The Taxonomy of Business Casual Shoes

Bridlen makes a wide variety of footwear for every occasion, including boots and loafers, but many folks aren’t sure which of our shoes are more formal or how they are differentiated, so when Nick from Stridewise visited our headquarters in Chennai, he took the opportunity to demystify the taxonomy of the business casual shoe. You can watch our breakdown in the video below:

Oxfords:

Generally considered the dressiest lace-up shoe, Oxfords are identifiable by their closed lacing system: the lacing panels are sewn underneath the vamp. Instead of closing over the entirety of the shoe, an Oxford’s laces take up less real estate and they necessarily close in a V-shape: there’s more space between the laces where they’re tied than where they join over the instep.

This means Oxfords are a little harder to size because you can’t adjust the fit as much as you can with a derby. This is especially important for those with tall insteps.

Bluchers:

Bluchers are a type of derby — but not all derbies are bluchers. With a blucher, the laces close over the top of the shoe, but the eyelet panel is sewn separately onto the upper. The laces don't extend from a large piece of leather that might extend down to the counter or the sole like a derby: the blucher is more minimalist.

Wingtips:

Contrary to popular belief, wingtips aren’t defined by their broguing — the decorative perforations with which they’re usually adorned. A wingtip means the tip has wings; in other words, the piece of leather that covers the toe extends down the shoe on either side of the vamp, terminating around the midfoot.

Nick found it helpful to think of wingtips as shoes with “a long toecap”: instead of the “toecap” just capping off the toes, it runs further down the sides of the shoe.

Longwings:

A longwing is like a wingtip but with an even longer toe piece: the toe piece extends all the way down the shoe and appears to wrap around it at the heel, where it meets the other “wing” of the toe piece.

When assessing a shoe’s formality, you should know that an Oxford is best for a suit and tie while the rest of these models are preferable for business casual attire — this can still include a tie, but the jacket and trousers aren’t the same fabric. Think tweed sports jacket and wool trousers or chinos.

But as we describe in the video, the type and color of leather that the shoe is made of is also a factor in how dressy it is: a brown suede Oxford will be less suitable for a suit and tie than a slim derby made of black boxcalf, which is typically thought of as the archetypal dress shoe leather.

For more detail, watch the video above or read the full article on Stridewise.