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Spats
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Spats
Mr. Bootblack is a philosopher with distinct views of his own. He earns a living cleaning shoes. Once every two weeks he writes an article about footwear for GDS – and about the wearers.
I had just started setting up my pavilion for the first time this year – a kind of tent awning for my mobile shop because the weather this week had finally changed. Suddenly, Henry stood before me with an angler’s hat perched on his head with rivulets of rainwater running down his shoulders, a reefer jacket and his trousers tucked into his high boots.
I have just one view on this: there are obviously circumstances where men, too, can tuck their trousers into their boots. I am often asked this question and my answer is unequivocal. There is absolutely no reason why men shouldn’t wear their trousers tucked into their boots. As long as they either have a horse or a rifle with them. Or both. In this case anything goes. Otherwise, please spare me the question even if I do know that this might be fashionable in some circles. But please realise this is a fashion that breaks the rules. This may be OK for those who can pull it off. For virtuosos. Something I am not. To my mind in town you should be wearing spats if you want to protect your trousers from the elements. Spats are the most underrated accessory city dwellers can find and I can only advise those looking for an original gift: buy them spats! They don’t need to be elegant spats like people used to wear when traipsing through the muddy streets of Harlem on their way to hear Charlie Parker play in a cellar bar. A simple pair of spats made of plastic are fine and Gore-Tex ones are even better. But why men these days prefer to ruin their trouser hems or want to look like they have just ridden into work on horseback I shall never know. Leather is a gift from god enabling us to wear beautiful shoes and we can do this throughout the year because a clever person invented spats. We should honour this invention.
I obviously say this because autumn has begun. I have got out my high-sitting shoes, i.e. my real footwear because the other shoes actually don’t reach over the ankle. They provide good protection in bad weather and are good for many situations but not for tucking your trousers into. A smart person has two pairs of real shoes so they can alternate. Otherwise they don’t dry out properly in between times. And every five years they replace one pair. That’s how easy good living can be.
Henry in his angler’s hat smiles at me. “That might not be proper weather,” he shouted “but there’s lots of it!” I had to laugh. That’s Henry for you. He is the kind of guy who makes everyone happy simply by being happy himself. He grows tomatoes on his roof in Brooklyn and hands them out to kids on his street. I’m sure he can make a kite. That’s the kind of guy Henry is. And he wears wellington boots in the city. He’s one step ahead. He doesn’t obey rules anymore. But everyone else please trust me on the spats.
