Deubré is a generic term, originating at Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc.

Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...

, for an ornamental shoelace tag. Typically, a deubré will have two holes through which a shoelace is threaded, like a bead

Bead

A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...

 on string. When the shoe is laced, the deubré is centered between the first two eyelets (closest to the toe), with the shoelace passing through and behind the deubré. A deubré is typically made of metal, plastic, or leather, and may be decorated with a logo

Logo

A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

 or text. It is distinguished from a bead in that it is non-tubular; it has two points of entry/exit for the shoelace, as a belt

Belt (clothing)

A belt is a flexible band or strap, typically made of leather or heavy cloth, and worn around the waist. A belt supports trousers or other articles of clothing.-History:...

 or webbing

Webbing

Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres often used in place of rope. The name webbing comes from the meshed material frequently used in its construction, which resembles a web...

 may pass through a buckle

Buckle

The buckle or clasp is a device used for fastening two loose ends, with one end attached to it and the other held by a catch in a secure but adjustable manner. Usually overlooked and taken for granted, the invention of the buckle has been indispensable in securing two ends before the invention of...

. One could argue a deubré is functional in that once threaded to the midpoint of a shoelace, it assists in centering the shoelace in the shoe, though not all deubré and shoelace combinations necessarily will provide enough friction to hold the deubré in place while lacing.

Origin of the term

The term deubré originates with a Nike footwear designer, Damon Clegg. In a 1994 product presentation for an internal group, Clegg pointed out features of his design for a Nike ACG boot, eventually coming to the shoelace tag, for which he lacked a term. Falling back on a word he had picked up from his Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

-native college roommate, he called it a "doobrie." Doobrie is a Scottish placeholder name

Placeholder name

Placeholder names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either temporarily forgotten, irrelevant, or unknown in the context in which they are being discussed...

, akin to "watchamacallit" or "thingy." Though Clegg suspected his audience had mistaken doobrie for a technical term, he continued his presentation. The word caught on. Nike documents reflect later uses of the word on designers' sketches and computer files with the Clegg spelling. However, over time, the pronunciation evolved to doo-bray and spellings would come to vary widely from "doobray" to "dubret" and "deubré." The doo-bray pronunciation has become commonplace among sneaker collectors, with wide disagreement as to its spelling. With the publication of a catalog for the Nike Air Force 1

Air Force 1 (shoe)

The Air Force 1 athletic shoe is a product of Nike, Inc. created by designer Bruce Kilgore. This was the first basketball shoe to use the Nike Air technology. This shoe is offered in low, mid and high top.-Overview:...

 in 2006, Nike has come to embrace the spelling "deubré."

Popular versions

A deubré may be used on a dress shoe

Dress shoe

A dress shoe is a shoe to be worn at smart casual or more formal events. A dress shoe is typically contrasted to an athletic shoe....

 or an athletic shoe

Athletic shoe

Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....

. It may vary in shape, size, material or materials, graphics, and text. The Nike Air Force 1, originally designed in 1982 by Bruce Kilgore

Air Force 1 (shoe)

The Air Force 1 athletic shoe is a product of Nike, Inc. created by designer Bruce Kilgore. This was the first basketball shoe to use the Nike Air technology. This shoe is offered in low, mid and high top.-Overview:...

, has been embellished with a deubré since the late 1990s. Considering the popularity of this shoe, its deubré is likely the most widely produced in history.