Ablucher (/ˈbluːtʃər/ or/ˈbluːkər/,German pronunciation:[ˈblʏçɐ],Blücher) is a style of lace-upshoe with itsvamp made of a single piece of leather ("one cut"), atop which are sewn its eyestays, which contain theshoelaceeyelets, an attribute called "open lacing."[1]
The blucher is similar to aderby since both feature open lacing, in contrast to theOxford shoe, which fastens the vamp on over the eyestays ("closed lacing"). However, in the derby, the upper's vamp is separate from its largequarters, while in the blucher, the upper is made of one cut.[2] InAmerican English, these distinctions are sometimes elided, "blucher" also being used to refer to derby shoes and "Oxford" to refer to bluchers.
The blucher is named after the 18th-centuryPrussian Field MarshalGebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who commissioned a boot with side pieces lapped over the front in an effort to provide his troops with improved footwear. The design was adopted by armies acrossEurope.[1]
