DERBY VS OXFORDS VS BROGUES
Derbies, Oxfords and Brogues; we recommend that you should have each of these styles in your luxury formal shoes collection. You might know of the types of formal shoes, but do you know the difference between Derbies, Oxfords, and Brogues?
In order to choose the right pair for any occasion, it is important to understand the key characteristics of each type of shoe. Derby, Oxford, and Brogue shoes are three common formal footwear styles for men, but due to similarities in their appearance, it’s can be confusing to identify the style correctly. Worry not, we'll help you with learning how to differentiate between the three styles.
All these styles are closed stitch shoes and are mostly worn for formal occasions, but each one represents a different style quotient on behalf of the gentleman wearing them.
Derby shoes are lace ups that have the throat (the part that has the eyelets for the laces) stitched over the vamp.
Oxford shoes typically have the throat of the shoe stitched under the vamp.
When looking at an Oxford and a Derby of the same brand; it may seem that the Oxford is a neater and more classic shoe in comparison to the Derby, which would be termed as slightly less formal.
Oxford shoes are worn mainly with very formal attire; such as suits or tuxedos, while a Derby can be worn with suits, jackets and even a fine combination of a shirt and pants.
This is also the reason that Cristiano is available in only Black and Dark Brown, so they would match well with your formal suits.
Brogue shoes are mainly recognised from the "brogue pattern" found on various parts of the shoe, most commonly the toe, quarter and vamp area. Brogue patterns are mostly cut into the leather via fixed patterns to get the final design.
This Leather technique can be done on both Derbys and Oxfords, albeit its more common on Derbys since its the less formal of the two. Brogues are also the most recent styles in shoe history, in comparison to the Derbys and Oxfords too.
So a Brogue is also a Derby or Oxford, but Derbys and Oxfords cannot be Brogues without the motif Brogue Pattern on them.
The Brogue pattern maybe extensive or even minimal, such as the Leonardo, which has only few motif designs on the Vamp and the Quarter. In comparison to the Lorenzo, Stefano and Rodrigo; which have Brogueing on all parts including the Toe, Vamp, Quarter and the Counter too.
Brogues pair well with a Casual Suit, Jackets and even Jeans depending on the complete styling and occasion.
As a bonus, the Vittore collection includes the Zanobi, which is a laced up formal shoe called a Whole -Cut, with a technique called semi-brogueing along the entire upper.
Vittore shoes are best maintained by using a shoe horn to wear your shoes each time to avoid damage to the heel-grip as it forms the contour which gives the shoe an excellent fit.
We also recommend Natural wax as it brings out the original shine of the Top Leather used in our handcrafted Italian leather shoes.
Happy Shopping!