Shoes ABC - The Lowdown on Leather Shoes

The Lowdown on Leather Shoes

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides, pelts and skins of animals, primarily cows. Leather is commonly used in making furniture and many other items. Leather shoes and boots are two items very commonly made from leather.

Its hard to resist a pair of leather shoes, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman. Genuine leather is durable, classy, comfortable and usually expensive but worth the price because a well made pair of leather shoes can last a person for years.

Leather is sold in three forms, these being full-grain leather, corrected-grain leather and sued. Full-grain leather is natural leather made from the finest of all raw materials and this case only the hairs have been taken away while the hide is left clean and natural. The finest of footwear is always made from

full-grain leather as it has excellent fiber strength, which leads to durability and its natural ability to breath, lends itself to utmost comfort in the end result of a shoe. The surface of a full-grain shoe wears the best of any of the types of leather and as opposed to wearing out and looking dull over time it will be more becoming to the eye.

There are a variety of forms of leather and these include vegetable-tanned leather, alum- tanned leather (alum meaning aluminum), rawhide, boiled leather and chrome-tanned leather. Vegetable-tanned leather is usually what is used for constructing shoes and this form can be oiled until it is supple smooth in order too increase its level of water resistance.

For men dress shoes mean leather shoes and that means oxfords. Mens oxfords come in a variety of styles and these include open-laced oxfords (or Bluchers), close-laced oxfords (or Balmorals), saddle oxfords, kiltie oxfords, and wingtip oxfords. Oxfords are mens shoes that lace-up and dont come up any further than the ankle. Blucher oxfords are open-laced leather dress shoes which have the sides of the shoe sewn on the front part (the top to be exact). Once laced up these shoes have a front, top, side and back and appear as though they are segmented.

Balmoral leather oxfords are close-laced shoes in which the laces are sewn in a very unique way- under the front part of the oxford- and then the laces close over the tongue. The end result is a smooth, streamlined shoe that has the appearance of being constructed from only one piece of leather.

Saddle oxfords, as the name suggests have a piece of leather on them that is the shape of a saddle, the saddle being a different leather type or color than the rest of the shoe.

Another type of oxford shoe referred to, as kilties are fancy in their design with a fringed leather tongue that comes over the instep of the shoe and covers both the eyelets and the laces.

By far the most popular type of oxford shoes is the wingtip. This pair of fashionable mens footwear gets its name because the toe brogueing (or leather embroidery) looks a lot like the spread of a birds wings.

The variety of oxford styles gives men plenty of options when shopping for business shoes. Not all oxfords are made the same way. Some include a separate piece of leather that is to be found on the toe of the shoe (or the cap toe). Sometimes this piece of leather is plain and other times it is decorated with leather embroidery (also refined as brogueing).

Genuine leather shoes are the only way to go if you are in the market for a pair of oxfords. And black is the color to go with because all black leather oxford style shoes, regardless of the style of leather finish or structural design will complement business attire. The most formal of all mens dress shoes are the black leather close-laced oxfords (Balmorals). They look especially sharp with both suits of the double-breasted style as well as pinstriped suits. However, if brown is more to your liking then pairing your oxfords with sport jackets and tweed suits. Not to be denied their due, open-laced leather oxfords in either brown or oxblood look great when paired up with light suits and sports coats and even more relaxed, casual wear such as jeans and khakis.

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