All Topics  
Spats

 
Spats

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Spats



 
 
Spats are a type of shoe
Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself. The foot contains more bones than any other single part of the human body, and has human evolution over hundreds of thousands of years in relation to vastly varied terrain and climate....
 accessory
Accessory

Accessory may refer to:*Accessory , a person who assists a criminal but is not present at the crime*Accessory , with members Dirk Steyer and Ivo Lottig...
 worn in the late 19th and early 20th century. The spat is worn over the shoe but under the pant leg. Historically, spats were also worn by women, under a long dress.
s are still used as a traditional accessory in many marching band uniforms in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 infantry wore white spats for parade and off duty wear until 1903.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Spats'
Start a new discussion about 'Spats'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Spats are a type of shoe
Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself. The foot contains more bones than any other single part of the human body, and has human evolution over hundreds of thousands of years in relation to vastly varied terrain and climate....
 accessory
Accessory

Accessory may refer to:*Accessory , a person who assists a criminal but is not present at the crime*Accessory , with members Dirk Steyer and Ivo Lottig...
 worn in the late 19th and early 20th century. The spat is worn over the shoe but under the pant leg. Historically, spats were also worn by women, under a long dress.

Spats as items of uniform

Spats are still used as a traditional accessory in many marching band uniforms in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 infantry wore white spats for parade and off duty wear until 1903. Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 soldiers wore a light tan version until 1910 and the Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
 wore long white spats or gaiters
Gaiters

File:Tourist Gaiters.jpgGaiters are garments worn over the shoe and lower pant leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats....
 during the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War or the Manchurian Campaign in some English sources, was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialism ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea....
 of 1905.

Spats continue as a distinctive feature of the Scottish dress of Highland pipe bands, whether civilian or military. The modern Royal Regiment of Scotland, into which all Scottish line infantry regiments were amalgamated in 2006, retain white spats as part of their uniform. Prior to that date most Scottish infantry units in the British Army
British Army

The British Army is the Army branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707....
 wore spats. For Highland regiments in kilts spats reached halfway up the calf. For Lowland regiments in trews
Trews

Trews are men's clothing for the legs and lower abdomen, a traditional form of Scotland Scottish apparel. Trews could be trimmed with leather, probably buckskin , especially on the inner leg to prevent wear from riding on horseback....
 spats were visible only over the boots.

Most regiments of the modern Indian
Indian Army

The Indian Army is the largest branch of the Indian Armed Forces of India and has the responsibility for army military operations. Its primary objectives include defending India from external aggression, maintaining peace and security within the country, patrolling borders and conducting counter-terrorist operations....
 and Pakistani Armies wear long white spats into which trousers are tucked, as part of their parade dress. Other full dress uniforms which still include spats are those of the Finnish Army
Finnish Army

The Finland Army is the army branch of the Finnish Defence Forces.Today's Army is divided into six branches: the infantry, field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineerings, Signal Corps, and materiel troops....
, Portuguese Republican National Guard
Portuguese Republican National Guard

The term Republican National Guard may refer to:*Italian National Republican Guard*Portuguese National Republican Guard...
, the Carabiniers of Monaco
Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe . The territory lies on the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea....
 and the Italian Military Academy of Modena. In the Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy

The Finnish Navy is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscriptions are trained each year....
, spats are part of the winter uniform. They are colloquially known as Scrooge McDuck
Scrooge McDuck

Scrooge McDuck or Uncle Scrooge is a Glasgow anthropomorphic duck created by Carl Barks that first appeared in Four Color Comics #178, Christmas on Bear Mountain, published by Dell Comics in December, 1947....
s
. The U.S. Navy Honor Guard and Rifle Guard still wear them while performing ceremonies.

Spats for safety

Spats are still used today in certain industries for safety
Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be considered non-desirable....
 reasons. In foundries
Foundry

A foundry is a factory which produces metal castings from either ferrous or non-ferrous metals alloys. Metals are turned into parts by melting the metal into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and then removing the mold material or casting....
 molten metal pourers often wear leather spats to keep splashes of molten metal from burning their feet. Even a small amount of molten metal that gets lodged in a shoe or between the shoe and ankle could cause a severe burn. Many welder
Welder

A welder is a tradesman who specialises in welding materials together. The materials to be joined can be metals or varieties of plastic or polymer....
s also wear leather spats for protection from sparks and metal splash. Some chainsaw
Chainsaw

A chainsaw is a portable mechanical, motorized saw. It is used in logging activities such as felling, limbing, and Log bucking; by tree surgeons to fell trees and remove branches and foliage; to fell snags and assist in cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression, and to harvest Wood fuel#Firewood....
 operators wear protective leather spats to prevent injury from accidental chainsaw contact with the foot or ankle.

In Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, the term "spats" refers to leggings
Leggings

Leggings are any of several sorts of fitted clothing to cover the legs. Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg.In contemporary usage, leggings refers to tight, form-fitting trousers that extend from the waist to the ankles; in the United States, they are sometimes referred to as tights ....
.

In American football
American football

American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
, the act of taping the outside of one's cleats using athletic tape is known as "spatting."

See also

  • Spatterdash
    Spatterdash

    Spatterdash may refer to:*Spattering*Spats*Gaiters...


External links