Co-Respondent Shoes

[dave50]

Co-respondent shoes, they are brogues, two tone in colour, usually white and brown or black. Why are these shoes so called?

[DJHawkes]

because they have opposite colours

[DJHawkes]

and i think you may mean corresponding.

[DJHawkes]

the colours are different but doing the same job, i.e. being a part of the same shoe.

[The Builder]

This may just be a good story, but I think it comes from a time before divorce laws were reformed.
The "other party" often had to be "hired-in" to prove adultery. The distinctive two-tone shoes, left outside the hotel room, were easily remembered for court evidence purposes.

[Robinia]

I've always called them Co-respondent shoes.

[sandyRoe]

they were the kind of shoes a cad might wear

[tonyav]

Whats wrong with spats.

[Octavius]

They are also known as spectator shoes, according to wiki, created by John Lobb for cricket.

[woofgang]

my understanding from 50 years ago is that they were called co-respondent shoes because they were the wear of cads and gigolos.

[nannybooby]

tonyav ....spats nothing wrong with spats we all love a good argument haha

[Octavius]

The builder - "In England, where a husband brings a suit against his wife charging her with adultery, the alleged adulterer must, as a rule, be made a party to the petition as a co-respondent. If the adultery is proved, the court may order him to pay damages to the husband."

So it kind of ties in with your story and that of cads and bounders. What larks.

[hc4361]

Yes, indeed, worn by lounge lizards, suave charmers and adulterers, so became the co-respondent in a divorce petition.