A GLOSSARY OF CLASSIC SILHOUETTES

THE KEY SILHOUETTES IN MEN'S STYLE: WHAT EACH IS AND WHAT IT COMMUNICATES

UNDERSTANDING THE VOCABULARY OF CLASSIC STYLES SUPPORTS INFORMED CHOICE AND A DEEPER APPRECIATION OF DESIGN AND CRAFT. EACH SILHOUETTE HAS A SPECIFIC HISTORY AND A SPECIFIC REGISTER. EACH TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY ABOUT THE PERSON WEARING IT.

OXFORD. DEFINED BY CLOSED LACING WHERE THE EYELET FACING IS STITCHED BENEATH THE VAMP. THE MOST FORMAL OF ALL LACE-UP STYLES. THE STANDARD OF ENGLISH DRESS STYLE.

DERBY. AN OPEN LACING SYSTEM WHERE THE EYELET FACING SITS ABOVE THE VAMP, ALLOWING GREATER ADJUSTMENT AND FIT ACROSS A WIDER RANGE OF INSTEP VOLUMES. MORE VERSATILE THAN THE OXFORD. THE DOMINANT SILHOUETTE IN CONSIDERED MEN'S STYLE.

BROGUE. CHARACTERISED BY DECORATIVE PERFORATIONS AND SERRATED EDGES ALONG THE SEAMS. ORIGINATED AS OUTDOOR WEAR IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND, THE PERFORATIONS WERE DRAINAGE HOLES. NOW A MARK OF CONSIDERED BRITISH STYLE.

LOAFER. A SLIP-ON SHOE WITHOUT LACING. COMBINES EASE WITH FORM. ORIGINATING IN NORWAY AND ADOPTED BY ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STYLE IN THE MID TWENTIETH CENTURY.

MONK STRAP. SECURED BY ONE OR TWO BUCKLES RATHER THAN LACES. DISTINCTIVE AND DIRECTIONAL. THE CONTINENTAL ALTERNATIVE TO LACE-UP FORMALITY.

CHELSEA BOOT. AN ANKLE-HIGH BOOT WITH ELASTIC SIDE PANELS AND NO LACING. DESIGNED IN ENGLAND IN THE 1850S. A QUINTESSENTIALLY BRITISH SILHOUETTE THAT HAS NEVER REQUIRED REVISION.

CHUKKA BOOT. ANKLE-HIGH WITH TWO OR THREE EYELET LACING. ORIGINALLY A POLO BOOT. NOW THE MOST VERSATILE BOOT SILHOUETTE IN THE CONSIDERED CASUAL WARDROBE.

WINGTIP. A TOE CAP THAT EXTENDS ALONG BOTH SIDES OF THE SHOE IN A W SHAPE. THE DEFINING FEATURE OF THE FULL BROGUE. ASSOCIATED WITH COUNTRY AND SPORTING ENGLISH DRESS.

CAP TOE. AN ADDITIONAL PIECE OF LEATHER COVERING THE TOE BOX. ADDS STRUCTURE AND FORMALITY. THE DEFINING ELEMENT OF THE OXFORD AND DERBY IN FORMAL CONTEXTS.