Just wanted to ask between the difference between DMS shoes and Oxford pattern shoes. I refer to the following quotation from AP 1358C:
DMS shoes have rubber soul and welt.
Oxfords have a leather Goodyear welt and flat sole. Oxfords are scaled for Officers & WO only.
I see - I have just been composing recommendations to junior cadets on what shoes to get so it’ll probably be useful to get it right!
BTW does it matter whether DMS shoes come with a toecap? From personal experience it is probably easier to polish with a toecap but is that a part of the definition of DMS shoes (or otherwise)?
Definitely go DMS. Oxfords being flat soled can be lethal on wet floor as they have minimal grip.
Shoes should have a toe cap. However if a cadet buys shoes without I’m not going to give them a chewing for it since its private purchase, however would expect a definite “toe cap” polished in
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Absolutely - thanks. We are a CCF and parade in school shoes so I’ll just recommend that they get shoes as resembling to DMS as possible (they aren’t hugely popular school shoes and it will be unlikely that they’ll get DMS purely for weekly activities). I managed to get shoes that looked quite like DMS from Clarks (they were on a huge discount) myself to double as school shoes.
Ebay’s always fairly consistent with shoes
The Oxfords also never polish up as well either.
Unless beeswaxed…but that’s encouraging cadets to play with fire
Plus unless you are on it with the soles you slip and slide all over the place.
I now wear DMS for everything (as my Oxfords have seen better days) as they are just more comfortable and have traction.
Every year on Remembrance Sunday I nearly fall over on the marble chapel floor…
As above.
Strictly-speaking Oxfords are the style of shoe (and both varieties are technically Oxfords), but are distinct in terms of our regulations.
DMS stands for “directly-moulded sole” and means that the sole is one-piece and made of rubber - make sure that you specify shoes as there are also at least two types of boots known as DMS which have nothing in common with the correct-pattern shoes, other than the aforementioned sole.
“Oxfords” have a multi-piece sole made of leather.
Quite the opposite… Since the whole shoe should be highly polished - not just the toecap - there should be no discernible difference at all.
True that
When I first started as a cadet MANY moons ago, I used to have Dr Marten shoes. I used to put a bit of sellotape over the top to section off a toe cap, then bulled the toe cap area. Discuss… lol!
Slighly off topic, but I love a good pair of Dr Martens!
I’ve had pairs that have lasted me years.
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