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Boot lacing question

post #1 of 15
3/26/07 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
I recently acquired very nice pair of ankle boots. When the laces are tightened I'm left a good 12 inches of lace on each side. I'm currently wrapping the laces around the top of the boot which leaves me with the normal length witg which to tie my knot. Short of changing laces, is there any better way to 'take up the slack'?
Attachment 3204
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post #2 of 15
3/26/07 at 1:25pm
Nice boots! I dont know of any shortening method. Since the boots are new for you, why not get a pair of laces that are an ideal length?

I think that would look better than your current wrap-around method of lacing.
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post #3 of 15
3/26/07 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I like the width and 'grip' of these laces (and they did come w/ the boots)....
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post #4 of 15
3/26/07 at 1:37pm
The answer may be found here:

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm

lefty
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post #5 of 15
3/26/07 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty View Post
+1 The first thing you should do is relace them with straight lacing and then see how much slack there is.
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post #6 of 15
3/26/07 at 8:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jared View Post
+1 The first thing you should do is relace them with straight lacing and then see how much slack there is.

They are blucher boots and should be cross laced.

The photo is of a pair of Aldens. I have the same boots, and the Alden-supplied laces are the right length for cross lacing, with enough for a generous but not excessive bow.
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post #7 of 15
3/26/07 at 8:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Will View Post
They are blucher boots and should be cross laced.
Is this a rule? Can you cite a source? The popular story about straight-lacing is that it was standard for military boots because it can be cut off quickly. Ian says straight-lacing is required on many modern military dress uniforms. Given the widespread influence of military dress on men's style, straight-lacing is the default stylish lacing. Blucher boots are the closest civilian shoes to combat boots, therefore there is more reason to lace them straight than any other shoes. However, given the difficulty of tightening straight-laced boots, double-helix lacing might be acceptable (this is how I lace my hiking boots).
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post #8 of 15
3/26/07 at 8:41pm
those are Alden boots? What are they called?

I have a pair of tricker brogue boots, and paul smith, I lace the original laces normal cross and there is no excess.
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post #9 of 15
3/27/07 at 11:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Will View Post
They are blucher boots and should be cross laced.

The photo is of a pair of Aldens. I have the same boots, and the Alden-supplied laces are the right length for cross lacing, with enough for a generous but not excessive bow.

Yes, these are the Alden cigar shell cordovans from Tom Park at LeatherSole. I have them cross laced in the 'over under' manner (as opposed to traditional criss-cross), but end up with an extra 9 - 10 inches of lace. Without wrapping my bow might generously be termed "generous"....
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post #10 of 15
3/27/07 at 12:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by romafan View Post
Yes, these are the Alden cigar shell cordovans from Tom Park at LeatherSole. I have them cross laced in the 'over under' manner (as opposed to traditional criss-cross), but end up with an extra 9 - 10 inches of lace. Without wrapping my bow might generously be termed "generous"....

Just make a second bow.

I admit to the criss-cross on bluchers.

Hiking boots at last are a different story.
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post #11 of 15
3/27/07 at 4:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jared View Post
Is this a rule? Can you cite a source?


I ama long way from my library today. The rule is straight lacing for oxfords and cross lacing for bluchers. Cross lacing works better to hold bluchers together.
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post #12 of 15
3/28/07 at 12:45am
During my minimalistic military service, I am quite certain my uniform shoes--black PT bluchers--were cross laced.

On some boots I have followed the procedure of wrapping the laces around the upper to shorten them. However, they have a been a good deal less dressy than your Aldens.
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post #13 of 15
3/28/07 at 12:59am
When my grandpa bequeathed his Coastie boots to me, he showed me how to ladder lace them, and it does take up a lot of lace to do it. That is the method they used for boots in some military service so the laces can be cut quickly if the foot needs medical attention. I don't know how it would look with flat laces though.

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ladderlacing.htm
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post #14 of 15
3/28/07 at 2:14am
I have a pair of nice work boots that are about 10 inches or so tall, I do a combination of ladder and over under. It shortens the laces a lot and tightens up pretty well. Not sure how it work on a dress boot since I've never owned a pair, but since I figured out how to do it I'd never lace a boot any other way. When my laces break it's really easy to just tie it off until you can swap the lace out, the ladder/over under combo will hold well enough that you can barely feel the difference and it's hard to see unless you really look. I tend to break laces fairly often since I wear my boots hard so I've had to do this a few times now.
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post #15 of 15
11/23/11 at 2:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty View Post

The answer may be found here:

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/lacingmethods.htm


lefty

Good heavens! I had never seen so many variants of lacing a shoe. I thought it worth a re-post.
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