Spectator Shoes from Shorpy
Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s many internet friends has asked him the question.
Dear Manolo,
I was wondering if you know of a manufacturer of a shoe similar to the one in this photo?
Thanks,
Bruce
Ayyyy! This photo is from the Shorpy, and the Manolo loves the Shorpy blog, as should anyone who loves looking at pictures (and the clothings) of the past. Indeed, in some ways, the Shorpy is the Manolo’s favorite street style blog. And as for the fabulous retro-antique-classical clothings found there, well, one of the Manolo’s bestest of friends is at this very moment attempting to manufacture the jacket designed from the Shorpy photograph.
Naturally, however, it is the shoes that draw the eye of the Manolo, and this lady’s spectator shoes are most super fantastic indeed. Look, here is the more detailed picture for your consideration.
Unfortunately, off the top of his head, the Manolo cannot come up with anyone making ladies shoes in this exact style. Certainly, the low-heeled spectator shoe has been revived by several top designers in the past decade, most notably the Prada, although none have produced anything as interesting as this shoe. If the Manolo is not mistaken, this casual, sporty (sports?) shoe has the crepe rubber sole.
Sad to say that unless one of the Manolo’s internet friends has the idea, this shoe, with it’s labor-intensive stitchery and fantastic styling would have to be produced by the custom shoemaker, and is not available ready-to-wear in this century.
As a follow-up to this, does the Manolo or anyone else know why this kind of shoe came to be known as a “spectator?”
I don’t know of an exact match but I used to wear Bass shoes very similar to these as a kid in the 80′s.
https://bassshoes.harborghb.com/bass-womens-shoes
I hated those shoes back then cause I was 12 when I had to wear them (Bad feet equals wearing good shoes) But now I LOVE spectators.
Not exactly spectators, but for retro styles do try http://www.remixvintageshoes.com/index.html
Remix has excellent shoes, several styles I’ve found very comfortable, and are always coming out with great new vintage looks.
Bleyer, the dance shoe company, has great saddle shoes: http://www.bleyershoes.co.uk/ The Suzy Qs come in white and brown.
Many swing shoe companies for dancers have saddle and spectator styles, so you should check them out.
I believe John Fluevog has a number of spectator-type shoes
http://www.fluevog.com/
Yay Shorpy! I lurves the Shorpy photos myself. If you do a closeup of this photo: http://www.shorpy.com/node/6128, you will see some fabulous lace-up boots worn by Washington D.C.’s first licensed lady motorcylist.
memories! in the mid-90s i used to work in midtown and there was a shoe store near my office with boxes of unworn vintage old-lady shoes, including spectators from the 1940s. (i bought two pairs!) the shop looked like it’d been there since the dawn of time. i just did a google search and i THINK it might have been this place: http://mouldedshoe.com/. one MIGHT call and say that some invisible lady in one’s computer thinks she bought vintage medium-heeled spectators there in 1994 and do they still have any in stock. (one might sound like a lunatic, but this is not my problem.) i also suggest capezio — sadly, i see no perfect specator (with perforations) on the web site (look in the “character shoes” section) but lots with a similar vibe. i also love looking at remix’s site.
Great pics! Thanks for at fab blog!
//thelostdays.wordpress.com
Hola to the xiaolongnu! It is La BellaDonna’s understanding that the shoes known as the “spectators” were indeed worn by the peoples who were attending sporting events as the spectators, rather than the participants. These shoes would be accompanied by the appropriate little casual felt hat – perhaps a variety of cloche, or some later small, casual felt hat, chosen to go with the sporting skirt and the casual gloves – pigskin would be the nice choice. Yes, this would be the casual outfit for watching the sporting event – and it is still the nice choice today, but not often chosen, it seems.
And it IS possible to get the spectator footwear – La BellaDonna, she has the lovely pair of spectator BOOTS, made in the white leather with black patent, lacing up the front, with the walking heel, made for under $200 of the American dollars! Start googling the internets for “reproduction footwear” or “reproduction shoes”, and many wonderful shoes, they become available! Alas for La BellaDonna, the boots, although ordered in La BellaDonna’s size – they are just that little bit too small. La BellaDonna should have heeded the notation that the boots tended to run small, but having had contrary experience with other sites, La BellaDonna, she did not, more is the pity. The boot, it would be better suited to the true 7 1/2, rather than the true 8. *sigh*
Might I suggest custom tap shoes, sans taps? Spectator style shoes are quite common in the tap world, and you can be fairly sure that you will get a shoe that will be durable and comfortable.
I couldn’t move my eyes from the dog, how cute!
comme des garcons makes something similar