American classic Saddle shoes

Saddle shoes are real classics for the weekend in New England or for the college look of the exclusive snobbish universities on the East Coast. For decades students and professors wear the immutable shoes with the typical reddish sole. The one, who wears them, is a real American, including the German director Wolfgang Liebeneiner.

Those who recognize and prefer Saddle shoes are asking themselves why they are not very popular in Europe. Maybe because they were modern among the American youth - especially young girls - while in Europe there was no big interest to the latest American trends during that time. But in the beginning of the 1940s this type of American shoe became recognizable mark for Frank Sinatra's fans.

But this excitement didn't cross the European border and we can say that till the end of WWII there was no specific youth movement from which outfit Saddle shoes were part. The heroes of the 1950s wore Pennyloafers or even cowboy boots, which were pretty funny. So, Saddle shoes remain exactly what they are: American casual and comfortable shoes for the weekend, beloved by students and professors, invariably worn with a tweed jacket and Chinos or with a polo shirt, jeans and pullover. They are also developed in more sophisticated versions for business people and then turn almost into black Oxfords for your dark suit. The presence of shoelaces and the unadorned panel approach them to the formal standards, but just slightly. If you wear all-black Saddle shows - something in the middle between Oxfords and Brogues - you might be considered not completely ill-dressed.

But the one who faints for the classic American style, cries on 'The Great Gatsby' and dress himself at Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren, at least once should wear a pair of cordovan Saddle shoes with his gray herringbone suit - this would show knowledge in the field of men's fashion! There is nothing more American than this...