Semi-Brogues - Casual Shoes Decorated with Perforated Patterns
Semi-brogues, also known as half-brogues, are a small feast for the eyes - you can follow their perforated patterns with your gaze and admire these many small embellishments. These shoes are anything but boring and are accordingly very well-suited for leisure wear.
Example Variant
Semi-Brogues in Reddish Brown
Derby shoes in red are already particularly versatile, and with the typical semi-brogue perforated patterns, they become quite a bit more casual; however, even so, you can usually wear them to the office here in Europe. Otherwise, these shoes are excellent casual footwear.
Inside the shoe, you can notice bumps on the insole, which are an indication that the shoe was likely hand-welted and thus manufactured in the Goodyear-welted style. This is because by hand, you can exert more pressure with the seam than a so-called Goodyear machine does, which can also apply the same seam mechanically. For me, these bumps are therefore a mark of quality. If you would like to learn more about the Goodyear-welted construction method, you can do so here:
Special Features
The most striking decoration on a semi-brogue is the so-called medallion on the toe cap at the front of the shoe. Additionally, there is extensive lyra perforation—the narrow, visual strips of perforated patterns that we know in a more subtle way from the so-called quarter-brogue. Both decorations characterize the semi-brogue, making it the next level of ornamentation for a brogue following the quarter-brogue.
When can you wear such shoes if you like them? First, you must know that all these decorations are a casual element and thus make the shoe more informal. All the perforated patterns will very likely attract a lot of attention, which means the semi-brogue is simply not suitable for truly formal occasions, even if it is black. However, you can wear black semi-brogues for less formal occasions and in the office.
Otherwise, semi-brogues in a color other than black are excellent for leisure: for this, you can use brown, reddish-brown, green, and many other colors. In my eyes, somewhat clearer colors even emphasize the playful character of the semi-brogues. But you can also use black semi-brogues for leisure: if you combine such shoes with casual gray pieces, for example, it will also work well, even if black is not the best color for leisure time.
Variants
“False” Semi-Brogues without Caps
This is not a semi-brogue because the toe and heel caps are missing and there is no proper lyra perforation. In lyra perforation, two small holes and one large hole alternate and are framed by seams on the outside. But the medallion on the toe at the front of the shoe is present, and instead of lyra perforation, simple, uniformly sized holes are used that are not framed by seams.
This shoe serves, on the one hand, as a contrast to the semi-brogue to clarify what defines a semi-brogue. On the other hand, this shoe is intended to show how creatively one can take the well-known semi-brogue variant as inspiration to create something relatively new. To my knowledge, this so-called wholecut Oxford with perforated patterns does not have a specific name. It doesn’t need its own name, however, because you can imagine that many other variants can be invented based on the same principle. Usually, only the more popular variants that are in high enough demand receive their own name.