Saddle shoes

[*martini*time*]

Now i'm dying to get some...I think I would wear more vintage inspired stuff everyday if i had a comfortable shoe to wear with skirts and whatnot. Sometimes heels just aren't always feesible...but 19.50 for shipping to canada! Eep...i think i'll have to keep waiting for some to show around town.

 

[16_sparrows]

I've been dying to get a pair of saddle shoes from Muffy's and finally have the money to do so. I have one odd fear - that the white of the shoes is *too* white. Am I crazy for having this concern? I've been lusting after the green saddles for a while, but this "too white" fear is making me consider getting the beige and navy ones instead. Can anyone who owns a pair of Muffy's speak to the brightness of the white leather or the color of the beige leather?

 

[Inky]

I've been dying to get a pair of saddle shoes from Muffy's and finally have the money to do so. I have one odd fear - that the white of the shoes is *too* white. Am I crazy for having this concern? I've been lusting after the green saddles for a while, but this "too white" fear is making me consider getting the beige and navy ones instead. Can anyone who owns a pair of Muffy's speak to the brightness of the white leather or the color of the beige leather?

the white is a true bright white. I don't care much for white shoes either, but i loved the red/white combo so I got them.

If you don't think you'd wear white shoes, you might be happier with the beige, because the white is about as white as it can be

 

[LizzieMaine]

The white does dull down a bit with wear -- picks up a nice patina as it scuffs. (Don't forget the most-prized saddle shoes among the fashionable of the Era were extremely dirty ones!)

 

[Viola]

What are you supposed to wear saddle shoes with? I like their look but aside from '50s dresses and circle skirts and bobby socks I'm having a hard time picturing outfits.

Ladies, I'm going to need at least two or three outfit ideas to justify these shoes! Otherwise I'll just buy some Keds.

Won't anyone help me?! (picture damsel screaming here)

 

[LizzieMaine]

I wear mine with cotton shirtwaist dresses and bobby socks in colors that reasonably coordinate with said dress -- a not-uncommon summertime look for housewives and such -- but the most common style on '30s college campuses was to wear them with plaid wool skirts and blouses. It became a trend in the early forties for college girls to replace the usual ankle socks with knee socks.

During the war years, the heyday of the stereotypical "bobby soxer", saddles were often worn with rolled-up dungarees and an oversized men's shirt, worn with tails flapping. Parents rolled their eyes at such outfits and wondered what these kids were coming to.

They were also commonly worn by Rosie-the-Riveter types as part of factory wear -- overalls and a headscarf and all. Basically saddles could be worn in any informal setting where you wouldn't be wearing stockings, and I've even seen pictures of women wearing them with rayon or cotton stockings.

 

[KatieD]

For those in the UK Rocket Originals have just started doing saddle shoes and very comfy they are too!

http://www.rocketoriginals.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=AA-SADDLE

Katie

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I think of saddle shoes as the vintage equivalent of a sneaker; perfect for any casual time you don't want heels. Mine are from Payless, nabbed from my daughter's wardrobe last year when it was clear they were going to waste. Because I like a heel, I don't wear them a lot, but it's real nice to see them there in the closet, just in case.....

 

[SayCici]

At what age would someone stop wearing their saddle shoes? I never really thought about them before, but seeing this thread pop up over and over I'm starting to wear down, and I think they'd be especially nice in the fall and winter. Before I revitalized my wardrobe I didn't wear heels very often, and as nice as they are, I'd love an alternative!

The catch: they need to be an actual vintage pair.

 

[Inky]

At what age would someone stop wearing their saddle shoes? I never really thought about them before, but seeing this thread pop up over and over I'm starting to wear down, and I think they'd be especially nice in the fall and winter. Before I revitalized my wardrobe I didn't wear heels very often, and as nice as they are, I'd love an alternative!

The catch: they need to be an actual vintage pair.

I'm 49 - I'll stop wearing them when they pry them off my cold dead feet

actually, Cici, I don't know what was considered "too old" for saddles, but you are definitely young enough to wear them.

If you can't find true vintage ones, the Muffy's are really spectacular and positively accurate (especially the beige ones and the b/w ones)

 

[zendy]

Cici, are you having the vintage vegan dilemma? I know I am. I'd love a vintage pair too but my feet are a modern 9, so good luck with that. Does anyone have a idea where to get a faux leather pair?

 

[Inky]

Cici, are you having the vintage vegan dilemma? I know I am. I'd love a vintage pair too but my feet are a modern 9, so good luck with that. Does anyone have a idea where to get a faux leather pair?

ahh, okay, vegan, I apologize, I just never ponder that when it comes to shoes, ignorant of me, sorry!

i don't know how lucky one might get to find a vintage vegan pair - or if such a thing existed, but payless does sell saddle shoes and they are of man-made materials - available in black and white.

 

[Inky]

by the way, not to keep tooting Muffy's horn (!!) but they do carry a selection of actual vintage 50's era saddles - call for sizing/availability. Not vegan, I'm afraid.

http://www.muffys.com/1950s_vintage.html

 

[LizzieMaine]

As far as age goes, keep in mind that before saddles became Young America's Favorite in the mid-thirties, they had existed for thirty years as a general purpose gym/athletic shoe. So they were appropriate for anyone engaged in sports, outdoor, or strenuous activity. They got pegged as a youthful style when the collegiate crowd picked them up, but a lot of women who started wearing them then continued to wear them as sportswear/household wear for years after. You'll see them being sold in the Sears catalog alongside other casual/sports shoes -- as opposed to the juniors/teens section -- well into the forties.

And I'm with Inky -- I'm 46, and my shoes are more popular around town than I am.

 

[Viola]

I find it very interesting to contemplate how long-running a look they were; I always (wrongly) pictured them only with poodle skirts and such in the '50s.

I really like shirtdresses and cotton wrap dresses anyway, as well as white button down shirts with casual-ish skirts (khaki, etc) so it sounds like I could get a lot of use out of these. Especially since I could use support - it sounds like they're made of much sterner stuff than Keds.

Yesterday I was in horrible pain - from NOT wearing heels. I wore ballet flats and they were just too flat.

Are the styles of saddle shoe with a bit of a heel traditional or is that an innovation like punky mary janes?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Heeled saddles were a minor fad around 1936-37 -- they were built like an ordinary Cuban-heeled walking shoe, but in a saddle style with a leather sole. The heels weren't as high as the modern ones though --- 2 inches, tops.

 

[Viola]

Man, where I was I in '37? That was the height I was thinking of. I could find spectacularly high or even stiletto heeled saddles in Google - to be worn with teeny plaid skirts that stop an inch ABOVE total embarrassment, naturally - but the actual style you refer to sounds ever so much nicer.

I think I might actually go for the flat, though. I could use a good sturdy flat shoe with structure. And finding them will slow me down - they're not at every strip mall like mary janes.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

I think I might actually go for the flat, though. I could use a good sturdy flat shoe with structure. And finding them will slow me down - they're not at every strip mall like mary janes.

Yes, I think you might find the flat of a structured shoe, much different and thus much less pain provoking then ballet flats which really are a -nothing of a shoe-.

I have feet-leg issues and I can no more wear ballet flats then I can wear stilettos...because its about the support and structure and matching the curve of my foot and ballet flats don't provide that at all.

Alas, I don't wear saddle shoes either....having to wear orthopedic shoes until I was well into jr. high has caused me to just be mentally unable to don anything that looks even remotely like that.

 

[SayCici]

Thanks everyone!! Zendy got it right - I don't mind wearing leather shoes if they're vintage, as any harm that might have originally been done was so long ago. There are actually a pair of vintage saddles on etsy in my size, but they're more than double the Payless cost! I didn't know Payless still made those as I never see them in the store! Thanks again for the info!

I just found an online promo code so my total order comes to $15 (free shipping)! Woo!

 

[Blondie]

I second Inky on saddle shoes from Muffys, i have the white & brown pair, didn't take long to wear them in and to get them scuffed up.
As far as vegan ones Payless would be the best option. I worried too about the age thing with saddles but after a talk with my guru Inky i wear them alot more often :eusa_clap