The Bloggomist: In Context…
Design Opinion

For my first installment, I considered starting at the basics and working my way back to the current trends through things like oxford shoes, blazers, and the black dress. But then I saw a pair of saddle shoes and thought, “Screw it.” These are coming back into style, and it’s high time we knew what we’re getting into when we don these familiar classics.

Albert Spalding (Courtesy Naitonal Baseball Hall of Fame Library)

Contrary to popular belief, they’re not an invention of the 1950’s doo-wop generation. Saddle shoes actually originated in 1906 as a gym shoe made by the monolithic sporting goods manufacturer, Spalding, which was then a small outfit called A.G. Spalding & Bros.

Gym shoes at the time were primarily traditional white, leather-soled bucks — shoes made from white suede deer/buckskin — which, while beautiful, left something to be desired performance-wise.

Enter Albert Spalding, head of the aforementioned A.G. Spalding & Bros. By 1906, Spalding had firmly planted himself as the nation’s leader in athletic equipment by his previous firsts: the basketball, football and baseball.

Armed with a thick resume and innate production knowledge, Spalding set out to create a more supportive gym shoe to help student athletes in running and cutting activities. His solution was to add an extra piece of black leather, which he called a “saddle”, across the white-leather vamp (part of the shoe containing the laces) that would support the instep and add lateral rigidity.

In terms of support, the design was a success, and it quickly became the standard gym/tennis shoe. However, it was flawed by its traditional leather heel which had poor traction on both grass and gymnasium floors.

L-R: White/black Saddle Shoe by Stewart Marshall, (Muffy’s) and Saddle Shoes by Opening Ceremony (Freshness Mag)

Spalding saw the answer in the rubber heel created and patented by Humphrey O’Sullivan in 1899. Rubber was currently the grippy material of choice, making it the prime choice to increase traction. Further, O’Sullivan’s design was known for outlasting leather heels, so Spalding contacted a local brake pad manufacturer who was constructing pads out of the same material to provide the soles of his saddle shoes.

White Bucks by Mulholland

Seeing how well the heel worked, Spalding decided to apply it to the entire bottom of the shoe, creating the ever-popular rubber-soled shoe. The rubber, which was said to be of the highest quality, had a reddish “coral” hue and came to bear as the signature bottom color of the saddle shoe.
Athletes ultimately deemed the heel to be impractical. Tennis players moved on, and the shoe was never overly popular with runners or basketball players. Still, it and the buck remained in the wardrobe of teenagers and adults, eventually becoming the casual dance shoe of choice during the doo-wop era when it gained the most prominence.

To this day, they’re still the only choice for ruffled-sock-wearing women in poodle skirts. But, I digress.
As trends and shoe technology evolved, saddle shoes moved from the athletic category into casual shoe territory. New materials and colors graced their uppers, and they eventually became synonymous with golfers, little girls and nerds.

(Steve Urkel wore a pair on Family Matters.)

More recently, saddle shoes have come back into the focus alongside the fashion industry’s newfound obsession with Americana. Unsurprisngly, brands such as Opening Ceremony, YMC and our old friends at Bass are all releasing their own versions of the legendary design. Last year saw the revival of the white buck, so it seems natural that saddle shoes will gain serious ground in 2010. And, why not? They’re more formal than a canvas sneaker, stand out better than a moccasin, and are as durable as a hiking boot. Its win-win-win all the way around.

YMC saddle shoes, courtesy of Selectism

Of course, their trendiness means that choices and price points are abundant. The suede Bass models run around $88, traditional white and blacks $100, and more adventurous models can run all the way up to Thom Browne’s $1250 version-all of which are generally constructed the same way. Choose wisely.

$1250 saddle shoes by Thom Browne — at least they come with shoe trees.

When it comes to fall/winter use, choose darker colors for colder climates. However, if you’re in the sun-filled Southwestern U.S., then the saddle shoe is your oyster.

Bass saddle shoes in fall colors, courtesy of Selectism

All photos licensed under creative commons.

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To see more from David Mongan, visit: http://evilmonito.com/author/dmongan

Published on 12 November 2009 | |