Shoe shield

Claim 1

A utility shield for a laced shoe comprising: an upper guard portion for covering substantially the entire lacings of the shoe including the knottable rear end lace portion thereof; first and second substantially identical leg portions extending from opposing longitudinal side edges of said upper guard portion, a substantially channel-shaped shell, having inner and outer surfaces, for extending vertically downwardly along a substantial portion of the sides of the upper of the shoe, to a region above the sole, and for covering that portion of the laces and lacing holes of the shoe not covered by the upper guard portion; first and second fastening means located at the front and rear of the utility shield, respectively, for connecting the utility shield and shoe and at least one of said fastening means releasably connecting the utility shield and shoe for access to the shielded portion of the shoe; the first fastening means comprising a tab extending from the front of the upper guard portion, said tab comprising a member having a body portion extending generally parallel to the upper guard and having a channel therein and a leg portion extending upwardly from the front end of the body portion, whereby the frontmost loop of the shoe lace may be positioned in the channel when the tab is inserted under the frontmost lace loop; said tab being disengageable from the frontmost lace loop by lifting said lace loop and rearwardly pulling said utility shield; the second fastening means comprises an elongated clip extending from the rear of the utility shield upper guard portion downward and extending substantially parallel to said inner surface of said guard whereby said clip may be longitudinally slid between the shoelace folds and the tongue of the shoe by being longitudinally inserted under the rear portion of the lace structure, and being easily detachable by rearwardly pulling said utility shield, once the first fastening means is detached, the second fastening means being hidden from view when the utility shield is in place on the shoe.