Pair of Shoes thumbnail 1
Not on display

Pair of Shoes

1993 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This man's outfit was worn by Justin Stubbings, and was displayed at the V&A's 1994-5 Street Style exhibition to represent contemporary Gay Style. He first began dressing in this style in 1980, and it is a look he intended to retain - 'it is rooting'.

According to Mr. Stubbings, gay men favoured Levis jeans for their cut and fit. He distressed these jeans using a pumice stone to emphasise the contours of the body beneath. The leather waistcoat was originally linked to the Fetish scene, but moved into mainstream dress. In the mid 1990s, when this outfit was acquired, some lesbians had also claimed this style of dressing for themselves.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Shoe
  • Shoe
Materials and techniques
Leather
Brief description
Shoes, brown leather lace-ups, Dolcis, Great Britain, 1993
Physical description
Brown leather lace-up shoes.
Object history
Registered File number 1994/1109, Streetstyle exhibition 1994-1995, in the exhibition it was part of an outfit called 'Gay Style UK' (includes the shirt T.591-1994, the waistcoat T.592-1994, the belt T.593-1994, the socks T.595-1994 and the jeans T.594-1994).


Part of an outfit that was worn by Justin Stubbings. He started wearing this specific style of dress in about 1980 and expressed his intent of continuing to retain this style of dressing. This outfit was displayed in the V&A's Street Style exhibition of 1994-95 to represent Gay Style.

According to Mr. Stubbings, gay men favoured Levis jeans for their cut and fit. The donor distressed these jeans with a pumice stone to emphasis the contours of the body beneath. The leather waistcoat was originally linked to the Fetish scene, but moved into mainstream dress. In the mid 1990s, when this outfit was acquired, some lesbians were also dressing in the same manner.
Summary
This man's outfit was worn by Justin Stubbings, and was displayed at the V&A's 1994-5 Street Style exhibition to represent contemporary Gay Style. He first began dressing in this style in 1980, and it is a look he intended to retain - 'it is rooting'.

According to Mr. Stubbings, gay men favoured Levis jeans for their cut and fit. He distressed these jeans using a pumice stone to emphasise the contours of the body beneath. The leather waistcoat was originally linked to the Fetish scene, but moved into mainstream dress. In the mid 1990s, when this outfit was acquired, some lesbians had also claimed this style of dressing for themselves.
Bibliographic reference
Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads & Skaters : Subcultural Style from the Forties to the Nineties Described in the exhibition publication, part of an outfit called 'Gay Style UK'.
Collection
Accession number
T.596:1, 2-1994

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Record createdMay 29, 2009
Record URL
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