Brogues, Pt 2

Summer Brogues

Some are brogues, and others are hybrids of brogues, oxfords, ghillies and spectator shoes. These summer brogues were my all-time favourite brogue shoes I have ever owned.

I can’t recall which brand they were, but I bought them from the same sale site as the brogues in the previous story, but these were fantastic from day one. They were just so comfortable: the leather was soft and the open tops and perforations were cooling for summer. The sole was also quite sturdy and supportive – more so than the taupe Urge brogues, and they certainly lasted longer. I also really loved the colour combination.

I wore these shoes to the death of the laces. They were so well-loved one simply broke in half one day. It was as strangely difficult to find off-white shoelaces as non-synthetic ribbon in this town, especially as I needed a particular length for the criss-cross lacing required by the shoes.

I eventually ran some to earth in a shoe-repairers near my workplace. The shopkeeper searched through a box of what resembled a decade’s worth of random shoelaces, and triumphantly produced these for me.

It meant that I could squeeze a little more life out of these beloved brogues, although you can see in the second picture just how worn they had become more that three years after the first photo was taken. The new laces were a bit too long, and quite a bit thinner, so they didn’t look as neat tied on. But at least it meant I was able to get one more season’s wear out of them before they finally well and truly ‘carked it’ (a bit of Australiana equivalent to ‘bit the dust’).

I was able to get one more season’s wear out of them before they finally well and truly ‘carked it’ …

I still have not found adequate replacements. I thought I had, for a few weeks, when I purchased a pair of brown tan shoes that were made of plaited leather, creating a kind of lattice effect. I thought they would be brilliant for summer. They came from the same sale website as these, but the delivery was suddenly cancelled, presumably because they had oversold their stock. I am still bitter about that, although with the refund I bought a red and white gingham dress on eBay, which has mollified me somewhat (it arrived), and I love it.

Photos: January 2013, April 2016

Brogues, Pt 1

Brogues with Bows

I have loved brogues for a long time. I don’t know from whence this love affair sprang, but it has mostly to do with the punctured leather they are made from: decoration that belies practicality.

While the word ‘brogue’ derives from the Norse brök (leg covering), the shoe itself has its origins in seventeenth century Scotland and Ireland. They were designed for walking the peat bogs of those countries, the tiny holes perforating the leather allowing water to drain out.

A guide to brogued shoes (illustrations from Toni Rossi)They started out as very rudimentary shoes made from raw hides with the hair inwards, to leather tanned with oak-bark. By the eighteenth century they had evolved into a heavier shoe with hobnailed soles, and in the following century the shoe gained a second layer which was pinked to allow water to drain out, with an inner layer that was not, preserving water resistance.

Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, popularises brogues by wearing them as golfing shoes (image via Pinterest)In the twentieth century, it was Edward, Prince of Wales, who took these traditional shoes out of the countryside and into the city, playing golf in them in the 1930s and thereby making them exceedingly fashionable. Women’s versions soon followed with the addition of a heel. Half-brogues, hybrids of Oxford and brogue, were next, with heels rising higher and higher in the first decade of the twenty-first century, making the most practical walking shoe less so. But they sure look good!

When I purchased this pair of dark taupe brogues by label Urge online from a sale website, I was quite surprised when they arrived sans shoelaces. I decided that I wanted nothing so prosaic as that. I had seen brogues tied with satin ribbons before, and liked the look – there is something storybookish about them. Immediately I seized a ribbon out of my sewing box to test out the look.

The tiny eyelets were a hindrance, but I dealt with that by wrapping the ends of the ribbon with sticky-tape and thread it through. I liked it (though not so much the mauve colour, which inadvertently matched my carpet)!

It is almost impossible to purchase non-polyester ribbon in this paltry town (unless presumably one is a denizen of the fashion industry and has secret sources) so I went shopping on Etsy. A natural fibre would be more flexible and fall more prettily. I found a peach rayon ribbon and waited impatiently for it to arrive. Once more I went through the tedious process of threading the eyelets, but I was very pleased with the result.

After all that effort, I must confess that the shoes themselves were not the most comfortable, being a little narrow in the toe. But wear made them give a little and they became more comfortable for commuting to work in, which is what I bought them for. Unfortunately, these fashionable brogues did not possess hobnailed soles, and after a winter or two of hard wear, I ruthlessly (but sadly) put them in the bin where their holey-ness belonged.

Unfortunately, these fashionable brogues did not possess hobnailed soles …

I’ve since owned other brogues, and this past winter have been often wearing a pair of dark tan vintage 70s oxfords, with a two-inch stacked heel, that I found in an op shop for around $12. They were in pristine condition and had even been resoled by a previous owner. I have already roughed them up a little on toes and heels, but that’s what shoes are for – and then it will be on to the next pair!

Photos: July 2012
References: Shoes, by Caroline Cox, New Burlington Books, 2012; Shoes, by Linda O’Keefe, Workman Publishing NY, 1996

Ring Ins-and-Outs

I am a great smasher of stone rings. I blame it on the dangerous combination of living in an apartment with ceramic tiled floors, and being hypoglycaemic. When my blood sugar levels fall too low, I can become klutzy and nerveless – my hands lose their strength and I drop things (I’ve been this way since I was a child) – although I don’t think I can blame my formidable track record on umbrella-wrecking on this unfortunate condition!

Last Sunday I dropped my last black agate ring to the bathroom floor, and it broke into three pieces. It was the last of three I had bought a few years ago on eBay to replace the onyx ring I had bought in Vietnam nearly a decade ago. The same morning I hunted frantically on eBay for replacements, and happily found a Chinese seller who offered a plethora of colours. I went a bit mad and not only bought two black rings, but lilac, white and tortoiseshell rings as well! (They were only $2.50 each, so why not?)

The seller also had red and green agate rings; I already have a carved red jade ring I bought in Hong Kong with a matching bangle (both have survived my clumsiness), and also I have this green ring, so I decided not to spend an extra $5.

Maybe I should have, because this jade ring, which I bought from an op shop, turned out to have already been broken and glued back together by its previous owner. I had not noticed this when I bought it (caveat emptor!).

One day as I just left home, I heard a little tinkle in the driveway. Luckily I stopped, for there rolling at my feet were the two halves of the ring! Miraculously they didn’t break further, and I was able to successfully glue them back together. The black ring is a lost cause, however, for although it looks like just two pieces, it’s actually missing another sliver.

Photos: August 2016 (green jade), today (red jade and black onyx)

What I Actually Wore #0135

Serial #: 0135
Date: 30/07/2013
Weather: 16°C / 61°F
Time Allowed: 10 minutes

The prospect of quite a cool day dictates my choice of wool skirt and mohair jumper on this winter morning. I need to wear a t-shirt under this jumper as the knit is quite open, but it is still extremely warm and makes a scarf unnecessary. The pencil skirt with a literal twist is by a New Zealand label that is now sadly defunct; I always enjoyed this detail that made a basic shape and colour interesting. 

I like the pops of colour that the cherry necklace – a souvenir from a boutique in Noosa, Queensland – and the patent and suede wedges give. My other jewellery is black onyx – they’re a good match for the shiny plastic necklace. I also try on a vintage 50s white hat with white pompoms, but the overall effect is too much with the cherries, so I wear my black velvet cloche cap instead.

As well, I wear a black 60s velvet coat – the fabric is treated to create a sealskin effect (coat #17 in the autumn/winter set in the gallery A Glory of Coats) – and carry a white leather tote.

Items:

Jumper: Country Road
T-shirt: Kookaï
Skirt: Nicholas Blanchet (now defunct)
Stockings: Levanté
Hat: vintage
Coat: vintage
Necklace: souvenir
Earrings & Ring: handmade, souvenir
Watch: Kenneth Cole
Tote: Elise Carrels (now defunct)
Wedges: Mollini

Photos: October 2013

Cockatoo Butterflies

I have short hair. So short I can’t even make a pigtail let alone a ponytail. But that did not stop me from cooing over these vintage 80s white cockatoo butterfly clips when I spotted them in a Salvos op shop recently. And at 75¢ each, they were laughably cheep (ahem) and altogether irresistible. They are so cute I would even consider growing my hair long again just so I could wear them!