The elegant flat satin lady's slipper first became popular in England and France during the last decade of the eighteenth century. Its plain design was part of the movement in fashion away from what were considered by some to be the extravagant excesses of the late eighteenth century. The move was towards a simpler, purer style of dress and footwear that was influenced by designs from classical antiquity.

Slippers or 'sandal shoes', continued to be worn well into the mid-century although by the 1850s they were used mainly for formal wear in black or white. This pair of shoes is a typical example of the sandal style. The thin leather sole and delicately hand-stitched satin uppers were relatively simple and cheap to produce. Retailers or wearers would then customise shoes with rosettes, bows or ankle ties. There is evidence that this pair once had silk ribbon ankle ties sewn into the sides, but only fragments of these remain. The small silk bow at the throat of each shoe, which would commonly have been covered with a larger more elaborate bow or rosette, appears never to have been covered.