Pair of Shoes thumbnail 1
Pair of Shoes thumbnail 2
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Pair of Shoes

1770s-1780s (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
France (made)
Italy (made)

These sophisticated women's shoes, with their slender high heels, show the popularity of Italian and French styles in Britain at this time. Called ‘slippers’, they showed off the woman's tiny foot and shapely leg under the shorter dresses that were then fashionable. The narrowest high heels had to be reinforced with metal spikes. This feature appeared again when stiletto heels came into fashion in the 1950s and 1960s.

Object details

Categories
Accessories
Fashion
Footwear
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Pair of shoes
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Shoe
  • Shoe
Materials and techniques
Leather sole and heel, the uppers and heel covered in silk satin
Leather
Silk Satin
Brief description
Black shoes, 1770–89, France or Italy, Silk satin and leather
Physical description
Pair of women's shoes of black silk satin with high heel and pointed tongue
Dimensions
  • Height: 13cm
  • Of sole width: 6cm
  • Depth: 19.5cm
Gallery label
(2015-2016)
Label for the exhibition Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

On Your Toes
With their slender high heels, these women’s shoes showed off the wearer’s tiny foot and shapely leg under the ankle-length dresses then fashionable. A partial wedge supported the span of the arch. Nonetheless, the thin satin-covered wooden heel would not take much weight and the wearer would have had to balance on her toes.
Black shoes
1770–89
France or Italy
Silk satin and leather
Given by Mrs Willoughby Hodgson
V&A: T.215&A-1916
(2007)
Black satin shoe
French or Italian, 1770-1785
Museum no. T.215A-1916
Given by Mrs. Willoughby Hodgson
Credit line
Given by Mrs Willoughby Hodgson
Summary
These sophisticated women's shoes, with their slender high heels, show the popularity of Italian and French styles in Britain at this time. Called ‘slippers’, they showed off the woman's tiny foot and shapely leg under the shorter dresses that were then fashionable. The narrowest high heels had to be reinforced with metal spikes. This feature appeared again when stiletto heels came into fashion in the 1950s and 1960s.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.215&A-1916

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Record createdFebruary 21, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O74856/pair-of-shoes-unknown/
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