Spats and Happiness

My shoes collection has long since multiplied out of control, past all sanity, and firmly into the unreasonable regions past human grasp. One continues the search for various holy grails, picking up strays along the way: I still need the perfect pair of Knee High Black Lace-Ups. I still cast about for the Platonic ideal Wedge Pumps, and slobber at the idea of truly winning Ballet Flats.

As a result, I have well over sixty pairs of various footwear, all of which have a little of something likable, but are basically flawed. Flawed enough that I must keep searching for their successor. It’s torture.

Spats are a good compromise. They fit over your current shoes, giving you a whole new set of possibilities. I own several pairs of WWII-era gaiters, and a clutch of legwarmers besides. They’re the hats of feet, serving the same purpose as a nice coverup trilby over inches of grown-out roots.

This collection of fine leather spats (and cute little gauntlets) from Ashes and Empires is stunningly well-composed, but prohibitively expensive. Looking at it as an investment, and a multiplier of all your current footwear, the price seems more palatable, but only just.

Here’s for spreading the fruitless longing around:

Ashes and Empires [Smashing Darling]