A Guide To Wingtip Shoes

2023-11-23

A wingtip shoe is a reminder of how great shoes are. Don’t get us wrong, we love a sneaker, but a handcrafted, shoe is a thing of beauty. The curation of material, timeless traditions, skill, style and art all come together for footwear that looks the part and makes you feel different. There’s a reason why you feel a certain way in a suit and leather shoes. Clothes have that power and a wingtip falls into that category.

That said, don’t underestimate the adaptability of a wingtip. The visually interesting upgrade on a standard leather shoe will do a job beneath a pleated trouser as well as denim. Here’s what to look out for with some inspiration on the best men's wingtip shoes to invest in.

What are wingtip shoes?
A wingtip shoe, or a full brogue as it often referred to, is a shoe with a distinctive W shape on the toe. The W resembles the flap of a bird’s wings and this distinctive front portion of the shoe can either be brogued or plain. Wingtips are thought to originate from Irish and Scottish brogued walking boots. The broguing allowed for water to easily pass through when navigating especially boggy terrain.

As is so often the case, pragmatic styles were soon absorbed into fashion and brogued boots and shoes soon became popular for everyday wear with tailoring. The toe cap itself is thought to have originated as a reinforcing feature and soon enough designers were experimenting with shape. The W shape stuck and the style remains popular to this day.

Types of wingtip shoes
Classic wingtip
The standard issue classic wingtip is typically a leather brogue with the aforementioned W shape toe cap. The wings usually meet the middle of the shoe and the shoe itself will feature broguing detail throughout.

Austerity brogue
The austerity brogue is what purists will point out differentiates the wingtip and the full brogue. An austerity brogue features no broguing, but the same W shape on a classically styled leather shoe.

Longwing brogue
Longwings also affectionately known as American brogues feature winged toecaps that go all the way back to the rear of the shoe. Unlike a classic wingtip with wings that only go back halfway. The broguing detail tends to go all the way back too.

Wingtip boots
Wingtip boots as the name suggests are boots that feature the classic wingtip toe detail and broguing.

Spectator shoes
Somewhat of an acquired taste but good to be in the know. A spectator shoe or brogue is a classic wingtip style shoe using contrasting colours.