The rear or side section of a shoe's upper, extending around the heel.
A shoe usually has two quarters, inside and outside, which together form the sides and back of the upper. How they meet the vamp separates the two classic lace-ups. On an Oxford, the inside and outside quarters are stitched underneath the vamp, closing the lacing; on a Derby, they are stitched over it, leaving the lacing open. A monk strap, in Crockett & Jones’s description, has open quarters.
In a lined shoe, the quarter lining is a horseshoe-shaped piece around the back, matched by a vamp lining inside the forepart and toe. A lining can stop short: a 1920s Oxford in the V&A has a tan leather quarter lining but only a partial vamp lining.
In job listings
“Quarter” appears in current listings in its financial sense, in accounting and treasury roles; the shoe part is not named. The nearest roles are in shoe upper production, where the cut pieces of the upper, quarters among them, are lined and stitched. See current shoe upper roles.
