Ciara Louise Murphy takes a look at the love affair we have with shoes and their vintage past.
Coming in every colour, generic style and design imaginable it’s not hard to see where the love affair we have with shoes blossomed from, they are the ultimate finishing touch to an outfit and often set off the right impression whether it is to be pretty in pumps or heart stopping in heels. Currently our shoe affair is channelling vintage men’s wear with the ever popular brogue style shoe strutting up and down the high street worn in a variation of interesting ways.
The strong masculine style has been transformed by current trends and can often be seen with various feminine inspired twists such as the addition of heels to the sophisticated style, colourful leather, and of course lashings of glitter to steal the spotlight. All of these changes to the original male lace up style have made brogues the item to idolise and are often the key feature of an outfit as they can bring as stiff classic edge to a look or a flirty playful aspect if you choose to dawn any of the new hybrid styles.
Often seen interweaving the brogue trend is another vintage style shoe which is now stealing focus due to its naturally effeminate structure. The old style loafer is often moulded with the strong structure of a brogue to create a stiff leather shoe which shows off the feminine arch of the foot while still having the characteristic brogue design at the tip of the shoe. This look is particularity popular as it works to create a sophisticated style while also being comfortable which is often hard to find amongst the tides of six inch patent heels on offer.
With the wide availability of brogues in all price ranges it’s not hard to see how they have captivated us and with the variety of boot, pump and shoe created in characteristic brogue form there is a shoe to fit all tastes. They are also a favourite of many celebrities such as Alexa Chung who is quite fond of the brogue inspired boot and Emma Watson who is rarely seen on a day out without some form of brogue added to her classically tailored outfits.
Brogues are very simple to wear and can be teamed up with a variety of coloured stockings to bring your look some retro glamour or sexy sophistication when paired with black knee highs or a pleated skirt, this style of shoe is versatile and trendy to say the least. It is clear this style will not be leaving the high street any time soon so don’t be afraid to splash out on a pair, they are generally a well-made shoe and, with the exception of some Penneysversions, they will not fall apart easily and tend to survive any weather. Now all we need are brogue inspired wellingtons to help us battle the floods in style and class!
