THE GHILLIE – TRADITIONAL DANCE SHOES
Ghillies are a type of soft leather shoe used for Irish and Scottish dancing. Ghillie shoes are specifically designed footwear that is worn by men, women, and children for several types of folk dancing. They are buttery soft handcrafted leather shoes, similar to ballet shoes. Ghillie dance shoes are worn by women in Irish dance, by men and women in Scottish country dance, and by men and women in Scottish highland dance. You may also have heard that Ghillie shoes are called by a variety of other terms such as light shoes, “pomps”, pumps, and soft shoes. Your feet deserve the best. Make the switch from ballet shoes to Ghillie shoes today!
What materials are used to manufacture the Ghillie shoe?
Almost always handmade of a fine supple leather that very elegantly and luxuriously forms to the foot, Ghillies are a type of buttery soft comfortable footwear. Ghillies are designed and handcrafted by using thin soft leather laces that will crisscross over the top portion of the foot, over the instep, and are tied together much like a sneaker or tennis shoe. You may have noticed that a majority of dancers do actually use laces, which are indeed required in dance competitions. However, it is true that some dancers will wear Ghillie shoes that feature elastic instead of the traditional leather laces. For a more secure fit, it has been seen that some dancers will indeed wrap the leather shoe laces around the foot, encompassing the soles of the feet. Normally, the soles of the Ghillie shoes will stretch across the complete full bottom of the shoe, which are this called full-soled shoes. These soles, or bottoms, are also handmade from the same luxurious supple leather. The dancer enjoys the comfort and feel as if being barefoot, but the pride and security of wearing custom crafted form fitting fashion footwear.
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Is the appearance of the Ghillie dance shoe limited in color or finish?
Generally, the most common color of leather used for Ghillies is a standard black, but an almost unlimited number of other fashion colors (such as red, green, blue, white, etc.) can be manufactured by dying the leather any number of other creative hues and metallic sheens. White Ghillies can also be dyed a variety of colors matched with costumes to be used by performers of specialty and folk dances, such as those performed in venues at Renaissance Festivals such as the Texas Renaissance Festival and Sherwood Forest Renaissance Festival, and many others.
Today, in our beautiful world of color and variety, look to our creative crafters for an almost unlimited list of rainbow fashion colors and metallic fashion finishes for your Ghillie dance shoes.
How do Ghillies compare to ballet shoes?
Ghillies are normally made from leather, just like ballet shoes or ballet slippers. Ghillies and ballet shoes have soles, or bottoms, that are much alike in their construction and form. Many dancers who initially dance in the Highland or the Irish traditional dancing forms will begin their careers wearing ballet shoes, as the cost of ballet shoes is sometimes considerably lower due to the commercial manufacturing process and the use of often lesser quality leather materials found in the ballet shoes. Because ballet shoes more often than not will feature the use of an elastic band across the ankle, we see this as the most easily identifiable distinction between ballet shoes and Ghillies. Obviously, Ghillies feature supple thin leather laces which are used to fasten the shoe to the foot and the laces are quite long so they may be securely wrapped around the ankle and the foot before tied. Ghillies are also used for the lyrical dance form, which is a beautiful and elegant type of dance.
Your dancer’s feet deserve the best Ghillie dance shoe available, handmade and custom colored to match your unique fashion style and your unique foot! Make the switch today to our unique Ghillie Shoes created by hand from trusted legacy shoe makers, especially for your feet.
