Shoes

Despite the dressy quality of this pair of highly polished, all-black saddle shoes, they retain some of the sporty feeling typical to the style. The saddle shoe is distinguished by the application of a separate piece of leather over the waist of the shoe, often in a contrasting color, forming the lacing tabs. The style was introduced by A. G. Spalding in 1906 as a gym oxford, with the saddle providing added reinforcement around the instep. By the late 1930s, bi-color saddle shoes were being worn widely as a comfortable everyday shoe by both male and female students. This example has dispensed with the traditional rubber sole, but uses the saddle form to bring variety and freshness to a business shoe.