Ways To Lace Shoes – The Derby Shoe

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Last week, we showed you How To Lace Oxfords the Proper Way, and today we’ll show you a video of how to lace Derby Shoes but there is actually quite a wide range of ways to lace and tie your shoelaces. According to renowned shoe lacing expert Ian Fieggen, there are almost two trillion ways to lace a shoe using just six pairs of eyelets!

Table of Contents
YouTube video

If we look at the most common lacing techniques, we see criss-crossed patterns and straight lacing. Criss-cross lacing is by far the most common and works well for a variety of less formal shoes and boots. In general, this is the strongest method of securing your shoes and has the lowest chance of coming undone simply due to regular or natural movement.

Red Flat Waxed Cotton Laces on Derby Shoe in Criss Cross Lacing
Red Flat Waxed Cotton Laces on Derby Shoe in Criss Cross Lacing

Where it fails is with certain shoes such as Oxfords or Balmoral Boots since it doesn’t allow the sides of the shoe to fully adjoin in the middle and it simply looks less elegant. Hence you go with bar lacing for Oxfords.

However, for Derby Shoes Criss Cross Lacing is perfect, although Bar Lacing is also perfectly acceptable.

Light Brown Cotton Shoelaces on Dark Brown Derby Shoes with Bar Lacing
Light Brown Cotton Shoelaces on Dark Brown Derby Shoes with Bar Lacing

How To Lace Derby or Blucher Shoes – Criss-Cross Lacing or Bar Lacing

  1. Use proper Dress Shoe Laces. Whether you go with thin round shoelaces or flat thin dress shoe laces is up to you. Both are perfect but avoid thick nylon laces.
  2. Insert both ends of the lace in the bottom holes /eyelets of the shoe, so the laces are on top of the leather, just like with the oxford lacing above.
  3. Pull both ends so they are even and have the same length.
  4. Take the lace end on the outside of the shoe, and put it in the whole on the inside of the shoe inserting it from the top down. Then put the lace end from the inside to the outside whole from the top down.
  5. Now, take the lace on the inside of the shoe and insert it from the bottom in the third hole on the same side, and back into the third hole on the opposite side from the top.
  6. Continue in the same fashion, until you reach the last holes. For those, put the laces through the eyelets from the bottom up.
  7. Pull on both ends to tighten the lacing and tie your shoelace.