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What’s This About
Lace Oxfords with straight bar lacing, which shows neat horizontal bars and hides the verticals inside, and use straight or criss-cross lacing on Derbies, Derby brogues and boots as you prefer.
This guide answers the questions men ask with a new pair of laces and a dress shoe in hand, such as
• How do I do straight bar lacing, step by step?
• What if my shoes have an odd number of eyelet pairs?
• Should Derbies be straight laced or criss-crossed?
• How long should dress shoe laces be, and round or flat?
• Which knot keeps dress shoes tied all day?
and many more!
Count your eyelet pairs first, because that decides how the lacing starts.
Key Points
01Straight bar lacing is the standard for Oxfords. Ian’s Shoelace Site describes it as horizontal bars outside with “inner, hidden verticals”, and Gentleman’s Gazette says it “works best for casual to formal shoes”.
02Odd and even eyelets lace differently, and with an odd number of pairs you start with one end about 2 inches longer and finish with a hidden diagonal under the top pair.
03On Derbies the guides disagree, with Gentleman’s Gazette straight lacing them while Real Men Real Style calls criss-cross “the more honest match for a Derby”.
04Finish with a knot that sits across the shoe, because a balanced bow, or the “magic” knot Gentleman’s Gazette recommends, sits straight and holds better than a granny knot.
The rule
Straight bars on Oxfords, your choice on Derbies, and a bow that sits across the shoe rather than along it.
Count the eyelets and check the lacing system
Two details decide how you lace a dress shoe.
The first is the number of eyelet pairs, and Real Men Real Style says dress shoes traditionally have “5 or 6 pairs of eyelets”, though the number can be anything from two to eight.
The second is closed or open lacing.
On an Oxford the eyelet tabs are stitched under the front of the shoe and close flush; on a Derby they sit on top and are designed to spread apart, which Real Men Real Style describes as tabs that “won’t close flush the way an Oxford’s do”.
Straight bar lacing, step by step
Straight bar lacing gives a row of parallel bars across the top of the shoe with the vertical runs hidden underneath.
Ian’s Shoelace Site, a long-running reference on lacing methods, says it “looks neat plus relieves pressure on the upper ridge of the foot.”
With an even number of eyelet pairs (4 or 6)
Step 1. Run the lace straight across the outside of the bottom pair of eyelets and feed both ends in, so the two ends are equal underneath.
Step 2. Take one end up the inside and out through the second eyelet on its own side, then straight across the outside and in through the second eyelet opposite.
Step 3. Now take the other end up the inside, skipping one eyelet, and out through the third eyelet on its side, then straight across and in through the third eyelet opposite.
Step 4. Keep alternating ends, each one skipping an eyelet on the inside and crossing straight over the outside, until both ends come out at the top pair.
Gentleman’s Gazette gives the same sequence, “alternating between left and right hand sides until you reach the pair of eyelets at the top.”
With an odd number of eyelet pairs (5)
Ian’s Shoelace Site says straight bar lacing “only works neatly on shoes with even numbers of eyelet pairs”, because “the shoelace must cross the shoe an even number of times so that the ends meet in the middle.”
The usual workaround is a hidden diagonal at the top.
Start with one end about 2 inches longer than the other; Gentleman’s Gazette says to “ensure you have about 2 inches more on either the right or left side of the lace if your shoes have an odd number of eyelet pairs”.
Lace the bars as above, starting with the longer end.
At the top, Gentleman’s Gazette says to “cross the longer lace diagonally underneath and up through the last eyelet on the opposite side.”
The diagonal is hidden under the tabs, so the outside still shows clean bars.
Straight European lacing, the simpler alternative
Ian’s Shoelace Site describes a second straight method, “more common in Europe”, that “has straight sections on the outside and diagonals on the inside.”
Each end runs diagonally up the inside to the next eyelet on the opposite side, then straight across the outside.
On a closed Oxford it looks the same from the outside; the site notes that it lets the uppers “come completely together in the middle without bunching or corrugation”.
Straight or criss-cross on Derbies, Derby brogues and boots?
This is where the guides disagree.
Gentleman’s Gazette says straight bar lacing “works on open-lace styles (like Derbies) as well as closed-lace styles (such as Oxfords)”, and that “straight-bar lacing looks best across the board.”
Real Men Real Style says that on a Derby “you’ll see a gap between the bars”, and calls criss-cross “the honest choice there, and on anything casual”.
Gentleman’s Gazette also notes the tradition behind the split, that “criss-cross lacing was reserved for casual country boots and shoes, and straight-bar lacing was for formal city shoes.”
So on Oxfords, straight bars are the convention; on Derbies, Derby brogues and boots, choose by look and by how the shoe closes on your foot.
An Oxford brogue is still an Oxford, so lace it with straight bars.
For the difference between Oxfords, Derbies and other dress shoes, see our dress shoes guide.
Lace length, and round or flat
Count the eyelet pairs before you buy laces.
Scroll horizontally to see all columns →
| Eyelet pairs | Lace length given by Real Men Real Style |
|---|---|
| 3 to 4 | 27 in / 70 cm |
| 5 | 30 to 32 in / 75 to 80 cm |
| 6 | 32 in / 80 cm |
| Dress boots, 5 to 7 | 45 to 47 in / 115 to 120 cm |
Real Men Real Style notes that “Straight lacing eats slightly less lace than criss-cross”, so if you are between two lengths and straight lace, take the shorter one.
Wide-set eyelets need the longer end of each range; the guide says its lengths “are for typical dress-shoe eyelet spacing”.
For the lace itself, thin waxed cotton is the usual choice for dress shoes; Real Men Real Style says “The wax prevents the laces from becoming too slippery.”
Round laces read as the more formal option, and the guide calls “a 2 to 3mm waxed round lace” on a black cap-toe Oxford “about as dressy as a lace gets”, with flat laces “a half-step more casual”.
Gentleman’s Gazette agrees that “Thin, round shoelaces will elevate the formality of both the shoes and your overall ensemble.”
How to tie dress shoes so the bow sits straight
A bow that sits along the shoe, from toe to heel, is usually a granny knot, and it comes undone more easily.
Real Men Real Style says a granny knot sits “vertically (from heel to toe), instead of across the top part of your shoe”, and that it makes the laces more likely to “come undone.”
The fix is to reverse the first half-knot, so if you usually start left over right, start right over left, or wrap the second loop the other way.
Gentleman’s Gazette recommends a variation it calls the “magic” knot, in which “you bring the second lace under the first loop instead of over it”, giving “a flat, horizontal knot that isn’t likely to come undone during the day.”
Do not tuck dress shoe laces in; Gentleman’s Gazette says to tie them “in an elegant knot and allow them to sit on top of your shoes”.
New Oxfords may not close fully at first; Gentleman’s Gazette says “it’s natural if the laces don’t close fully at first.”
Common questions
Q. Is straight lacing more formal than criss-cross?
Yes, by convention. Straight bars are the traditional lacing for formal city shoes, and criss-cross for country and casual shoes.
Q. Can I straight lace sneakers?
Yes; Gentleman’s Gazette says “a pair of leather dress sneakers benefits from this method of lacing, too!”
Q. How tight should dress shoe laces be?
Gentleman’s Gazette says “tight enough that your feet stay locked into your shoes, but not so tight that they cut off your circulation or cause discomfort.”
Sources checked for this article (5 October 2026)
Ian’s Shoelace Site, Straight bar lacing, https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/straightbarlacing.htm
Ian’s Shoelace Site, Straight European lacing, https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/straighteuropeanlacing.htm
Gentleman’s Gazette, How to lace Oxfords, Derbies and men’s dress shoes, https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/lace-oxfords-dress-shoes/
Real Men Real Style, How to lace dress shoes, https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/tying-shoe-laces/
Mandy Meyer’s focus at The VOU is men’s body-shape styling, garment fit and outfit proportions. Her coverage addresses the practical questions behind a wardrobe choice: how a jacket sits across the shoulders, how trousers fall and how different cuts change the silhouette a wearer wants to create.
Her subject areas include the triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle, oval, trapezoid, hourglass and diamond labels used in body-shape styling. These provide starting references for comparing visible proportions; they do not capture every body or prescribe one correct way to dress. The focus connects those observations with garment shape, construction, length and the relationship between the upper and lower parts of an outfit.
Mandy’s editorial coverage combines visual comparisons with fit checks for comfort and movement. Readers can consider whether a cut gives them the room they need, where clothing pulls or gathers and which changes might support their preferred look. The aim is to make menswear choices more understandable while keeping personal preferences and the wearer’s own styling goals central.
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