Wow the English history of the spectators brought a laugh out of me, that's so fascinating, I'll buy a pair both for sartorial reasons and admittedly humorous.
Thank you for this, I love the backstory. I always search for history on everything menswear related because I love the story. I think the Strandmok from Allen Edmonds with the linen contrast is one of the greatest things since sliced bread.
Excellent and accurate backstory about 'spectators' although you did miss the connotation they had with the 'Jazz age' in America , no biggy ! Also there have been many variants from Allen Edmonds in the past: the Ridgefield model, the Strawfut model and of course the famous 'Broadstreet ' model which is re-issued every once and awhile and very collectable and quite sharp . Another great classic was made by Crockett and Jones which resembles the Ridgefield by AE and is also superbly constructed . FYI , the most difficult to pair are the black and white variety(very showy) however the brown, light brown and tan combos are easier and go quite well with lighter color trousers . A great example is to be seen in the Italian movie ' The Great Beauty ' (La Grande Bellezza) , however it may require a bit of courage to pull off for a conservative gentleman unless you are channeling your inner Gianni Agnelli ! I own 3 pairs myself and worn well they never fail to impress in a good way .
Ash as a historian I always enjoy your historical background of the gentlemanly things. Not a fan of the spectators and always atributed the to the zoot suit class of the 1940s. Although I think I could rock a pair of the tweed ones. Very interesting about Edward the VIII. Thanks of the history. Cheers Ron
I proudly have a chocolate and white pair in my closet. Doesn’t see a lot of use but so much fun when I get the chance to and would certainly never go without some in reserve.
Reminds me a bit of the Tassel Loafer with the twill like fabric in what would be the white area of the shoe. It’s obviously a casual shoe. I do like this style for the loafer, it’s a loafer and not normally a shoe I’m even fond of, but I like the look and styling for the casual shoe reinvented. Especially ALWAYS love the history lessons, and thus understand more the things I wear and from whence they came.
Every Saturday morning, I tune into Ash Jones. It’s a great thing to look forward to. This week, I have learned about something entirely new to me - the Spectator Shoe. I think I’ve found a new thing for my wardrobe - subject to finding good, cheap ones on ebay - which is another thing I learned from @The Chap’s Guide!
Just ordered the Allen Edmonds Randolph Spectator Black/White (Tuxedo) loafers...very excited. Thank you for your very fun video on such a special shoe.
I really like those brogues of yours. Very interesting to look at but also subtle enough to be used with more formal outfits. I have a couple pairs of full brogue ankle boots that are similar, but rather than woven leather they use a contrast of plain leather and pebble-grain leather.
Excellent video and perfect timing..i am a huge fan of spectators...i will be wearing a pair (black and white) tomorrow at church...my suit will be light grey..my bow tie will be diamond point paisley...gentlemen enjoy your weekend..peace
Great presentation, Ash. I like the looks of spectators, but don't really wear them much. Where I do wear them is for occasions where I'm a little dressy, but at the lower end of dressy. For instance, I have a few different pairs of spectator dance shoes.
I wear co-respondent shoes on a regular basis, but mostly co-respondent brogue boots, believe it or not. They're all of the more modern variety using suede inserts. My favourite pair is a brogue boot with tan leather and navy suede (on the vamp etc). They're a bugger to polish but I've never had so many compliments on my shoes than when I wear those casually, often with jeans. You can get some nice co-respondents from Cheaney now, with canvas instead of white leather, also tan & navy suede. A few British shoemakers sell them with dark brown leather and canvas and I think you could get away with those like any other brown brogue
Another very informative video Ash, thank you. I'd never heard the term Spectator shoe before and the origins of the name co-respondent shoe amused me. As a UK viewer Allen Edmonds were unfamiliar to me so I've just checked out their website - oh my goodness, what lovely shoes! I couldn't find the style Dirk enquired about but I very much like the dark brown version of the shoe you have pictured. The cad at 6:00 is totally rocking the look!
They make excellent shoes, on a par with a Loake 1880 in my opinion. They do actually sell in the UK via their site, but I don’t think they are financially viable in comparison to British brands.
Those particular spectators were offered earlier in the summer for a limited time. However, they are now offering some truly “unique” color pairings (and some solids as well) in a cap-toe Oxford and a sneaker.
I know it wasn't the core premise of the video, but it did stand out to me. I'm Canadian, and as most of the made in Canada shoe companies have closed, I'm more likely to turn to "made in America" products than anything else (specifically because of trade agreements and general access). Allen Edmonds is definitely not the brand it used to be, and I don't think it can be said that they are "the best shoe made in America". Their products are produced all over the place, and although they do demand a premium, you really don't know that you're going to get. I bought a pair of burgundy loafers from them a few years ago, and although the retail price for them was about $500 USD (which I did not pay) the leather was terrible, plastic, corrected grain. They were not supposed to be patent leather, but they wouldn't accept any polish or cream at all. I know there are a few items in their collection that are still produced to a high standard, some of which are still made in America as well. It just seems like their collection is bloated and fashion focused, without correlation between price and quality. All of that said, I think Alden (although a much smaller operation), is a much better American shoe. I haven't owned any, as they can be a bit more pricey than typical Allen Edmonds, but I have handled a number of them and the quality is apparent. Great video Ash - I see you're making the best of the dog days of summer. Cheers!
I would say that allen edmonds are quickly getting competition in the US with businesses such as Cobbler Union presenting quite nice shoes, for lower prices at times.
I’ll be certain to buy a pair when I work up the nerve to buy a Cab Calloway zoot suit and an enormous pimp hat to match. Come to think of it I’ll have to check out some RU-vid vids of Kid Creole and the Coconuts to see if he wore them to go along with his zoot suits. (A tip, gents. Discovering Kid Creole is a life-changing experience. Don’t deny yourselves the pleasure.)
Oh, someone else who remembers Kid Creole, Adriana Kaegi and Coati Mundi: "Annie, I'm not your Daddy" and "Stool Pigeon". And yes, I've just googled images of "August Darnell shoes" and lo and behold, there he is: 'Kid Creole' in his spectator shoes! And in particular I fell for that bass player, Carol Coleman, a crush of my very early adult years - she must be almost pushing her Zimmer frame now... :-) Well, it's been quite a while...
I feel that spectator shoes are about to become more front and centre of mens style as a more English draped look including pleated high wasted trousers replaces the Italianate, undersized, too tight suit look. It is clear that style icons such as the Duke of Windsor and some American film star contemporaries of his are the source of emerging styles. The tweed vamp brogue seem to be linked more with an outgoing Scottish style influence that made all things Celtic fashionable including stags heads, and not the dapper style of the above mentioned icons. Here in my part of this sceptred isle, I'm not sure that fabric vamps make any sense on practicality grounds - much better to go for leather which you can readily clean. And as for those brogue trainers - I can't see those as being apt for any Chap's wardrobe - well unless you are over 80 and wear a thick cardigan and man made trousers with an elasticated waist!
My understanding is these AE McAllister spectators were a limited edition release in celebration of the company’s 100 year anniversary. With that said, it’s doubtful they’ll re-release and/or be available for a discount, unfortunately.
😅 Oh the horror! Thanks for pointing out this salacious semiotic fact. I did *not know* the co-respondent fact, I used the American term for simplicity and thought the British one as somehow sports reporting related.. "correspondent" by the *sports connection* ... oh how wrong can one be...🤣 Are co... no *spectator* shoes technically only two material Oxfords and Derbies (though I've seen two-tone Monk-straps) or all shoes with clearly different materials or colours on elements of the upper? (I don't know this is the simple fact since we German cobblers refer to shoe types fairly strictly by *lacing* and *closure* not colour or material, so it just would be a "two-tone closed lacing shoe" [probably an Oxford]... ) Because if this is the case I made a ...co-respondent... shoe for my journeyman's examination (I'll have a link to a photo once I can dig one up)... which is kind of... weird🤣. But them I'm overestimating semiotics anyway... so... I like them... though their limited usefulness has me so far kept from buying a pair... probably because I'm trustworthy bloke and stay true to my fiancée! No honestly, I think they are supremely dapper but of truly limited usefulness because of their vulnerability to all kinds of even mild dirt caused by the white and that's even worse when it's some sort of textile. Combine that with their informal nature which again puts them closer to being worn with an equally more informal dress and I foresee myself spending hours with getting everything off the shoe or utilizing massive amounts of leather repair materials for minor nicks on white... Of course this *doesn't mean* I won't get some eventually...😅 Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
@@TheChapsGuide Thank you! It's just all cow leather, but the toe box and vamp are structure-pressed and drybrushed in brown to look the crocodile part (hence my "this isn't a spectator, isn't it?" question) and the rest is regular black with a little (completely pointless) stripe on the outer mid-quarter of beige suede leather...er.. it's just a little element of visual interest, just like the laminated leather-EVA-leather sole and (not visible) equally laminated heels... it's there to keep the eye of the evaluating masters busy in case something went wrong in the build (didn't, phew) - that's the purpose of *all* the visual elements here... a cheap plain black leather blucher with a rubber sole and EVA heel block would have completely sufficed if everything was right... but we went with a 600+€ upper... don't ask me... my masters decision, I had only a minor part in it😆 - pure paranoia if you ask me, though of the 30 examinee's in the test 12 failed, but I honestly don't understand *just how* ... Oh, and of course the right shoe is 4cm higher than the left which I believe is moderately well hidden, orthopaedic conditions and all that... Best regards Raoul G. Kunz, who always talks at length about shoes... and everything else 😅
Great video! I have a pair the cap (wing-tip) broged and heal is black (inc Oxford lacing system), the rest of the vamp is brown. Made in Italy - mid-range! I only paid $NZ5.00 (£2.50). I had to re-glue the vamp (2.5%) back to the sole, still a good pair of shoes! To me there are basicaly three ranges of dress shoes: 1. Low range - PVC, low grade leather & glued, 2. Mid range - Leather, good grade, Good year welted soles, but the vamps are glued to the soles, 3. High range, very good grade leather, 100% goodyear welted, no glue!
Now *that's* a catch Mr. Crawford! I would add a 2.5 "Upper mid range" - good leather good year welted soles, upper affixed (nailed) to the sole with wooden pegs to the range. It's essentially the in-between sitting astride the divide between just really good and *really dapper* . I would also like to add (and that's a shoemaker thing) that it's *not* the *absence of glue* (which would make the upper and lining grind and squeak), because you have to glue the inner lining at several places (on the inside of the toe-cap foremost), but the *kind of glue used* that makes the difference: Proper shoes are glued sparingly in selected places and most importantly with, unsurprisingly, *inside glue* - which is (if properly made) really noting else than water diluted starch because it has a very minor degree of loss when drying, leaves no stains and most importantly, binds leather with pretty much anything, especially useful to glue a specific part, the name of which, let alone the *part* , I can't find in any English language illustration... it's a piece of leather that runs from the toe-cap along the sides of the vamp to overlap in a bevelled transition with the forwardmost part of the heel cap. You'll find this... thing... in German it's a "Überstemme" which is an already archaic word for supernatant or overhang, as far as I know only still in bespoke and orthopaedic bespoke shoes - it strengthens the mid area between the stability of the toe cap and the heel cap above the shoe waist. It's placed between the upper and the lining and if done right can be only noticed by the added stability but not felt because it's ends and upper edge are finely bevelled and starch glued only very lightly at the edges. Anyhow, that's the starch glue thing and it's use... as always, I got out of hand on topics I know very well - sorry😅. And if anyone knows the part's English language name, please enlighten me! This part here => abload.de/img/index02e1f.jpg (sorry for the small picture) Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
@@RaoulKunz1 Schönen Tag Herr, Accoding to Google Translate "Überstemme" is Pry over. Vielen Dank for your reply😄 Also the problem today with TV celebities, they are killing the great style of genltemans outfits/clothing and footwear. Also known as "trends" It is great that some of us like you self, Ash (the Chap's Guide, Genltlemans Gazette) appreciate quality men's wear! Two extra items I would buy for my shoes if necessary are: Insertalbe sole liner, and heel pads if needed if one gets sore heels while one is "wearing in" the new quality shoes.
@@jonathonshanecrawford1840 Thank you! **klicksheels** , **bowshead** (I *actually do* this since I usually wear shoes with loud heels and in the pandemic it works fine with a tiny bow... and I mostly look like I belong in the late 19th century anyway...) I completely share your assertion of media outlets propagating fast fashion, pardon me, BS, that probably still costs as much as proper decent menswear and lasts roughly a tenth of the time... if it doesn't wear out beyond repairability (and shoes are a good example, classical shoes can *easily* be repaired to look *better* than before, try this with a "sports" shoes with a complete setup of textile upper and moulded outer soles... I *did* and *do* , and it always looks *abysmal* ...) it drops out of fashion. I'm very fond of Edwardian to late interbellum menswear (the vaunted 30s *Golden Age of Menswear* ) though If I say "I like 30s menswear" here in Germany I always feel the need to add " *except* dashing black Hugo Boss uniforms with silver trim and runes..." 🤣/🙄. Whenever possible (and even when it's not intended to *be* possible 😅) I rip out the sole liner that's usually glued to the insole and construct a new one befitting the space (mostly not much in elegant shoes) it has to provide a more relaxed gait cycle. I always include a heel pad anyway, so this is for me a single step. That's what I usually do for a living anyway - constructing new shoes is rarer (still often though) than the ~15-20odd pairs of (complex, the simple ones are a low effort couple of minutes thing) complex inlays 10+ steps and then ground down to ~1cm or less thickness😉. And since I have my lasts lying around in the workshop anyway I usually do a pair for me, less complex because I don't need it, when I have a new pair of shoes, fitting in and grinding usually in the pause the day after. I know the sickness funds would crucify me for this but: I seem to remember it's the same in the UK, so your general practitioner can write you a prescription for medical inlays if you tell him there's some pressure on the foot, usually works because homo sapiens generally has slightly unhealthily changed feet in 99% of cases because we don't have habitually walked barefoot for thousands of years and thus have less inherent stability in the two foot arches. - works in most cases since the GP almost never is an orthopaedist. Also: you seem to frequent the same channels as I do - two thumbs up!😁 Best regards Raoul G. Kunz (idiot) addendum: I don't know why, but I somehow presumed you to be in the UK and apparently am completely incapable of seeing something as *highly complex* as... *$NZ* 😶!!!
@@RaoulKunz1 To honest, I am an Australian living in Te Kuiti (Rual town) New Zealand! And I know there is a time difference. It sound like your a shoe makeer/repair? One day, if I had the money, I would buy two pairs of black capped Oxford around $250 (NZ$) each Goodyear welted and the wamp sewing to the sole (high quality). As like jackets for an example need rest between wears. just like humans need rest. I around 56 years old, and any one born after WW2, I can not say anything bad about them, As old saying, "Don't place the sins of thy father on to thy sons!" I do love the old style early 1900's like you sir, but today it is getting harder and harder to buy good quality mens wear mainly Polyester (plastic) rubbish! Even old fasioned outfits! Have you watched the Gentlemens Gazette what they in the 19... videos? They great and insightful to me!
@@jonathonshanecrawford1840 Don't worry about "the War" - can't be blamed for the sins of my grandfathers, and as an (and here it gets weird, I know😅) academically trained historian and history teacher (who does not work as a teacher, more on that in a sek') I have a very thorough understanding of the ins and outs of "the bloody 20th century" and just feel that we have a certain obligation ( *not* a sins-of-the-fathers thing) to keep an eye out because we (meaning "Zee Germans") know how fast even a modern society can be brought in line behind a, at the very least, problematic ideology - it's Goebbels "Great Lie", something we can see in action again currently, but this will conclude my politically tinged statements🤐. The joke with the uniform is just one of "those" things I spout because of my historian background, they amuse me because I *know* backgrounds and all that, nothing to be ashamed of😉. But back on topic: Yes I'm an *orthopaedic shoemaker* (I mean ~10+ years of Latin do have to serve *something resembling a purpose* , besides avoiding French from Grade 7 that is...) and honestly: I love the job. In a way we are among the last bespoke shoemakers outside of a very small field catering to the luxury field and it's really intriguing to have to find solution, especially when changing, mostly cheaper sometimes horribly so, ready-to-wear shoes to orthopaedic usability (that is when we are not in luck or have written several explanations as to the necessity of bespoke shoes to the health insurances). The side effect of this is of course that I have the good luck of both the tools and the skills as well as access to industry-priced high quality resources for shoe repair, change and sometimes full blown shoe construction (I have built three pairs as my "not pretty but comfy" work-wear shoes). The advice I have, depending of course on availability, would be to seek out an orthopaedic shoemaker and talk to him for a bit, if he has the time (we sometimes have, though not always) he can do a whole lot of shoe quality improvement for comparatively little money, more than any super-market-cobbler would ever be able to. I posted already substantially, probably to the point of annoyance😅, on the comments here on the topic. And yes, Mr. Schneider's little project and shop and awesomely useful videos. I've already seen the "What did Gentlemen wear in the 1900s" video - all of those are *really* interesting and I always draw some selective elements from them to implement in my own fashion decisions. I'm happy to see that others also love those featurettes! And yes, it's, sometimes abysmally so, hard to find early 20th century style clothing that's not "costumy" or downright costumes. I have turned to made-to-measure for many things, because true bespoke it beyond my range fiscally, and if you know your measurements *and* the added information "what was worn when" you can work on and around to getting a lot of things done, like Wilhelminian-style 4-button jackets that are simply not made normally any-more, but it requires a lot of checking and using loopholes - and any price advantage over bespoke tends to lessen again once you get to the fabrics...😒. Best regards Raoul G. Kunz
I've been looking everywhere for a quality made spectator shoe and came up with nothing. The brands you mentioned seem very high quality. You're literally a lifesaver.
I was always eying to purchase a pair of brown cream spectators but they are the most difficult to polish and therefore was put aback.. This is not for beginners. Using a colourless cream polish will not do the trick as in the long run colours won't be as vibrant and new looking. Some cobblers offer a service of polishing them professionally for an according price.
Liked the comment about 8 or 9 shoes - is that the definition of a collection? Currently have 9 pairs of Northampton shoes. I don’t think the 10th will be a spectator...
Would Dirk then be a Chaplizzard? (Sorry!) Seriously though, a two-toned shoe with a light-colored fabric vamp would require care when polishing the leather portion. But, on reflection, can a co-respondent by definition ever be a chap? Discuss ;-)
