As Christian Louboutin has rightly stated―A shoe is not only a design, but it's a part of your body language, the way you walk. The way you're going to move is quite dictated by your shoes―shoes actually owe us a lot! They are not just random designs, but part and parcel of our body language. The way we present ourselves and the way people perceive us has a lot to do with the shoes we wear. Don't believe me? Try wearing a funky neon pair to your workplace! Jokes apart, we are here to talk about the two most popular shoe styles: Oxfords and Bluchers, but before that, let's get our knowledge (about shoes) brushed up. Most dress shoes (in fact, all types of shoes, duh!) have toe caps, vamps, quarters, eyelets and laces. Vamp: It forms the front part of the shoe that covers the toes and instep. Quarter: It is the back portion of the shoe that wraps around the heel and gets merged with the vamp amidst the foot. Let's have an Oxford Vs. Blucher analysis, spanning their anatomy and construction. ■ Oxfords are the authoritative dress shoes, so much so that people while getting any standard dress shoes refer to it as being Oxford! ■ The history of Oxford shoes is a matter of debate. Some claim this shoe is from Scotland and Ireland where they are referred as Balmorals (named after the Balmoral Castle), while others say it has roots linked to the students of Oxford University. ■ The plain cap-toe Oxford shoe prominently has round toes and closed lacing. They usually are low-heeled and have an exposed ankle, much like the Bluchers. ■ Notice in the image above; the eyelets are stitched under the vamp, the quarters and facing are secured under the vamp, the lace flaps conjoin at the bottom, and hence, there's no gap between the laces―closed lacing that is! ■ This is the most formal option with men, much more formal than Bluchers. ■ Blucher―a crossover fellow that spans the formal and informal world pretty well. ■ It's etymology has originally come from Prussian army officer Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher during the Napoleonic Wars, who took it upon himself to redesign boots for comfort. ■ The distinctive feature of Bluchers is that they have an open lacing system, i.e., a slight gap is introduced between the lace flaps when the laces are tied, since they do not join at the bottom. ■ The standard Blucher has eyelets stitched over the vamp and the quarters and facing is sewn on top of the vamp. Well, both these dress shoes have set a benchmark in the fashion world, and can be worn interchangeably. But our fashion sense called for a plain toe Oxford for formal events, and full or semi-brogue Bluchers for casual affairs.