In July, 2010 while visiting for a few days in the family home in Iowa I discovered an old pair of spats worn for a time in 1942-43. Popular in the 19th and early twentieth centuries, this shoe garment is worn only in the modern world by the U.S. Infantry and marching bands.
For me they represented dapper elegance in the years before the draft sent me to the U.S. Army. In junior and senior year high school I remember the mirror showing me sporting a brown sports coat, brown trousers with dark brown transversal lines, white shirt, and a brown tie leaning on a tiny gold or silver rod that connected the ends of the shirt collar. Spats covered the oxford shoes. A white handkerchief deftly fit in the front pocket of the coat. I can’t remember the movie star I fancied to mimic but he must have been good-looking. The reader may ask, why brown? Well, brown is or was popular in rural areas since it reminded people of the earth, the source of their livelihood.
While these spats were designed for show, they also had a practical effect. The cloth covering the shoe warmed the feet during the cold and snowy Midwestern winters when style-oriented young men did not want to go out wearing ugly overshoes.
In case these words stimulate the reader to yearn for spats in 2010, he can go to the Internet and find instructions and illustrations for making his own. He may find that this example and web site post may help bring this long-neglected accessory back in style. Perish the thought!
