Wednesday, September 8, 2010

saddles


It must be something in the air.

The execrable Jack Nicholson, Greg Kinnear classic "As Good as it Gets" was on the other night. There is absaposalutely no other reason to mention this other than watching it again reminded me how much I liked saddle shoes. I had forgotten this since the original 1996 release. Nicholson, spends much of the movie in a beat to hell pair that looked so right.

Mrs. T and I were out over the weekend and encountered a young woman in a brand spanking shiny new pair of brown and white saddles that in my heart looked awful, but I didn't let on. Few shoes look worse than out of the box saddles, not even bucks, not even white bucks. We told her, all the old people things, how good her shoes looked, how you rarely see a youngen wearing them, how we remember our last pair.

She politely listened and trumped by telling us how Tennessee Thomas has made them popular. As if we had any clue who Tennessee is. If you know, don't let on.



This pair, the photo liberated from Giuseppe of An Affordable Wardrobe is the last pair of saddles I have owned. They went with everything, just didn't fit well, so they were shipped off and now lead a happy and productive life in Boston.



To my mind's eye, for casual wear saddles work best in brown and white with the red rubber sole. Dressier choices exist.

Roberts is the place to go.

Toad

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have not wore saddles as an adult, however you are SO right regarding them better the older they are.
In the 60s my mum always kitted us in black/white saddles as toddlers, until about age 5.
I remember my toddler brother wearing knee socks & shorts with his (he had no sartorial input!)
Glad she didn't buy us the brown/white - even as a kid, that brown looked orthopaedic to me.
My three children (boy-girl-girl) wore deep navy/white saddles as their first and second pairs of shoes - #3 acquired the hand me downs and frankly were the best looking of the bunch - soft, patinaed, and broke in. Those sweet things never, ever wore out !
Now, a pair for each of my babes is bronzed.
Sigh.

Genuine Lustre said...

Sigh....am I that girl?
I've had a lifelong love of saddles, and have owned a pair at nearly every age. From my toddler version to the early 70s chunky heel version with the detachable kiltie that I wore to 1st grade, to the favorite Spauldings that I wore out in high school. I'm 45 now and I still have a pair. I look at them every day but never wear them. Can a 45 yo woman wear them without looking like an overgrown schoolgirl or like she's heading for the golf course? If you find out, please let me know. : )

JDB said...

I love saddle "oxfords"as my mom called them. I had a black and white pair as a child and remember them fondly. I would love to have a pair now, but what on earth would I wear them with?

Toad said...

GL: if you leave the poodle skirt at home, and wear them with jeans or khakis, why not?