Figure 1.--Voodo was one of the Tuf Pacesetter marketing ploy. Animal tracks had prooved popular for the younger boys so thius was another effort to stimulate demnd with boys. |
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One of the iconic English shoe companies of the 1960s were Tuf shoes. The company sold their shoes under several diffeent brands. While the firm that made them may not have been the first to produce a vulcanised rubber sole which was welded on to the body of the shoe, it was the first to market and advertise them aggressively. They made an effort to appeal to boys by molding sole designs that would interest boys. Unsurprisingly, the company produced a hard-wearing school shoe for both girls and boys, of which both thrifty parents and sensible schools approved, often mentioning the brand by name on their school uniform requirements.
One of the iconic English shoe companies of the 1960s were Tuf shoes. The company sold their shoes under several diffeent brands.
While the firm that made them may not have been the first to produce a vulcanised rubber sole which was welded on to the body of the shoe, it was the first to market and advertise them aggressively. They made an effort to appeal to boys by molding sole designs that would interest boys. Unsurprisingly, the company produced a hard-wearing school shoe for both girls and boys, of which both thrifty parents and sensible schools approved, often mentioning the brand by name on their school uniform requirements.
A reader writes, "My style of my first pair of Tufs was the absolutely standard mudguard design under the name Pacesetter, which my grandmother bought for me. I suppose I must have been 13 years old. At the time many shoe shops, particularly ones in department stores, had an x-ray machine so you could check the fit of your shoes by seeing your skeletal foot within them. No such luck this time. Tufs were widely distributed in shoe shops across the land, both the national chains and family-owned stores. We went to a small shop in the high street and the assistant responded to the request for school shoes by a strong recommendation for Tuf shoes. My feet were simply measured and a size with sufficient room for growth was selected. I had little say in the matter. Then the well-known black box was located and the shoes tried on. I think I walked out of the shop with leaving the assistant to dispose of my old worn-out shoes. Tufs were guaranteed against 6 month’s fair wear and tear and they lived up to expectations. True to the promise I grew out of my shoes before they wore out and was immediately despatched to the shoe shop to buy a replacement, which, I remember correctly, would have been about 39/11 or a penny under 2 pounds. As I grew older I progressed to the adult shoes with a very similar design. At college I continued to wear Tuf shoes, this time of a more fashion elastic-sided design. Actually I would have to say Tuf shoes were an excellent product. Although the sole was a little stiff initially they soon became very flexible. The shoes were comfortable and easy to clean. They took a polish well. They were also extremely hard-wearing; fully up to what the average schoolboy could throw at them. "
Another reader writes, " A correction. Tuf did not sell their shoes under different brands". They were always branded as 'Tuf' in the familiar black box. In the 1960s they marketted shoes under the 'Tuf Pacesetter' and 'Tuf New Pacesetters'. The original Pacesetter certainly had leather uppers. Like others in the early-70sTuf branched out into synthetic uppers with their 'Tuf Weatherman's' which were advertised as washable but had leather linings and 'Tuf Town Shoes', which were made with synthetic materials throughout. You might want to have a section on Wayfinders as they were for a schoolboys of a certain age in the 60s, definitely a popular shoe of choice. Having started with animal track soles they then with their Moonshot range. Wards was a competitor and the soles of their shoes had car tyre tracks). There was also Clarks Commandos but I cannot remember what their soles were like. They may have also have had animal tracks.
Our reader tells us,"The only thing against the standard Tuf shoes was that it was obvious the brand you were wearing and it had no pretensions to being stylish: quite the opposite." In the 1970s Tuf started making shoes with more fashionable designs but often out of synthetic leather, such as Porvair, which made them too shiny and sweaty to wear. Also, the high street shoe chains introduced their own versions of hard-wearing rubber-soled shoes, so the brand simply faded away.
It was Bata which pioneered the boy’s school shoe with animal footprints raised on the sole and a compass in a recess in the heel. They were called the Wayfinders but marketed to younger school boys, otherwise I am sure I would have had a pair. Younger brothers of mates certainly did. Apart from the animal prints and the compass, the style was almost identical to the Tuf shoes that I wore for several years. I think a great number of British boys must have pestered their mothers into buying a pair. In fact these shoes mark a signal departure for school shoes by being actively marketed in the press and on television to children, rather than their parents. We assumed that this would appeal modtly to boys, but another British reader tells us, "My daughters wore Tuf shoes in the 60s. The animal footprints was the demand factor. I'm not sure how popular they were with girls in general. I think my girls were Tomboys!" Our reader tells us," Looking back it also seems to indicate how naïve we were as consumers when you look what they talked us into wearing." The footprint idea was imitated with variations on a theme by Tuf. There were other sole designs made to interest boys, such as the Voodo designs seen here (figure 1).
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