Spectator Shoes

[Staredge]

I am finding the bourbon and bone McClains at less and less stores... are they on their way out? That is to say - should I stop procrastinating and buy them already since they will be very hard to get soon?

$157 at the Shoe Bank. I might have posted the phone number earlier. They've been discontinued.

I think they also had the Broadstreets in black & white for that price as well.

Will

 

[jjunner]

thanks for the info... I will have to get a pair soon then... I can't let my black and whites be lonely...

 

[Orgetorix]

What I want are the Broadstreets in brown and white. But those haven't been made in years. Every so often a pair will pop up on Ebay, often the Olympic edition they made for Atlanta '96. They are always out of my price range.

 

[Josephine]

Thanks for everyone's help with my spectators, I have 7 people watching the auction! w00t!

 

[Duck]

What does eveyone wear their black / white spectators with? I am eyeing some AE Broadstreets, that I have found a deal on in my size, but don't know if I would wear the black / white that often. [huh]

 

[Patrick Murtha]

What does eveyone wear their black / white spectators with? I am eyeing some AE Broadstreets, that I have found a deal on in my size, but don't know if I would wear the black / white that often. [huh]

I wear mine with lots of outfits!

with a charcoal grey suit
with a tan poplin suit
with a white summer suit
with many lighter-colored trousers
with black gab trousers, white shirt, and glen plaid sportcoat
etc. etc.

I find them very versatile. You can look to old movies and magazine ads for inspiration. Check out Cornel Wilde's multiple pairs of specs in Leave Her to Heaven, for example.

 

[classyguy]

sorry if this is already brought up but....

how would you polish a spectator shoe? I have been looking for a pair and at my local mens store (living in the town [windsor] with the largest mens store in canada has its perks) I can order a pair for $300 with a lifetime guarantee, they said you just send 'em back to the manufacturer and they'll fix em. I just dont know how I would go about polishing them. thanks.

 

[Sassman]

What does eveyone wear their black / white spectators with? I am eyeing some AE Broadstreets, that I have found a deal on in my size, but don't know if I would wear the black / white that often.

I'm toying with the idea of wearing my black & whites with a 3 piece navy pinstripe suit (winter white fedora to top it off). Would the brown & whites go with navy better?

 

[cookie]

Lifetime Guarantee?- Yikes!

how would you polish a spectator shoe? I have been looking for a pair and at my local mens store (living in the town [windsor] with the largest mens store in canada has its perks) I can order a pair for $300 with a lifetime guarantee, they said you just send 'em back to the manufacturer and they'll fix em. I just dont know how I would go about polishing them. thanks.

What brand is that? If they are all leather specs you could use neutral polish.

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I was inspired by this thread to wear this outfit today:

Jos. A. Bank SB 2B single vent glen plaid sportcoat (grey and black tones predominant)
Black gab cuffed trousers
Polo white button-down shirt
Kenneth Cole black tie with white cross-hatching (very thin silk)
Black silk pocket square, points up
Claiborne black leather dress belt, slightly wide, high gloss, bold rectangular silver buckle with cutouts
Swiss Army watch with black band (right wrist)
Polished stainless steel link bracelet (left wrist)
Armani Mania cologne
Jos. A. Bank black OTC socks with subtle pattern
AE Broadstreet black/white spectator wingtips (lots of positive comments on these as usual)

 

[univibe88]

What I want are the Broadstreets in brown and white. But those haven't been made in years.

I want some of those too. I really wish I bought some when they were in regular production. My size, 9EEE, will never show up on ebay.

I got a Brooksbrothers catalog today and they have a few Peal & Co spectators - brown and canvas. On their website they've a got an all leather brown and white pair. But they only have D width. I simply can't wear a D width, especially not at the price of Peal & Co shoes. I justify the price of AE shoes simply by having a shoe that fits properly.

 

[Edward]

Sassman, it all depends on how you accessorise the rest of it. Personally, I prefer blacks with navy, but if you've got browns that work with the blue (hat, belt, etc), then the brown and whites could work just as well.

how would you polish a spectator shoe? I have been looking for a pair and at my local mens store (living in the town [windsor] with the largest mens store in canada has its perks) I can order a pair for $300 with a lifetime guarantee, they said you just send 'em back to the manufacturer and they'll fix em. I just dont know how I would go about polishing them. thanks.

Pretty much all my polishes are the Kiwi brand - their range includes a "neutral," which I find is ideal for a two-colour shoe. I'm sure most big brands do a neautral too.

 

[Sassman]

Has anyone ever seen/ purchased/ worn the Botany 500 Spectators available at Blair.com? The $49.99 price seems too good to be true. And yes, they are leather uppers.

OK guys, I finally broke down and bought 2 pairs of these for costuming purposes (deductable don't ya know) and they appear to be well made and are quite comfortable. I don't know if I'll ever have the means to purchase anything more dear, but for now, these are just fine.

 

[Spatterdash]

Sassman, can you give us a detailed write up once you walk around in them for a few hours?

There really isn't an indepth review on these spectators, just "not bad" or "surprisingly wearable", that sort of thing.
If the Blairs are good first options, we really ought to have something substantial about them here. It would be much appreciated, and I'll follow-up with my own review here in about 4 months.

 

[Sassman]

Sassman, can you give us a detailed write up once you walk around in them for a few hours?

Actually, I performed as a 40's Paparazzi, for a corporate function, at Hollywood & Highland Friday night and was on my feet for about 3 hours straight. The shoes remained quite comfortable the whole time. Additionally, no "break-in" time was needed with these. They were comfortable right out of the box.

 

[Spatterdash]

Sold.

I'll get me a pair of the spectators at Blair.com. If I like 'em, Sassman, you get the credit. If I don't, I blame Blair.com and move on.

I appreciate the feedback.

 

[kschurch]

Spectator / Golf

I'm glad the weather is turning warmer as I'm ready to begin wearing my spectators again. All the shoes pictured below are Allen-Edmonds with the exception of the ones at the far left. They are actually 'Nike Air Zooms".

About a decade ago, Nike released them in limited quanities as golf shoes. They were so cool, I immediately had them resoled as street shoes. The second pair of black and white AE's I had resoled as golf shoes, so I guess I've gone both ways. (There are two pairs of B/W, one flat, one spiked)

As a side note, I've not paid over $150.00 for any of the Allen Edmonds I own and under a hundred for a few pairs. The AE ebay store is a great place to shop for them. Some seconds, but I've yet to find a noticable flaw in any of them. Also if you make an offer on shoes that haven't been bid on in an auction or two they will take your offer if it's reasonable. Big fan of Allen Edmonds.

Cheers,

Church

 

[Edward]

I have a nice pair of black / white wingtips I got from Violet Promotions in the UK in 2003, very reasonably priced and good shoes. Very comfortable. Unfortunately, just as I was looking in to buying other designs and colours, they stopped trading as the folks running the business decided to retire. I know they were looking for a buyer for the business, but I don't know what happened there. Real shame, as any other soruce I can find isn't really in a price band where multiple pairs are possible.

 

[flylot74]

While in Hong Kong on a trip I had a bespoke pair of burgundy & bone spectators made for me at Zee's Leather, probably the smartest purchase I've ever made since the bespoke suit I had made from WW Chan in Hong Kong. Gawd, I do love them both!

The shoes (and the suit for that matter) fit and feel like nothing else. Everyone should treat themselves to at least once to a bespoke item in their life time. Expensive, yes, but after all you only live once and besides, your worth it!

 

[Canadave]

...They were so cool, I immediately had them resoled as street shoes. The second pair of black and white AE's I had resoled as golf shoes, so I guess I've gone both ways....

How specialised are those two procedures? Will most shoe rebuilders do that?

David