Figure 1.--This snapshot is unidentified. We believe, however that it was probably taken in Germany about 1910. I'm not quite sure what kind of shoes the three brothers are wearing, but they are one of the sveral styles of two-tone shoes we have noted. This particular type seems quite rare.

Another style of shoe comes to mind, two tone shoes. I think it appeared in the 1940s. I remember wearing them in the 1950s when dressing up. I recall the brown and white ones being the most common. One account is, "When I was about 10 in the 1960s, several of us 4th grade boys wore shoes that were leather lace ups, black soles, heels, backs and sides, but white on the tongue of the shoe and the top part over the toes, and black laces. Two tone shoes? Never did hear them referred to by style. Any ideas? Don't remember how we polished them; two different colors of shoe polish seem necessary. It was coincidental, of course, that we happened to have chosen similar shoes. We would have doubled over with laughter at the notion of shopping for coordinated clothes. But with these two tone shoes, new long trousers, and sport shirts, our new horn-rimmed glasses, and short hair held in place by Wildroot cream oil, my pals and I thought we looked sharp." I think they had rather much disappeared by the mid-1960s, but apparently not completely. A reader writes, " I found this comment very interesting since my son got this leather lace up shoes as a gift for his first birthday last December. His pair is very similar to this description. I was looking to see if I could find them online since my friend loved them and my search took me to your very interesting site. These have a black sole and heel with a thin white trim above it; the sides and back of the shoes is white and the tongue and top part that covers the toes is navy blue. The laces are navy blue w/ a thin white line in the center. They are made in Portugal; that's all I know. Perhaps this are the "modern" version of the "two toned mentioned on your site." [Venetian]

Terminology

These two-tone shoes were seen as a sporty style. The two tone shoes are known in the United States as spectators and in the United Kingdom as correspondents. Presumably these names derive from them being worn at sporting events and by newspaper correspondents. I am not sure, however, just how thesecnames were derived.

Styles

These include the wingtip style, those with the cap or straight toe cover and also the moc style where the inset is white (colored sides and the tougne and top of the shoe was white). Catalogs such as Sears and Wards showed many different shoe styles in two colors. They also showed a number of these styles for little boys and "big" boys (8 to 16) or whenever they fit into a man's shoe size.

Chronology

These shoes first became poplular during the 1930s. I remember wearing them in the early 1950s when dressing up. These shoes have remained popular to some degree ever since the 1930s with every era making it's own adjustments to style change. In the late 40s and early 50s they were made with a double sole, two rows of white stitching and updated for the high school or college guys. They were also made for boys in the 50s many times with a gray silk plug over the toe area of the foot while the remainder of the shoe was shiny black. During the 40s and 50s many of these shoes were made with a natural color inset of nylon. The brown shoes usually had the natural woven plug while shoes made in black had gray mesh and those made in navy had a navy mesh. The spectator style of shoe continues to be popular with many groups. Zoot suiters wear them, especially the Stacy Adams brand of spectator wingtip which is made of patent with a white leather plug. Stacy has made them in red/white, black/white, tan/white, blue/white, gray/white. Many companies in 2004 have numerous spectator or two tone styles in colors such as pink/white, mint green/white, purple/white, light blue/white, etc.

Colors

I recall the brown and white ones being the most common. There were also black and white and blue and white shoes. There were other colrs, but they were not as common.

Ages

These two-tone shoes were worn by both boys and adults. The styles were somewhat different. This was not a style for the younges boys. We notice school-age boys wearing them, beginning about age 8.

Personal Accounts

One account is, "When I was about 10 in the 1960s, several of us 4th grade boys wore shoes that were leather lace ups, black soles, heels, backs and sides, but white on the tongue of the shoe and the top part over the toes, and black laces. Two tone shoes? Never did hear them referred to by style. Any ideas? Don't remember how we polished them; two different colors of shoe polish seem necessary. It was coincidental, of course, that we happened to have chosen similar shoes. We would have doubled over with laughter at the notion of shopping for coordinated clothes. But with these two tone shoes, new long trousers, and sport shirts, our new horn-rimmed glasses, and short hair held in place by Wildroot cream oil, my pals and I thought we looked sharp." I think they had rather much disappeared by the mid-1960s, but apparently not completely. A reader writes, " I found this comment very interesting since my son got this leather lace up shoes as a gift for his first birthday last December. His pair is very similar to this description. I was looking to see if I could find them online since my friend loved them and my search took me to your very interesting site. These have a black sole and heel with a thin white trim above it; the sides and back of the shoes is white and the tongue and top part that covers the toes is navy blue. The laces are navy blue w/ a thin white line in the center. They are made in Portugal; that's all I know. Perhaps this are the "modern" version of the "two toned mentioned on your site." [Venetian]

Sources

Venetian, Zulaika A. E-mail message, March 18, 2004.

Created: September 26, 2000
Last updated: 7:32 AM 11/11/2005