Wingtips were the quintessential “dad” shoe: as shiny as his Vitalis-licked hair, as hard and inflexible as his conservative opinions and, yes, as boringly staid as the old boy himself. Well, no more, but it takes a hip guy to preen in some of the new wingtip styles brightening up shoe departments these days.
Shine in the coppery glow of a metallic brogue (the name of a shoe style that can apply to certain wingtips) created by the always innovative Duckie Brown, designing for those uber-traditionalists, Florsheim. Savor the ruddy rubber soles perking up the look of the Dylan, a classic wingtip or the shock of white painted leather supporting the summery indigo of William, two updated brogues from Grenson, the venerable English shoemaker. Strut to the new beat of men’s fashion in Prada’s black wingtip espadrilles, classic wingtip styling perched atop double-thick espadrille soles.
“It’s all about putting a modern spin on a classic idea,” said Noah Zagor, director of brand communication for Haberdash men’s shop in Chicago. “A lot of guys are looking back and seeing pictures of their dads or their dad’s dad and see how they dressed perfectly.”
While the colors and the shapes of the cutting-edge styles catch the eye and the editorial ink, one can snag the new wave in wingtips and still be on the safe side of caution.
Go with any shade brown, Zagor said, and keep the shoe sort of chunky. Wear ’em without socks, or laces; pair with simple straight leg jeans or rolled up chinos and a soft jacket, he said.
Why all the flash and why now?
“I call it the sneaker-fication of the brogue,” said Elizabeth Semmelhack, senior curator at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
She believes men are becoming more engaged in fashion, in more daring fashion, and that the sneaker has often taken the lead with “outrageously” colored soles and laces.
“Sneakers have softened men up to the idea that color and decoration are appropriate in male dress,” she added. “It’s so interesting to see these brogues or wingtips with brightly colored laces and when I see those colored soles it seems to come from sneaker culture.”
Agreeing with her is designer Daniel Silver; he and Steven Cox are the men behind Duckie Brown and the Florsheim by Duckie Brown shoe line.
“We get a lot of inspiration from the streets of New York,” Silver said. “Running shoes and all those sports shoes do influence what’s happening in fashion.”
Silver said the changes happening with today’s footwear aren’t all radical but evolving.
Indeed, the very story of the wingtip is one of evolution. It is rooted in the brogue, which began as a work shoe worn in Scotland and Ireland.
The shoe had holes, or brogues, punched into the leather to let any water drain out while stomping through bogs and other wet spots. In the 18th century, wealthy Englishmen began to wear country dress to signify that they were actively involved in the workings of their estates, Semmelhack said, “and by the second half of the 19th century, decorative broguing was added to men’s business shoes in reference to the traditional Scottish designs found on work shoes.”
“Today, wingtips are not associated with managing an estate but Wall Street,” she added. “The idea of it as a business shoe still shows through.”
Wingtips are now icons of masculinity, Semmelhack added, noting the notion men aren’t interested in fashion is erroneous. The crack in that lie is becoming wider, she said, “and it’s starting with the feet.”
