ECCO Vitrus I: The Brogue Reinvented

As you know, I love a classic design and when it comes to footwear styles, they certainly don’t come more classic than the brogue.  A design that is instantly recognisable by its perforated detailing and chunky sole.  While doing a bit of digging for this blogpost, I rather interestingly found out the origins of the brogue date back to the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century and was designed to drain water on long walks through boggy fields – a little trivia for you.

Over the years the brogue has been tweaked and tinkered countless times and has been available in just about every colour and material at one point or another.  The basic detailing always remains the same though and for me they look best when crafted in classic colours like black brown or navy.  I find sticking with a solid colour adds to the versatility of this shoe style, which is already a great transition shoe to take you from a formal ‘work’ look to a more relaxed weekend outfit with ease.

This month, ECCO launched their new Vitrus I range of formal shoes and unsurprisingly the brogue design plays a very central part.  ECCO Vitrus I brings together traditional artisan processes and fuses them with innovative new technology for a lighter shoe that is comfortable to wear straight from the box.  No breaking in is required.

I recently took a pair of the new ECCO Vitrus I brogues on a little wander round some of my favourite hidden spots in Glasgow just to see for myself how comfy they actually were.  They are crafted from durable calf leather – made in ECCO’s very own tannery – and hand dyed and finished for a timeless and elegant aesthetic.  The moulded inlay sole and addition of self-cushioning cork layer, ensure that these shoes are comfy right from wear number 1.  There really was none of that horrible rigidness around the heel or across the toes.  They felt lighter too so there was none of that weighty feeling you sometimes get when wearing a pair of smarter shoes.

My personal style is pretty relaxed so I wore the brogues with this smart casual look and in a break from tradition for me I even introduced a pop of colour with this turquoise cashmere jumper from Gant but if I had the kind of job where I was on my feet all day and had to dress a tad smarter, these would be perfect too.

The Vitrus I range is available now from £135 at ECCO.

Btw, how cool are those old neon signs in that abandoned lane?! *loveheart eyes*

#ECCOShoes

A partnership post in collaboration with ECCO Shoes.