One of the advantages of a button hook was that the spats could be buttoned up with the minimum of touching.
The type of spats that a person wore varied with the type of activity and the station in life.
If they were part of a working garment they could have a waterproof finish (oils or grease), which could be transferred to the hands.
At the other end of the scale, a person of leisure would start their journey wearing a pair of immaculate spats. Any sweaty or sooty fingerprints would not be tolerated.
The button hook removes the necessity for more than the minimal touching.
What was the purpose od spats? Those things are so foreign to me. Are they to keep your shoes relatively clean? They seem more showey than anything...Victorian dress-up accessory?
What was the purpose od spats? Those things are so foreign to me. Are they to keep your shoes relatively clean? They seem more showey than anything...Victorian dress-up accessory?
When roads were not as good as they are today, they kept the mud off.
One of the advantages of a button hook was that the spats could be buttoned up with the minimum of touching.
Very interesting. Learn something new every day!
And while that is probably a very valid point, I rather tend to believe that it was a secondary benefit. A certain amount of touching is going to be required just to wrap the thing around one's foot/ankle and hold it in place. But anyone who has ever put on spats knows that it's virtually impossible to fasten the buttons without a hook. Unlike tying regular shoes (with the laces on top of the foot), spats are fastened on the side. It's easy to reach with the hand on that side, but very difficult to get to with both hands, especially to pull as tightly as it needs to be pulled for fastening properly fitting spats.
Of course, a "person of leisure" likely had a footman to do it for him!
In the days of horse and carriage, mud on the streets was the least of your worries. If it rained, the "mud" was well mixed. A slash guard made a lot of sense.
Originally Posted by TheOfficialBren
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