THE "K" SUEDE SHOES TEST - 1970

This demonstration showing that "K" Suede Shoes were waterproof, took place in one of Patterson's shoe shops in April 1970.
You should be able to see the tray of water they're stomping about in!
The twa lassies are Barbara Lindlay and Mary Elliot.
Not sure which of the Patterson's shops it was as they had branches in Kirk Style, Lochee High Street, Brook Street in the Ferry, 2 in Albert Street and a wholesale place in Bank Street.
Take your pick!

BLACK & WHITE FOOTWEAR - EARLY 70'S

Here's 3 examples of black & white footwear I wore in 1970-73.

1970 - One thing I really enjoyed was getting home from school, chucking off my school gear and slipping into my jeans and basies. Perfect for just mucking about in. In fact I think I probably got through about 4 pairs of Baseball Boots in total!

1972 - I got a pair of Adidas Samba trainers originally for doing P.E. at school, however it wasn't too long before I started wearing them out of school. These were actually my first ever example of wearing trainers as a fashion item.

1973 - The Spats were pricey and my parents had a fit..."You can't wear them to school". I did though, once they calmed down!! Dead comfy, I wore them on my early morning rolls round, trekked up to the top of the Sidlaws on a school outing, and trudged through snow & slush at the 73 Cup Final at Hampden!!

POTTER'S CHRISTMAS AD - 1965

Furry baffies...just like gran used to wear!

WARDS GRAND PRIX SHOES

There's a good chance that these youngsters running down the steps in yesterdays clip may have been wearing Wards Grand Prix shoes.
This ad from the late 60's for the kids shoes shows 5 styles available - all named after Grand Prix circuits. I had a pair of the Le Mans slip-ons.
As well as the tyre tread soles and the chequered flag insoles keeping the theme going, you also got a racing board game free with each purchase. Don't remember getting a tartan tiddlywink to represent Jackie Stewart to go with it though!

SPRINGERS AND SEGS

In 1969 when I was aged 11, I got to buy a pair of shoes called Springers. What made them different to the shoes I had worn up to that point was the fact they had leather soles. There was a mad rush with most boys to get Springers because one of the things that made them popular were the segs that went with them. Segs were metal clips that were hammered into the soles to protect the leather. Adults would usually put in about 4 segs on their brogues, but kids being kids, we ended up buying 2 packets worth and putting the whole lot on, resembling the photo above. You could always tell when someone was wearing Springers because of the clickety-clack racket they made walking along the pavement...again another aspect that made them appealing to kids!
Style-wise the upper had a wider than normal brim where the stitching was connected to the sole, so they were quite distinctive visually too.  
However, one of the dangers of going out in these shoes was when we used to jump off the back of a bus when it was still in motion. I think you can guess the outcome...skitin' all over the pavement out of control, sparks flying and ending up smacking into a lampie..!!

POTTERS SHOE SHOP - MURRAYGATE

This ad for Potters in the Murraygate is dated April 1970.
A week devoted to getting a free fitting from the experts it says, but isn't it just trying on different sizes?
The above styles don't appear to reflect the fashion of the times either it has to be said.
Anyway, the shoe shop was on 3 floors and was in quite a nice "ye olde" type of building.
Below is a piece of footage (almost a pun there) of the actual building, taken from across the road.
It only lasts a couple of seconds, so don't blink!!

MONKEY BOOTS - EARLY 70'S

Following on from my previous post, I thought I'd put a picture of Monkey Boots up for those who may have forgotten all about them. Very popular with Dundee's streetwise teenagers in the early 70's. They were worn by girls as much as the boys, and sometimes were considered to be a cheaper alternative to Doc Martens amongst gang types.
It also meant shoe shops did brisk business selling tins of Kiwi Ox Blood boot polish!

WAYFINDERS - 1966

I remember a lot of us wearing Wayfinders at Balerno school in the mid 60's. They appealed to primary aged kids because they were shoes with 2 novelties for the price of one. The first obvious one was the animal track soles for identifying various animal footprints. The second not so obvious novelty was a hidden working compass in the inside heel which needed the wearer to lift a wee round lid to get to it. The idea behind them was to encourage kids to have outdoor adventures, but the problem was, in order to see the animal tracks we had to stomp around in the mud which then lead to a bit of bother from parents when we came back home with messy shoes! Ok for snow unless they were bought in summer which usually meant the sole would be worn away by the time it snowed! Still good fun though.
I also seem to recall they came with a free wall chart or a booklet all about animal tracks.

FLUORESCENT HOOPED SOCKS - 1974

A wee shoe shop in the Murraygate called "Lotus" sold these hooped socks in 1974.

Hooped socks were already popular with teenagers at that time because of glam-rock music fashions, but those ones were generally referred to as Slade socks because Noddy Holder famously wore them on stage.

Why these ones above stood out from the crowd and differed from Slade socks slightly was because they were fluorescent. This was the first time fluorescent colours had been used in fashion, way before punk and the term Dayglo became known.

The trousers were usually worn "half mast" to show them off!

BIRRELL'S - OVERGATE

Birrell's was one of Dundee's best known shoe shops, a familiarity which was probably down to their long history.
In 1967, they had officially been doing business in town for 100 years!
The advert is dated August 1966 and has a variety of brands on offer for ladies, gents and kids, with their premises in Kirk Style & Overgate.
The photo was taken in the late 70's, but around the early/mid 70's period, Birrell's was the place to go for the best Desert Boots in town!

Photo by DC Thomson.