Austerity Brogues – faux brogues with properly executed line decoration
Austerity Brogues are implied full brogues, but their decoration is much more subtle. Instead of relying on perforations, Austerity Brogues use wing caps and heel counters with double stitching so the lines stand out better.
Example variant
Austerity Brogue blucher in brown, embossed smooth leather
This variant is based on the so-called blucher base model, which is relatively rare and, from the outside, looks very similar to the derby. The embossed smooth leather in brown already suggests that this is a casual shoe, and the thick sole does, too. The clearly visible, curved seams add additional variety to the already exciting upper leather. Because if you look closely, you can see that the embossing of the leather is relatively irregular and the dot-like patterns differ greatly from one another in size and contour lines—like a small, handmade work of art.
Special characteristics
The name comes from the fact that an Austerity Brogue imitates a brogue—a full brogue—only with the difference that the Austerity Brogue completely forgoes perforations. So it is less decorative than a full brogue. The decoration here is subtler: The different shoe components that make up the shoe’s upper—the upper visible area—have edges where they are sewn together. These seams naturally form lines that the eye can follow and that are also a kind of decoration. For example, you can make the lines clearly visible with so-called contrast stitching, or you can make the lines very inconspicuous by choosing stitching in the same color as the upper leather. In this situation, the following two factors are important for an Austerity Brogue:
- the seams are clearly visible (not necessarily contrast stitching)
- the seams are reinforced by doubling the stitch (another seam that runs parallel)
To me, this emphasis on line work is what gives an Austerity Brogue its charm. The lines are therefore another type of decoration that is subtler than on normal brogues, which all work with perforations. While there is also double stitching around the broguing on those, it is much less noticeable because of the more eye-catching holes. In that sense, Austerity Brogues are a good example of the saying that sometimes less is more.
By the way, you should wear Austerity Brogues more for leisure than for formal occasions. Even if the decoration is reduced, it is still decoration that doesn’t suit formal shoes as well. In Europe, office dress codes are also much more relaxed than they were many decades ago, so you can wear Austerity Brogues there as well.
Details that define an Austerity Brogue
1. Wing cap
The wing cap has no perforations at all and features double, clearly recognizable stitching.
2. Heel counter / back counter
The heel counter has no perforations at all and features double, clearly visible stitching.
3. Other edges of upper components
The sides have no perforations at all, regardless of which upper components the shoe is composed of. In this case, this is a blucher base model. On a derby, the corresponding derby curve on the side would then be undecorated. The upper components are attached with double stitching that is clearly recognizable.
Austerity Brogues with inconspicuous stitching
If, for example, you have black Austerity Brogues with black stitching, then the line work described above doesn’t really come into its own. On the contrary, especially with embossed leather, the seams visually recede and can’t be perceived as strongly.
To me, in such a case it makes almost no difference whether you have an Austerity Brogue or simply a basic model without any additional decoration.
