Miscellaneous Definitions — accessories, trims, tools and general fashion terms from Apparel Search
Spats are a type of shoe accessory worn in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were stiff fabric covers attached to the top of the shoe and extending up the lower part of the leg, covering the ankle. Spats, especially white ones worn on highly polished black shoes, form part of the stereotype dress of a wealthy young man of the era, along with a top hat and a cane. Similar but strictly practical articles known as gaiters are still worn today to prevent mud getting into walking boots.
A mobster in the film Some Like It Hot was nicknamed "Spats" because he wore that type of shoe.
The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spats). Modified by the Apparel Search Company on 1/6/06.
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Spats occupy the border between footwear and clothing: they are not shoes, not socks and not trousers, but a separate accessory worn over the shoe. In form they were stiff fabric covers attached to the top of the shoe and extending up the lower part of the leg, closing over the ankle and the junction where shoe meets trouser. That junction was the problem spats addressed in an age of muddy streets, horse-drawn traffic and long walks in formal dress. The top of a polished shoe and the bottom of a trouser leg are exactly where splashes land, and a washable, replaceable cover protected both the leather beneath and the cloth above. Stiffness mattered to the design. A spat had to hold a smooth, shaped outline around the ankle rather than wrinkling like a sock, so the fabric and its fastenings were chosen to keep the cover neat from the moment it was put on until it was taken off.
Their period is precise. Spats were worn in the late 19th and early 20th century, when formal day dress for men was elaborate, standardised and closely observed. They belonged to a complete outfit rather than to casual wear, and their condition was part of the wearer's presentation: a clean, well-fitted spat completed the line from trouser to shoe, while a soiled or sagging one undid it. As streets were paved and cleaned, motor transport replaced the horse, and men's dress simplified through the 20th century, the practical case for spats weakened and the fashion case collapsed with it. The accessory survived mainly in ceremonial, theatrical and period contexts, where its period signal is exactly what is wanted.
In popular memory spats survive as a stereotype. Spats, especially white ones on highly polished black shoes, form part of the stereotype dress of a wealthy young man of the era, along with a top hat and a cane. The contrast did the work: white fabric, kept immaculate, over black leather, kept shining, announced leisure, money and attention to appearance in a single glance at the feet. Fiction fixed the association. A mobster in the film Some Like It Hot was nicknamed Spats because he wore that type of shoe covering, and the nickname needed no explanation for audiences who still recognised the accessory as a mark of the sharp-dressed man of an earlier generation.
The practical relative of the spat never disappeared. Similar articles known as gaiters are still worn today, but they are strictly practical rather than decorative, worn to prevent mud getting into walking boots. A gaiter closes the same vulnerable gap between boot top and leg, uses tougher materials and outdoor fastenings, and is judged by weatherproofing rather than elegance. The comparison defines the spat by contrast: same position on the leg, same covering idea, opposite purpose. Spats were dress first and protection second, an accessory whose whiteness and stiffness proclaimed that the wearer could afford to keep fabric clean at ankle height. Gaiters accept mud as their working condition. Between the two, the history of the shoe cover is complete - from the formal streets of the late 19th century to the modern walking trail, the gap above the shoe still needs covering, even though the reasons, and the fabrics, have entirely changed.
Spats are a type of shoe accessory worn in the late 19th and early 20th century. They were stiff fabric covers attached to the top of the shoe and extending up the lower part of the leg.
Spats, especially white ones on highly polished black shoes, form part of the stereotype dress of a wealthy young man of the era, along with a top hat and a cane.
Similar articles known as gaiters are strictly practical rather than decorative, and are still worn today to prevent mud getting into walking boots. Spats were primarily a dress accessory of their period.