A simple way that has nothing to do with this article is to reduce the number of eyelets. Corthay Arca is the best example.
OK, back to this article.
We first think about why Oxford and the two-eyelet Derby are more exquisite than the traditional mainstream five-eyelet Derby.
I think the answer is clean and concise.
The cleanliness and simplicity here is not simply to compare Oxford and Country Brock Derby, because there is no need to say more about the difference between complexity and simplicity in this case.
John Lobb City and the plain toe Alden 990 are very simple in terms of upper design. Why is City more exquisite? Put the last aside.
Isn’t plain toe simpler?
I think the answer lies in the integration of the instep.
Oxford shoes feel like a plane, and Derby shoes, no matter how neat the upper is, the two ears of the open shoelace become the second plane.
And the more obvious the sense of openness, the higher the separation of the plane.
Visually, it feels complicated.
With such theory, how can we put on Derby exquisitely?
The answer is that the two ears of the shoelaces can pull close tightly.
Look at the picture.
This is a pair of four-eyelet derby, and the toe is Wingtip, and there is a serrated pattern on the Wingtip. These elements are not simple. However, the whole shoes still give people a sense of neatness. Why?
It is because the lower edges of the two ears are regular in shape and can pull together completely.
Let’s talk about the most classic five-eyelet Derby Edward Green Dover, which is worn by many people, but only those who can completely straighten and approach the instep can express its exquisiteness.
There is no beauty at all.