Does anyone, know or remembers "Spring o laters"

jay_nyca1 · 8th September 2006, 15:01

I was curious about "Spring o later" shoes, they were popular back in the mid to late 50's and early 60's! And I was wondering if any of you all also want to share anything about them? Please do feel free to post.

jay_nyca1

"Hose & Heels, 4ever!"

hihls567 · 9th September 2006, 03:40

Ahhhh...one of sexiest shoe creations ever!!! Most springolators had stiletto heels of at leat 4" and the high arch drove me crazy. The elastic band which ran down the center of the shoe..heel to ball of foot to keep the shoe firmly on when walking...gave them the name..Springolator. Guess nowadays the closest thing is mules. I bought my first pair at the Paradise Bootery in Times Square NYC...not there anymore....alas. Ebay is best place to find them now.

jay_nyca1 · 14th September 2006, 18:01

Yes, hihls!
Thank you for the insight and comment on "Spring-O-laters! I wish someone would revive the company and the styles of shoes! I hope others will post what they have to say about them and post a pix or two?. . . .

jay_nyca1

"Hose & Heels, 4ever!"

metalspikes · 22nd April 2007, 13:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by hihls567

The elastic band which ran down the center of the shoe..heel to ball of foot to keep the shoe firmly on when walking...gave them the name..Springolator. Guess nowadays the closest thing is mules.

The elastic band didn't give them that name, the company did-- it was a registered traemark. And they are "Mules" (another trademarked brand name) or slides.

Quote:

Ebay is best place to find them now.

I used to see them in the thrift shops, but that was during the late 1970's when spike heels were extremely out of fashion and very difficult to find new anywhere.

Dr. Shoe · 22nd April 2007, 13:55

Spring-O-Lators were invented by my friend Terry DeHavilland in the 1950s. A spring-o-lator is a piece of elastic running from just behind the toe area to just in front of the heel area. It was a device that both helps keep the shoe on the foot and gives a spring return making them slap against the sole of the foot making the flip-flop sound so characteristic of mules of that period. There were many manufacturers doing a similar thing including on firm that made open toe mules (or slides in US) with elasticated insocks that worked in the same way.

They're largely out of fashion now because most manufacturers rely on a good fit and accurate pattern cutting to perform the same function.

The term "Spring-O-Lator" is applied to the strip of elastic and not to the shoe itself as shoes of similar styles were made without the feature.

Interestingly, it was Terry who suggested that I do the design course at Cordwainers College (now part of the London School Of Fashion) as he is a professor there.

metalspikes · 22nd April 2007, 15:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Shoe

Spring-O-Lators were invented by my friend Terry DeHavilland in the 1950s.

Wow, you know someone who created a bit of history! How cool is that?

Quote:

There were many manufacturers doing a similar thing including on firm that made open toe mules (or slides in US) with elasticated insocks that worked in the same way.

It's been a very long time, but I recall seeing "Spring-O-Lator" printed on the shoes (which is how I became aware of them) in a custom type face that suggested (along with the name-- standard English cannot be trademarked, unless you happen to own Windows

) that the name was trademarked. I understand how a tradename can come to aquire general usage, in the way that "Kodak" became generic, for a time at least, for any camera. Nevertheless, was the name not trademarked? I also read that "mule," which has become a synonym for "slide," was originally also a trade name.

Quote:

The term "Spring-O-Lator" is applied to the strip of elastic and not to the shoe itself as shoes of similar styles were made without the feature.

Right, I understood that the name referred to the feature and not the shoe, but thought it was still trademarked, in the way that modern manufacturers patent and trademark the gel, padding, and other cusioning systems they put under insoles.

Quote:

Interestingly, it was Terry who suggested that I do the design course at Cordwainers College (now part of the London School Of Fashion) as he is a professor there.

Did you get to study under him. I'll tell you, there is absolutely nothing like having a good mentor at your back to guide you through life when you're so intensely involved in learning!

Molly

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay_nyca1

I hope others will post what they have to say about them and post a pix or two?. . . .

I have a pair of shoes that are no longer wearable, which I keep around for historical interest-- one of the interesting features is the Spring-O-Lator elastic. I will make some time to get them photographed because they come up in conversations like this from time to time. I'll post them to this board under a separate topic.

Molly

Dr. Shoe · 22nd April 2007, 16:45

[
Did you get to study under him. I'll tell you, there is absolutely nothing like having a good mentor at your back to guide you through life when you're so intensely involved in learning!

Molly[/quote]

No, I didn't as he joined the college some time after I graduated. I first met him when I had a mail-order footwear business in the late 80s and I was buying my stock from Magic Shoes of which he was a partner.

He is also famous as the designer of the Smeg Boot too...

pussyinboots · 1st May 2007, 14:06

Funnily enough - I was bidding on a pair of mauve satin '70's 'Springolator' mules with 5" heels on US Ebay last week. They eventually went for a price way above my budget however.

Danielinheels · 1st May 2007, 16:39

So my chances of finding these in size 13:

Dead, or on life support?

Dr. Shoe · 1st May 2007, 16:49

Dead. This is because they never made them any larger than a UK8 or US10. At that time TDH was not involved in fetish footwear so it had never occurred to him to make them in larger sizes.