Oh, To Wear Spats Just Once

that what I am publishing today (for your information) still exists. Men's fashionable spats. Sounds a lot like those rubber shoes with the one piece of rubber that connects on the toe and through the big toe and next toe. Only the die-hard beach bums could get by with wearing spats, but I am talking about another type of spats, the uptown, high-end, fashionable spats made famous when elite, upper-crust men of taste and breeding began to see how popular they were and the fad took off like a flock of blackbirds.

More in-depth were the spats. These fashion luxuries were worn by men and, less commonly, by women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They fell out of frequent use during the 1920s. Made of white cloth, grey or brown felt material--their intended practical purpose was to protect shoes and socks from mud or rain, but also served as a feature of stylish dress in accordance with the fashions of the period. NOTE: if you will think about it, women who tried to look stylish ended-up looking stupid and silly when they tried to wear spats like their husbands.

Still, I still think that I am missing a large section of information and maybe some trivia that was spawned by spats and spat-wearers. I mean, the highly-successful men of the Gilded Age only wore spats in public—could be as their calling card that said, “I Am Successful. Look At Me,” to anyone who met these rich guys strolling down Fifth Avenue. Personally, I wish that I had been born during (this) time so I could know how success really tastes.

I have to approach you, the hub-reader, and ask, “If protecting the man’s ankles from mud and water, what else were spats good for?” Puzzling. That is how I view spats today.

But, I am not that removed from loving spats. I do think that the following men wore spats and yes, just that one fashion move, made them look and act more-successful:

• Marvin Hamlisch – musical arrangement. Famous for adapting ragtime legend, Scott Joplin’s jazz selections and used them for the hit film: “The Sting.”
• Cornelius Vanderbilt – business magnet. Made his wealth by buying railroads and shipping.
• Glenn Ford – movie idol and looked pretty sharp in spats.
• John D. Rockefeller – became the first billionaire in 1946. He wore spats frequently along with the male members of the Rockefeller Family.

I know that this list is short, but I think that you get the idea.

this random thought about spats: if spats helped to shape the men who wore them, then “why” would spats protecting the ankles make the guy live in a category in a class by himself. So I thought that the Lone Ranger would make The Ideal folk model simply because of his black mask.

Sure The Lone Ranger (The Late Clayton Moore)

• TV’s Lone Ranger; William Conrad, on radio) fought evil in the west and took up for the people who had suffered from someone’s greedy injustice, but look carefully. Without his mask, his character was not that intimidating. The Lone Ranger was just another cowboy wearing white.

Then Came The Very Stylish

• black patch made famous by most pirate (actors) in the early days of Hollywood. And you have to admit that most guys who take to wearing an eye patch has to be respected. But know the truth. Not every pirate stood six-foot six and weighed 190 pounds and was in excellent physical shape. But those pirates (with the patch) made those leading ladies swoon on and off the screen. Now you have a dilemma—you must choose which of the fashion fads are more-famous, the Lone Ranger’s mask or the pirates who wore black eye patches?

And Now For The Fly In The Ointment

• and I mean every word of this introduction. I mean no disrespect, but if I mention the ONE hero that the world loves, then the Lone Ranger, the Vanderbilts, and the movie pirates will just have to ride in the backseat.

• Superman. Does the man of steel cause chills to run all over your spine? If you do, that is okay. But let’s talk about the ONE small change that if Superman’s creators, Jerry Siegel‎ (writer); ‎Joe Shuster‎ (artist), were around today and decided to make the Man of Steel look more dashing, to have him fight crime without wearing his famous red cape. Be honest. Superman without his cape. He would look plumb stupid. And there is no use to sugar-coat the obvious.

I do hope that you have enjoyed my talk about spats and other fashion notes because I found spats very interesting. I hope that one day I will be able to find more facts about “Men’s Socks”: America’s Unknown Secret.

June 11, 2019_________________________________________