What to Wear with Saddle Oxfords?

[Kathleen'sMeg43]

So I just ordered This Pair of saddle oxfords, and they came in the mail today!

But upon entering my closet I had a bit of trouble figuring out what to pair with them...

My question is, how far back do they date to? And do you have any photos of fashionable women wearing them? What were they wearing?

Thanks!!
Meg

 

[LizzieMaine]

Saddles date back to the turn of the century -- they were originally an athletic/gym shoe. They became popular with college kids in the mid-thirties -- they peaked in popularity from 1936 to 1939, but remained popular well into the forties both among college and high school kids and with housewives looking for a comfortable low shoe to wear around the house.

They were a casual shoe, so they would usually be worn with a casual sweater-and-skirt combination or a simple cotton shirtwaist dress. They'd usually be worn with ankle socks, although it wasn't uncommon to see them worn with cotton full-length stockings.

 

[Kathleen'sMeg43]

okay, excellent, that's what I needed to know.

 

[MissNathalieVintage]

Plus you can still wear seemed stockings with them too. At least that is how I've also worn my saddles a few times.

 

[katiemakeup]

I love saddles-- I'm desperate for a navy blue pair. I would think you could wear them with a lot of different looks. Lizzie I didn't realize they went t hat far back, that is cool to know.

 

[Mrs.Williams]

So far I've only paired mine with a simple navy dress, a knotted scarf, and white socks. I have the Payless ones, too, and I can't wait to break them out again in Spring!

 

[dhermann1]

Here's my mom in 1946 with the saddle shoes she wore through college:

and a few years later, 1953, with the same beat up shoes:

Somewhere I have her in them in 1936, at age 16. They were worn with almost anything.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That's about what mine look like -- and ever since Sani-White went out of business, there doesn't seem to be any decent product left out there to clean up/cover the scuffs. Ah well, the grimier they are, the more obvious it is you aren't wearing them ironically.

 

[St. Louis]

What do you think about these? I've been coveting them for ever. Did the reverse saddle oxfords exist in the thirties and forties?

 

[LizzieMaine]

There were plenty of variations on the standard brown-and-white by the late thirties. I don't know as I've actually seen that particular version, but it's not unprecedented. There were even heeled saddles, which most today associate more with the 70s than the 30s.