this regard, such a pair of shoes, as a rule, is made to order and is not produced in the mass market. Sometimes the term Wholecut is also used to refer to Seamless Oxfords, because the former are more famous, however, this is technically incorrect.

Today it is no longer correct to call oxfords exclusively classic shoes, as they are made in different colors, variations and using different materials, such as suede. Given the latest trends in the fashion world to mix different styles, oxfords are gaining more freedom in the men's wardrobe and the question of what to wear them with is no longer rhetorical.

Putting together a stylish men's ensemble, having oxfords as a starting point, is not difficult. Whether it's regular classic oxfords or Cap Toe, you can always wear them with a business suit or trousers of any cut, no matter what the top is (plaid shirt, cardigan or T-shirt).

If we compare Cap Toe and Brogues, then the latter are more casual. Although in black they can be worn to the office, but in any other color scheme, they will be more free style. These shoes can be combined with both tweed and denim.

As for the Saddle and Kiltie oxfords, these shoes are super casual. Already owning regular or Cap Toe as well as Brogues, you might want to consider buying Saddle and Kiltie because the above models are more versatile than these.You can combine these shoes with jeans, colored chinos, corduroy trousers.

To paint old shoes and breathe new life into them without spending a lot of money, fashion critics suggest simply trying them on with a different lace color. At the same time, it should be a very high-quality thin rounded lace, and not flat, because the rounded one looks more elegant. Laces in dark and light shades of gray go well with black oxfords. On brown shoes, dark purple laces will look luxurious, on blue shoes - yellow, and on white shoes - blue.