Saddle Oxfords a.k.a. Saddle Shoes
After seeing Betty Lou’s saddle oxfords, I was inspired to write about the history and interesting facts of one of my favorite classic American shoes…
Considered to be the grandfather of modern athletic footwear, saddle oxfords are one of the few all-American shoes. Also known as saddle shoes, saddle oxfords were first introduced in 1906 for tennis and squash players. The first saddle oxfords were manufactured by Spalding, which is the company who also made the first basketball,baseball and American football.
Saddle oxfords are distinguished by their oxford, lace-up style and are made of leather with red clay-colored rubber soles. They are usually one color at the front and heel with a contrasting “saddle” piece over the middle which supports the instep during sport. The shoes were originally made in white with a contrasting black piece, however they can be made in any combination of colors.
My Spalding Saddle Oxfords
In the 1950s, almost every American girl had a pair of saddle oxfords in white with black “saddles,” which they often wore with bobby socks. The shoe continued to be popular with teenage girls, cheerleaders and preppies from the 1960s-80s. Nowadays, people seen wearing saddle oxfords are usually golfers, children, preppy men, people dressed in 1950s fashions and vintage aficionados.
