Derby shoe

A derby (UK: /ˈdɑːrbi/ DAR-bee, US: /ˈdɜːrbi/ DUR-bee; also called gibson[1]) is a style of boot or shoe characterized by quarters, with shoelace eyelets, that are sewn on top of the vamp.[2] This construction method, also known as "open lacing", contrasts with that of the Oxford shoe.

Senator J. Hamilton Lewis and attorney Joseph P. Tumulty pictured wearing "white bucks", 1917
A plain Derby shoe

In American English the derby shoe may be referred to as a 'blucher', although technically the blucher is a different design of shoe where only eyelet tabs (not larger quarters) are sewn onto a single-piece vamp.

In modern colloquial English the derby shoe may be referred to as 'bucks' when the upper is made of buckskin.[3] "White bucks", or light-colored suede or buckskin (or nubuck) derby shoes, usually with a red sole, were long popular among the students and graduates of Ivy League colleges.[4] By translation, these shoes also became associated with elite law firms in America's eastern cities, especially New York and Boston, giving rise to the name "white-shoe firm" used to describe these prestigious legal institutions.[5]

The derby became a popular sporting and hunting boot in the 1850s. By the turn of the 20th century the derby had become appropriate for wear in town.[6]

Detail of a man's derby-style dress shoe showing lacing eyelet tabs sewn on top of the vamp

See also

  • List of shoe styles

References

  1. "definition of 'gibson' shoe?". Men's Clothing Forums. 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  2. Definition of Derby OxfordDictionaries.com
  3. "Dropping Knowledge: Bucks". GQ. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  4. Safire, William (November 9, 1997). "On Language; Gimme the Ol' White Shoe". New York Times.
  5. "New Jersey State Bar Journal". New Jersey State Bar Association. June 25, 1957 via Google Books.
  6. Flusser, Alan. Dressing the Man HarperCollins, 2002, pg 195.


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