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AT-bar sandal or T-bar shoe (also known in theUnited 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 brownleather, have two thin straps forming a single T shape and fastened with a buckle, a broad and roundedtoe 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.

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-warMary 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 theiruniform^[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.

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  Two boys wearing twin-strap T-bar sandals inVenice, Italy. in 1907.
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  Studio photograph of a seven-year-old boy wearing T-bar sandals inStrabane, Northern Ireland, 1915.
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  A schoolboy with aSchultüte and wearing T-bar sandals inLeipzig, East Germany, 1951.
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  A girl harpist wearing twin-strap T-bar sandals in Wales, 1960.
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  Studio photograph of boys wearing T-bar sandals inColombo, Sri Lanka, 1964.
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  AGirl Guide and aBrownie wearing T-bar sandals in Canada, about 1975.
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  A four-year-old boy wearing a kilt and T-bar sandals in Scotland, 1987.

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

• Children's clothing
• Sandals
• Shoes

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