What Are Spectator Shoes?
Spectator shoes for men and women are two-tone shoes with dark toes and heels and lighter colored uppers or "vamps." They have a long and colorful history, rising and falling in fashion. Their latest resurgence is connected with the revival of 1930s "swing" music. Does this Spark an idea?
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Origin as Spat Look-alike
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Spectator shoes originated as men's shoes in the 19th century, about the time that spats went out of fashion. Spats were lace-up covers over the vamp (top part of the shoe over the arch) and stocking or sock. The light part of the spectator shoe generally covers the same area that a spat did.
In Fashion as a Sporting Shoe
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According to Leslie Martin in the retro style publication "Atomic Magazine," the shoe became popular with spectators of horse racing and polo, because the dark toes and heels did not show mud or grass stains. Soon, the shoes were known by the spectators who wore them. They were exclusively men's shoes, worn for leisure occasions, not dress shoes.
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Shoes of a Prince
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When the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) visited the United States in 1925 he wore spectator shoes and seems to have given the shoes a big boost here. In 1936 Edward abdicated his throne before he was formally crowned, because he wanted to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson. The couple became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and British referred to the shoes as "co-respondent" shoes, a reference to the legal term for a person involved in a divorce.
Post WWII: Dress Shoe
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Spectators could be considered the first cross-over shoe--from leisure to dressy occasions and from men's fashion to women's fashion. While the saddle shoe retained its leisure-oriented, gender-neutral look with a low heel, the spectator shoe for women was designed as a pump--with a thick high heel (1-1/2- to 2-1/2-inches), and the narrower toe box of a ladies' dress shoe.
Spectators Today
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Spectators came back into vogue on the feet of urban hipsters in the late 1990s with the revival of swing music. Today, spectators are available in a variety of styles and color combinations--with black or brown on the toes and heels; white, bone, tan or red on the vamps--and materials--smooth, suede or patent leather; vinyl, canvas or linen.
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