Spectator Appreciation

[dddrees]



Just beautiful! What brand?

Edward Green Malvern.

 

[dddrees]

I forgot to post these. I just received these a few weeks ago.

 

[Andy57]

I forgot to post these. I just received these a few weeks ago.

Those are super nice.

 

[dddrees]



Those are super nice.

Thank you sir.

 

[isshinryu101]



I forgot to post these. I just received these a few weeks ago.

excellent

 

[dddrees]

excellent

Thank you sir.

 

[meister]



Those are super nice.

Mountain ram?

 

[dddrees]



Mountain ram?

Nope sorry, just Kudu.

 

[meister]

Very summery already in Sydney. Broke out the EG Malverns

 

[knucks]

SJC has just released bench-made British Correspondant Spectator shoes from Italian canvas and calf in three shades to choose from, they are currently at limited edition of 25 pairs early bird low price before they go up on Kickstarter next week.
http://www.simonjamescathcart.com/footwear/

 

[Andy57]

^ The design of that shoe, with the little strip of canvas between two pieces of leather at a place on the shoes that is subject to considerable flexing just screams "failure mode". How long before that canvas strip is worn through? Not very long, I would imagine.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



^ The design of that shoe, with the little strip of canvas between two pieces of leather at a place on the shoes that is subject to considerable flexing just screams "failure mode". How long before that canvas strip is worn through? Not very long, I would imagine.

Don't see why it'd be any weaker than the same point on a canvas plimsoll. It looks to me like the whole vamp has a canvas layer, and then the leather toecap and the apron across the mid-vamp are laid over that. Could be wrong, though.

 

[Andy57]

Don't see why it'd be any weaker than the same point on a canvas plimsoll. It looks to me like the whole vamp has a canvas layer, and then the leather toecap and the apron across the mid-vamp are laid over that. Could be wrong, though.

I was speculating that the canvas would be a weak point in that mid vamp area because it is a narrow strip placed between two pieces of leather. I am assuming that the canvas is weaker and more flexible than the leather. This would have the effect of transferring all of the flex to that strip of canvas while the leather stays fairly rigid and unflexed with each step the wearer takes. And so it would quickly break down under the stress.

The difference with the plimsoll is the absence of those two pieces of leather to act as friction points. I, also, could be wrong, though. I must also disclose that I think the shoes themselves are not very attractive and I would not be a customer, as much as I love spectator shoes. So there's probably some sort of cognitive bias in my argument, somewhere!

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



I was speculating that the canvas would be a weak point in that mid vamp area because it is a narrow strip placed between two pieces of leather. I am assuming that the canvas is weaker and more flexible than the leather. This would have the effect of transferring all of the flex to that strip of canvas while the leather stays fairly rigid and unflexed with each step the wearer takes. And so it would quickly break down under the stress.

The difference with the plimsoll is the absence of those two pieces of leather to act as friction points. I, also, could be wrong, though. I must also disclose that I think the shoes themselves are not very attractive and I would not be a customer, as much as I love spectator shoes. So there's probably some sort of cognitive bias in my argument, somewhere!

You could be right about where the flex point would fall. Dress shoe upper leather is pretty flexible, though, usually around 3-4 oz. And when a grown man flexes the shoe in walking, that's a lot of force being applied where the shoe hugs the foot's flex point--generally the ball. I think the flex will fall where it falls, whether that point is canvas or leather. You're right that a well-fitting shoe wrinkles at that point as well as at the ball, though. I recently made up a shoe of that pattern all in calf--haven't noticed the friction you speak of, but I've only worn it about 20 times. I'd guess we'd need to appeal to a shoemaker like DWF.
.
On a related note, I don't recall that there is any agreed name for this pattern--a captoe with a separate piece laying over the mid-vamp. It was quite popular in the 1930s, especially in spectator makeup, but also in single-skin. I believe this a homage to the style done by Kielman of Poland:

Dimitri Gomez, who's an enthusiast for older styles, calls it a "court shoe," but I think that's inaccurate--"court shoe" is British English for a pump.

I note that in Gomez's version, it really does look like the crocodile "apron" across the mid-vamp is not layered over calf, but sitting alongside the calf pieces. On the others, it seems to sit atop the upper.

Riccardo Bestetti famously uses the pattern for his "Gladiators"--clever marketing if ever there was any. He has made a real stunner in the pattern:

Does anybody have a name for this pattern? It would be interesting to hear what 1930s shoe catalogues called it.

 

[deadAngle]

I believe that strip of leather/that style is called a tarsal strap, but I could be mistaken.