T-bar sandal

Classic T-bar shoes by Start-rite (known as Sonnet in the United States)

A T-bar sandal or T-bar shoe (also known in the United Kingdom as "school sandal" or "closed-toe sandal") is a closed, low-cut shoe with two or more straps forming one or more T shapes (one or more straps across the instep passing through a perpendicular, central strap that extends from the vamp).

Classic T-bars for children are typically made of blue or brown leather, have two thin straps forming a single T shape and fastened with a buckle, a broad and rounded toe box pierced with a pattern of holes, a low heel, and a crêpe rubber outsole stitched-down to the upper. Among boys, T-bars are traditionally worn with socks (sometimes without), short trousers and a shirt.

History

First seen in Europe and America in the early 1900s, T-bars became very common among children in the 1950s,[1] particularly among boys where they supplanted pre-war Mary Janes. T-bar wearing declined after the 1960s nonetheless, following the cultural and clothing revolution that swept the West.

Nowadays, classic T-bars are generally considered semi-formal shoes, appropriate for school (some primary schools in the United Kingdom require that pupils wear them with their uniform[2]). They may also be viewed as formal shoes, suitable for religious ceremonies, weddings, visits, and birthday parties for example. Having become a harder-to-find, more conservative style of footwear than they used to be, they are also sometimes associated with children of upper-class families. More modern styles are worn in casual settings, however: playgrounds, shopping centres, etc.

Although less popular than in the past, T-bars remain a timeless classic of children's fashion and, for many people, a symbol of childhood.

Gallery

• 
  Two boys wearing twin-strap T-bar sandals in Venice, Italy. in 1907.
• 
  Studio photograph of a seven-year-old boy wearing T-bar sandals in Strabane, Northern Ireland, 1915.
• 
  A schoolboy with a Schultüte and wearing T-bar sandals in Leipzig, East Germany, 1951.
• 
  A girl harpist wearing twin-strap T-bar sandals in Wales, 1960.
• 
  Studio photograph of boys wearing T-bar sandals in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1964.
• 
  A Girl Guide and a Brownie wearing T-bar sandals in Canada, about 1975.
• 
  A four-year-old boy wearing a kilt and T-bar sandals in Scotland, 1987.

See also

• Mary Jane (shoe)—a similar style, without the central strap.

References

1. Rose, Clare (1989). Children's Clothes: Since 1750. London: B. T. Batsford Limited. p. 149. ISBN 0-7134-5741-4. OCLC 19812913. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
2. "Closed-toe Sandals". Historical Boys' Clothing. 8 November 2006. p. 149. Retrieved 10 June 2013.