According to legend, these lace-up shoes have the mid-19th-century students of Oxford College to thank for their immense popularity. Said students favoured these comfortable low-rise shoes over the boots that had been popular until that time, and firmly established the Oxford in the canon of classic men’s footwear. At the turn of the 20th century women began to wear these flat, low-rise shoes as well, confidently combining them with classic business apparel.