A small hole through which a lace or cord passes, often reinforced with a metal or stitched ring.
On a lace-up, eyelets are punched in the eyelet tabs, the sections of leather that carry the laces, and the way those tabs meet the vamp sets the style. On an Oxford, known in the trade as a closed-tab shoe, the tabs are stitched under the vamp; on a Derby, the quarters are stitched over it, leaving the lacing open.
A punched eyelet is often reinforced with metal, either visible from outside or hidden on the underside of the throat, where it keeps the hole small and the look clean. Boots may add speed hooks, which the lace loops around instead of threading through, so the boot laces and unlaces faster.
In job listings
Eyelets turn up in leather goods listings rather than shoe listings, named with clasps and chains among the metal components that a components engineer tests with suppliers. See current metal components roles.
