Spectator shoes
Encyclopedia
The Spectator shoe is a style of low-heeled, oxford
, semi-brogue or full brogue constructed from two contrasting colors, typically having the toe and heel cap and sometimes the lace panels in a darker color than the main body of the shoe. This style of shoe dates from the nineteenth century but reached the height of popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.
Common color combinations include a white shoe body with black, brown tan toe and heel caps, but other colors can be used. The spectator is typically an all leather shoe, but can be constructed using a canvas, mesh or suede body.
The saddle shoe
, another style of two-tone oxford shoe, can be distinguished from the spectator shoe by noting the saddle shoe's plain toe and distinctive, saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot.
John Lobb, the famous English footwear maker, claimed to have designed the first spectator shoe as a cricket
shoe in 1868.
The spectator was originally constructed of willow calf leather and white buck or reverse calf suede. The white portion was sometimes made from a mesh material, for better ventilation in hot weather.
For women, spectator pumps have been considered, during certain periods, to be very high fashion and a kind of dress shoe
. After their loss of popularity in the early 1950s, when sling-backed and sandaled, thinner pumps became stylish, they returned to fashion in the early 1980s. Perennially favorite in England, their high-fashion appeal went with the polka-dot and black-and-white, red-and-white, navy-and-white, etc. combination dress ensembles trendy during this time. With their white color, spectator shoes are most appropriate for women's spring and summer wear.
Oxford shoe
An Oxford is a style of laced shoe characterized by shoelace eyelet tabs that are stitched underneath the vamp, a construction method that is also sometimes referred to as "closed lacing". Oxfords first appeared in Scotland and Ireland, where they are occasionally called Balmorals after the Queen's...
, semi-brogue or full brogue constructed from two contrasting colors, typically having the toe and heel cap and sometimes the lace panels in a darker color than the main body of the shoe. This style of shoe dates from the nineteenth century but reached the height of popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.
Common color combinations include a white shoe body with black, brown tan toe and heel caps, but other colors can be used. The spectator is typically an all leather shoe, but can be constructed using a canvas, mesh or suede body.
The saddle shoe
Saddle shoe
The Saddle shoe is a low-heeled, oxford, casual shoe characterized by a plain toe and distinctive, saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot...
, another style of two-tone oxford shoe, can be distinguished from the spectator shoe by noting the saddle shoe's plain toe and distinctive, saddle-shaped decorative panel placed mid foot.
John Lobb, the famous English footwear maker, claimed to have designed the first spectator shoe as a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
shoe in 1868.
The spectator was originally constructed of willow calf leather and white buck or reverse calf suede. The white portion was sometimes made from a mesh material, for better ventilation in hot weather.
For women, spectator pumps have been considered, during certain periods, to be very high fashion and a kind of dress shoe
Dress shoe
A dress shoe is a shoe to be worn at smart casual or more formal events. A dress shoe is typically contrasted to an athletic shoe....
. After their loss of popularity in the early 1950s, when sling-backed and sandaled, thinner pumps became stylish, they returned to fashion in the early 1980s. Perennially favorite in England, their high-fashion appeal went with the polka-dot and black-and-white, red-and-white, navy-and-white, etc. combination dress ensembles trendy during this time. With their white color, spectator shoes are most appropriate for women's spring and summer wear.