Upon reading the men’s section of the day, you might wonder what, in fact, spats are. They are essentially gaiters – or material fashioned around shoes adn boots to help protect from mud splatter. Or, you know, look cool. here’s a super brief article on it: https://philamuseum.org/collection/object/90911
1891-1900ish
Men’s Footwear
- All the leather! Leather soles, caps, heels, uppers, and boots
- Toes tended to be round, though one resource did mention pointed as well
- Ankle boots seemed to be the style of the day, though low vamps were mentioned as well – probably covered by spats. Speaking of which:
- Spats were definitely in, generally in pale-colored canvas
- Trimmings: satin bow, matching bound edges, side button fastening
Women’s Footwear
- More leather! Leather soles, leather uppers, leather heels…plus:
- Heels could also be covered in satin or silk and could be stacked either low or high
- Low cut vamps
- Uppers (the upper part of the shoe) usually matched the heels, whether kidskin, leather, or silk, but was sometimes pale colored
- Mostly pointed toes, though one person mentioned round. But predominately pointed
- Fastened by straps, buckles, or laces
- Single or double bar straps over instep
- Could also be laced kid boots during the day
- Trimmings: Embroidery, jeweled buttons, gold ball buttons, bows, paste buckles, ribbons
Resources
- Peacock, John. Shoes: The Complete Sourcebook, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1604/9780500512128.
- Peacock, John. Costume 1066 to the Present 3e: A Complete Guide to English Costume Design and History, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1604/9780500286029.
- Cunnington, C. Willett. English Women’s Clothing in the Nineteenth Century. Mineola, New York, United States: Dover, 1990.
- “1899, Plate 003,” n.d. https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll12/id/8754/rec/24.
- The Library of Congress. “American Fashions / The Jno. J. Mitchell Co. Litho., New York.,” n.d. https://www.loc.gov/resource/pga.03142/.
Forest Idylls 
I actually had to wear spats as part of a band uniform, back in the day…
Sorry this is late – but that’s so interesting!