general term for layers of material overlaid on an upper as a repair, decoration, or reinforcement
See Also: Whole-Foxed Vamp
Definitions
Foxing is the name applied to leather of the upper that extends from the sole to the laces in front, and to about the height of the counter in the back, being the length of the upper. It may be in one or more pieces, and is often cut down to the shank in circular form. If in two pieces, that part covering the counter is called a heel fox.
— Dooley’s A Manual of Shoemaking and Leather and Rubber Products
Foxing: The back part of a boot upper from shank to heel. This may include only the back part below the vamp line, as in a boot having a three-quarter or circular vamp; or it may include the entire back part of the upper from top edge to sole and from shank to heel, as in many types of low cut shoes.
— https://www.culturedcowboy.com/boots/bootpages/bootglossary.htm
The Crispin Colloquy Usages
Also…kind of off to the side…but if it makes sense, for strength and aesthetics (and I’m not saying it doesn’t), to put the toe cap on top of the vamp why not also put the heel foxing over a full quarter?
— https://www.thehcc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=32594&sid=eeba0e98be5938514373b5d8224442e2#p32594
As for “foxing,” well, you might call it the “counter”…and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if “counter” wasn’t the technically correct term…but I was taught that “counter” was the term for the heel stiffener and “counter cover” was the covering component. (I’m trying to get my lexicon straightened out but decades of immersion in a different culture has a spoiling effect. )
In any case, think of a full brogued oxford…the piece I’m talking about is to the quarter as the toe cap is to the vamp…to the heel as the toe cap is to the toe. Maybe it’s a “heel cap?”
I’ve seen deconstructed West End shoes where the quarters did not run under the “counter” but were cut and seamed along the edge of the “counter.” I’m just curious as to why the rationale for cutting a full vamp and overlaying the toe cap doesn’t apply to the “heel cap,” as well.
— https://www.thehcc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=32597&sid=eeba0e98be5938514373b5d8224442e2#p32597