Spectators: black & white or brown & white?

[marcelo]

A couple of months ago I commissioned a pair of black oxfords at a local cordwainer and was quite glad about the result. – These were, by the way, my first bespoke shoes. Now, I am considering the rather bold idea of commissioning a pair of spectators – or correspondents. But I am still unsure about the color scheme: brown & white or black & white ?



There are lots of photos from the thirties and forties I have been perusing so as to have a clearer idea of the model I am to commission, but as a matter of course they are not quite helpful as far as colors are concerned, for the images are b&w anyway. Do gentlemen of this forum have any specific ideas on the proper colors for a pair of spectators? Is brown or black in any way too restrictive?

[Jordan Marc]

Marcelo:

In Laslo Vass and Magda Molnar's book, Handmade Shoes For Men, there is a photo of a gorgeous pair of bespoke full brogue spectators made by John Lobb in St. James, London. They're in highly polished medium brown calf and taupe doeskin suede. Truly stunning.
Spectators can be made in other stark two-tone combinations, all of which seem more suitable for jazz musicians, gangsters and golfers from the 1920s, but I've never seen a pair more beautiful and tasteful than the John Lobb model. On the off-chance you don't have the book, it's available from Amazon.

JMB

[couch]

For my money, it would be hard to beat these for versatile color or the style and finish:

http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... f=2&t=7254

[alden]

Spectators will be often worn with light colored linens or cottons. In this regards, the best color combination would be various shades of brown with tan or off white...like the LL G&G specs

Cheers

M Alden

[storeynicholas]

I have a pair in navy blue and off-white and am very pleased with them.
NJS

[marcelo]

Couch, thanks for reminiding me of that LL project. Jordan Marc, Laslo Vass and Magda Molnar's book is a great one. I have the German edition. For obvious reasons it concentrates on Laslo Vass's bespoke shoes.

Spectators will be often worn with light colored linens or cottons. In this regards, the best color combination would be various shades of brown with tan or off white...like the LL G&G specs

Cheers

M Alden

Thanks for this, Michael. Brown & white is, indeed, the combination I am inclined to favour. It seems less restrictive. But when it comes, for instance, to light grey, wouldn’t b&w, or NJS’s navy blue and off-white work better? John Gielgud plays one of my favorite characters in “Brideshead Revisited”. Here he is wearing two shades of light grey with a pair of brown correspondents. I think I would favor b&w in this case.



Two shades of light grey with a b&w correspondents.