Spats!

[Dr Kilroy]

Anyone see this site? http://www.spatterdash.com/ Wasn't really looking for spats... yet. I have a wedding to attend next winter and I think a Morning Suit will be required.

Wow! A very nice site! Thank you for sharing it. If someone could know - are the all spats in the mentioned shop classic and correct?

Best regards, Dr

 

[Nick D]

Well, the fabrics on most of them are more modern and they don't have a buckle under the instep, only an elastic. Still, I've been thinking about getting a pair from them for a long time. I particularly like the Greyfox and the Caramel.

They used to have a 'cutaway' style, where the part over the toe was concave rather than convex, but they discontinued it some time ago.

 

[Charlie Huang]

Darcy's (previously VSC) now offer spats:

http://www.darcyclothing.com/shop/accessories/spats.html

These were made under the guidance of Ray Frensham. They are currently correcting a few flaws to the design.

 

[brspiritus]

Would white spats be worn with White Tie eveningwear as well as the Morning Coat?

 

[Dr Kilroy]

Would white spats be worn with White Tie eveningwear as well as the Mourning Coat?

Most would say that spats are only for daywear (morning, not mourning, coat), but I heard that spats were worn with white tie on the dressiest occassions. It looks somehow strange with pumps, but with oxfords/button boots that's a very nice look.

Best regards, Dr

EDIT: The information was I think from some 50's book when oxfords were primarily worn with evening wear, so I agree that spats shouldn't be worn with spats (apart from that, that they look weird then).

 

[brspiritus]

oops I did misspell that, fixed now, thanks.

 

[Dr Kilroy]

By the way; what are the most classic colours for spats? I assume that patterns are definitely not classic.

Best regards, Dr

 

[Dr H]

Dear All

I have a modest collection of spats/spatterdashes (ca. two dozen or so collected over some 20+ years) that come in for reasonably regular wear with two- or three-piece suits on formal occasions.

In my reading on the subject, consulting various books by G Willett Cunnington, etc., spats were listed from the mid/late 19th century in a range of colours, but in my experience, the most common colours in the woollen/box cloth spats are various shades of grey (from lighter shades of dove grey to darker hued blue greys or battleship grey), brown (from darker chocolate browns to lighter sand/tan) or olive green. While black box cloth is listed (for mourning) in practice I've never tracked down a pair of these in my size.

In linen spats, the most common colours tend to be white (for most formal wear with morning suit, frock coat) or shades of light grey, or tan/sand. On this side of the Atlantic the dress code was not for white spats to be worn with evening wear (black or white tie) as this was more correctly dress pumps. During the 1920s/30s the dancers in the Hollywood films (e.g. Astaire et al.) tended to wear white spats with tails and this has stuck in the mind.

Post WW2, a generation forced to wear gaiters as part of their uniforms understandably didn't continue the practice in civilian life after demob...

I am about to list half a dozen pairs of authentic spats on EBay (various sizes, but typically 7 or 8, going with shoe size) - I did post them in the classifieds of FL before Christmas but had no responses, so please PM me if interested.

Best

Dr H

 

[Charlie Huang]

Would white spats be worn with White Tie eveningwear as well as the Morning Coat?

I say spats are day wear only. Spats originally were used to stop mud and water getting into the tops of the shoes (thus wetting your socks etc) and that could only happen outdoors. Evening wear is indoors clothing and it is rather illogical to wear them at all with evening dress as per reasons given. Also, the spats (which would be white) would destroy the body line of black by cutting your feet from your legs this making you look shorter and drawing unnecessary attention to your feet. As far as I can see I have seen no pictorial evidence they were ever worn with evening dress and this fact supports my view.

Wearing spats with opera pumps is just plain wrong. Never were meant for them and it's implication would mean that you could also wear them with breeches and stockings which would look extremely daft...

 

[Dr H]

Wearing spats with opera pumps is just plain wrong.

I think that you may be confusing my post Charlie - I was not suggesting that spats were to be worn with opera pumps. My point was that the dress code was rigid and clear: tails/fishtails/dress pumps (or morning coat/breeches/stockings/pumps) and that their use with dress tails had arisen from Hollywood...

Best

Dr H

 

[Mr. Garrulus]

Somehow this thread seems to be always revived. Anyway here's my spats from the 30's. I have worn them a couple of times and actually been surprised how they managed to keep my feet warmer. I would need narrower shoes though, they barely fit over my modern ones.

The scarf is from 50's.

 

[Effingham]

oooh, spats! very "Wooster & Jeeves"

yummy
ladies still notice those things

I've never seen a man in spats except in pictures...warning to those who enter my sphere wearing them: you may be in grave peril

Notes to self:

(1) Order spats
(2) Check airlines for next flight to Denver

 

[sethbramwell]

I just found these forums through google searching and I've enjoyed this thread in particular. I've recently taken an interest in spats (Honestly, I recall being intrigued by them for years, but now I'm making them for cosplay...)

At any rate I found a few tutorials online and made some myself, one for a specific gangster-styled costume and one pair just for fun. I'd love to get some opinions/suggestions for the future.

These were made with red twill and lined with black felt to help them hold their shape... Red spats made for a costume: http://sethbramwell.deviantart.com/#/d39fcul

These ones were made using a map design fabric I found and liked at a local thrift store... "World Traveler" Spats made for fun: http://sethbramwell.deviantart.com/#/d39l6k3

Thanks for taking a look!

 

[frank nitte]

i just payed for a pair from a website they have a good selection you guys need to look at them the website is
www.spatterdash.com

 

[frank nitte]

dose anybody else wear spats if so show them

dose anybody else wear spats if so show us your spats
if you have q's about them i'll try and help

 

[Mr. Garrulus]

Well time to revive this thread once again with a picture of my new spats, two in fact! In the first picture you see the new spats I bought myself today. Both of them have elastic bands which goes under the shoe and actually uses elastic bands with snap fasteners, this can be very handy if you happen to have wider shoes. Notice also the decorative sewing where the elastic band is in the black pair and the fly front in the grey pair which covers half of the buttons. In the second picture you see all my three spats.

Now to discussion how would I combine these with trousers and shoes in the best way? The light brown would suit best when using morning dress/frock coat/stroller (stresemann). The grey could be combined with check trousers (preferably small size to the squares) and tan shoes. What about the black spats? Midnight blue trousers and burgundy shoes? I think it would be boring if everything would be just black...

 

[dhermann1]

I tried to find some spats last year and it didn't work out very well. I found some nice vintage gray wool spats on Ebay and got them for a decent price (maybe $30 as I recall). But they turned out to be WAAAYYY too small. I then got a pair of white modern ones that almost fit but not quite. The top button has to remain open for them to stay on.
What's the deal with these sizes? I'm not a gorilla. I have average size ankles. I obviously didn't know how to measure properly. Any suggestions? What I really want are gray wool spats, for day wear.

 

[Isshinryu101]

could some people please post some pics of them wearing them, please? I'm a vintage shoe Addict, but have no experience in this.

 

[Mr. Garrulus]

I tried to find some spats last year and it didn't work out very well. I found some nice vintage gray wool spats on Ebay and got them for a decent price (maybe $30 as I recall). But they turned out to be WAAAYYY too small. I then got a pair of white modern ones that almost fit but not quite. The top button has to remain open for them to stay on.
What's the deal with these sizes? I'm not a gorilla. I have average size ankles. I obviously didn't know how to measure properly. Any suggestions? What I really want are gray wool spats, for day wear.

If you have vintage shops in your area I'd suggest to visit them every now and then otherwise here's two shops I found after quick googling.

http://fineanddandyshop.com/spshac.html
http://www.mralanjeffries.com/spats-gaiters.html

could some people please post some pics of them wearing them, please? I'm a vintage shoe Addict, but have no experience in this.

I'd love to but I don't have any decent shoes for them. Nor trousers (expect morning trousers for the light brown ones)

 

[Vampyre Master]

http://www.vampalicious.co.uk/shop/...ducts_id=789&zenid=l5c6mdt4ngdtfnm7cptjms9fb0
super value
VM