The monk strap: Where did the shoe with sole and sophistication come from?

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Monk shoes were — shock, horror — worn by European monks in the Middle Ages; close-toe alternatives to their traditional sandals, designed to help them better traverse rough terrain and conduct manual labour.

They have a similar silhouette to an Oxford shoe, but instead of laces, they have a thick strap and buckle fastening. They sit between an Oxford and a Derby on the spectrum of smartness; a single-buckle monk shoe in polished black leather is the most formal version because of its streamlined look. Ones with a toe cap or broguing are more informal.

During the 17th century, members of the French aristocracy adopted the monk shoe, appreciating them for their comfort. They were made from high-quality, fine materials such as leather and velvet, in rich colours and with ornate buckle detailing. But what of their rise to fame in Britain? Shoemaker Edward Green helped to popularise the style among British gentleman when he added single and double buckle monk strap styles to his roster in the late 19th century. Handcrafted in leather, Green made the shoes look sleek and stylish. Several decades later, the style was increasingly viewed as a fashionable alternative to Oxfords — helped along by the fact that they were worn by Hollywood stars such as Clark Gable and Cary Grant.

In the 1940s, English shoemaker John Lobb introduced the now iconic ‘William’, a double buckle style initially designed as a sports shoe for weekend wear. They were ‘definitely not to be worn with suit’, according to the brand, but ‘times have changed’ and they now happily recommended it as a business-approrpriate style.

Of course, it wasn’t all plain sailing. In the mid 20th century, monk strap shoes fell out of favour until the 1980s — and were replaced in people's affections by loafers and trainers. Their resurgence, buoyed by fashion-conscious youth, coincided with the release of Crockett & Jones’s ‘ready-to-wear’ monk strap shoe, in partnership with a Parisian retailer looking for a maker that balanced quality and affordability.

The shoe’s popularity flourished enough to make it an icon and they garnered significant attention when Daniel Craig’s James Bond wore them not once, but twice — in Skyfall (2012) in Crockett & Jones’s Monkton shoe in black calf leather, and in Spectre (2015) in the Camberley, a double-buckle boot version.

Though undoubtedly versatile, a double strap monk shoe can only go so far up the ladder of smartness, so if you find yourself in evening attire more often than not, a single strap is the way to go. If you really want to make somebody look twice, Burberry’s snakeskin, chunky heeled monk strap shoes, created in the 1930s and now residing in the Northampton Museum and Gallery, might be your best bet. Sadly, they’re not for sale — so you’ll have to plan your own Louvre-style heist.