Who wears galoshes these days?

[marcelo]

Yesterday I was caught in a violent storm. And what is worse, I had shoes with leather soles on. Neither an umbrella nor a trench coat would have helped much to keep my feet dry in the face of such a ferocious weather. I wondered if it would not have been a good idea to have a pair of galoshes at hand. But who wears galoshes these days? Any thoughts?



Tingley has a wide range of models

[Jordan Marc]

Marcelo:

Galoshes?! I don't think anyone has worn those buckled monsters since the middle of the last century.

For rain and light snow, you might keep your feet dry with a pair of rubbers, assuming you're agile enough to wrestle them on over your shoes. For the best all around protection, barring the melting of the poles and the ensuing deluge, what you really need are a pair of classic Wellies, which are a bit pricey, or the more affordable Asian equivalent known to construction workers in the US as "Chinese shitkickers." While Wellies come in two flavors, garden green and muck brown, their Asian counterpart is shiny black with a red-orange-red border just under the kneecap. They can be found at home centers throughout the US, such as Home Depot and Lowes. Keep a pair in your home, another pair in boot of your car, still another in your office or cubbyhole at work. Why not outfit the whole family. They come in one size: bigfoot. Drop a pair of woollen athletic socks in each pair. You won't be able to pull these gumboots over your shoes. Tuck your shoes into ziplock plastic bags and stuff them into the inner pockets of your trenchcoat or slicker, then head for the highground.

JMB

[Cufflink79]

Growing up in Minnesota I wore the overshoes shown in the above photos quite a bit. When the snow was too deep for those things, I had a change of boots to wear.

I wouldn't mind investing in a pair of well made knee high boots that were big enough to cover my shoes. Its been a while since I've had to do the changing of footwear at the beginning and end of the day, and hopefully I'll be back in a cold and snowy area again, but would like the simplicity of just having to remove the boots.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[storeynicholas]

Galoshes is the British-English term for the items shown by Marcelo although it can also refer to spats.
NJS

[chelsea]

Three weeks ago I was coming up the steps at Green Park tube station on Piccadilly, London. . As my head approached pavement level, an immaculately dressed gentleman walked by. He was wearing a dark suit, overcoat, bowler, carried a black umbrella and much to my surprise, was wearing spats (as opposed to galoshes).

I was rather amused as I cannot recall ever previously seeing anyone wearing them, other than on the stage.


Chelsea

[marcelo]

I thought these were “spats” – something of hardly any help under pouring rain. Did Jordan Marc have them in mind when he referred to “those buckled monsters” of “the middle of the last century”?



This image, by the way, stems from the site of a LL member known as Sir Royston.
Practical or not, I would not ever call them monster. I am more inclined to think Jordan Marc had in mind the rubber protection depicted in my previous post. Am I right?

[NCW]

Spats stop the water getting in at the top. They had little useful function, and quickly became decorative (white/dove grey was classic with morning dress).




Fred has a somewhat subdued look, but gangsters would have gone all the way with patent! Buffed leather or felt is more discrete.

[Costi]

I remember old gentlemen who still wore them when I was very young, but I have no recollection of buckled monsters - those were sleek (well, as sleek as galoshes can be), black or grey slippers and I seem to remember they were shiny rather than dull rubber. I saw galoshes in a shopping gallery in downtown Copenhagen last year, but they were brightly coloured, had a funny shape and were unreasonably expensive - clearly a fashion idea more than a serious and utilitarian article. I think I would wear galoshes if I could find any and if I didn't drive so much around. Something like this perhaps:

http://www.brandish.tv/2008/03/swims-galoshes.html

[Jordan Marc]

Marcelo:

The buckled monsters to which I was referring were thick rubber mid-calf length boots that buckled up the front and were held in place with hinged catches. It was part of the winter rig worn by midwesterners to deal with severe storms of snow and ice which could be waist high, even shoulder high. Those brave enough to venture outside looked like explorers at the poles pictured in National Geographic: parkas and thermal trousers, layers of thin sweaters, mufflers, googles, big padded gloves, and Russian fur hats with flaps all around. Burr, it was cold in those days.

That's what I meant by galoshes, which bear no resemblance to the two-toned shoes made by Lobb and Cleverley

JMB

[Jordan Marc]

NCW:

Looking at the photo of Fred and Ginger dancing together in Top Hat, I thought you and the other members might be interested to know that the sound of tapping in many of the production numbers in the Astaire movies was added after the film was in the can. It's a form of foley work, or sound effects, that was added by Fred Astaire and Hermes Pan, who was often called his shadow. Floor mikes were arranged round a stage, and Astaire and Pan would re-dance the production number together. The sound of the tapping was captured, balanced just so by the engineer, and added to the soundtrack later on. Perfection doesn't happen merely by chance.

JMB

[storeynicholas]

I thought these were “spats” – something of hardly any help under pouring rain. Did Jordan Marc have them in mind when he referred to “those buckled monsters” of “the middle of the last century”?



This image, by the way, stems from the site of a LL member known as Sir Royston.
Practical or not, I would not ever call them monster. I am more inclined to think Jordan Marc had in mind the rubber protection depicted in my previous post. Am I right?

These appear to be on the wrong feet but it is a nice pair of spats.
NJS

[marcelo]

I think of galoshes as accessories I would not go outdoors with, though I might well return home with them on. If the clouds in the sky betoken rain, I would avoid leather sole altogether. But if I happen to be caught in a storm, having a pair of galoshes – I mean the rubber protection depicted twice at the outset of this tread – might prove quite helpful. And not only to keep my feet dry, but to keep the shoes themselves in good shape. These galoshes seem to be unbulky enough to be stored in one’s drawer in the office, or carried in the luggage without much extra weight. This seller affirms they might be even carried in one’s overcoat pocket:

http://www.classic-shoe-shine.com/detai ... =76&id=256

The problem is that I have the impression one needs galoshes in a variety of models in order to fit an equal variable range of shoes models.

[marcelo]

I thought these were “spats” – something of hardly any help under pouring rain. Did Jordan Marc have them in mind when he referred to “those buckled monsters” of “the middle of the last century”?



This image, by the way, stems from the site of a LL member known as Sir Royston.
Practical or not, I would not ever call them monster. I am more inclined to think Jordan Marc had in mind the rubber protection depicted in my previous post. Am I right?

These appear to be on the wrong feet but it is a nice pair of spats.
NJS

What exactly do you think is wrong with them?

[storeynicholas]

It is certainly true that you need different galoshes/rubbers for different types of shoe and one other thing - remember that if you wear them over suede or light shoes you might get smudges from the rubber.
NJS

[pvpatty]

How ironic that just after reading this thread this afternoon, I headed out to meet a friend for dinner and ended up getting caught in a severe thunderstorm that pelted my car with hail and threatened the life of the C&J leather soled loafers I had on. With more storms this summer on the horizon, I shall be ordering some galoshes very quickly!

The Swims ones look the best (http://swims.no/), but at 93 euros I'm not quite sure that they're worth it.

Also, they do offer an 'overboot' version (http://www.swimsstore.com/products.aspx?cId=66).