Friday, February 26, 2010

FASHIONABLE FOOTWEAR, AN INDISPENSABLE ACCESSORY ©

By Polly Guerin, the Fashion Historian

Nowadays on the fashionable streets of major cities the thin, gravity-defying Stiletto Heel seems to have ensnared more fashion victims than any other footwear style. Yes, they are sexy but difficult to walk in and most importantly they throw the body off balance, and can cause other foot problems as well. Yet despite this fact countless women insist on spending big bucks to point their way to fashion footwear. Why? Because the classic pump is a power-wardrobe essential, a go-with-everything choice for women executives and females on the prowl. The Manolo Blahnik’s Tuccio pump, for example, comes in five heel heights and a variety of colors. The toe shape, too, called the vamp, varies depending on regional taste. A pair bought in New York has a slightly longer toe than one from bought in Dallas. Footwear history seems to repeat itself and women have been dying to follow the whims of fashion making footwear an indispensable accessory.

HEIGHT AND PRACTICALITY

Women throughout the ages have been trying to gain royal privilege. You no doubt remember how women of the most modest lifestyles in ancient China insisted on binding their feet to emulate the royal prerogative, but this crippling binding fashion rendered the ladies incapable of walking. It’s alright, I guess if you’re a royal and can be transported about on a divan by servants, but obviously this kind of portage was not available even to a social climbing peasant woman. As for platform footwear Carmen Miranda may have popularized this style but clog versions also go back to ancient China as well as adaptations of platform shoes as early as 1640. Defying the mud and filth in the medieval cities it was essential to wear shoes with stilt-like pattens of wood to elevate the foot and increase the wearer’s height or aid them in walking through the filthy streets. These practical stilt-like platforms were popular footwear and worn right down to Colonial America.

A HISTORICAL LEAP INTO FOOTWEAR

Until man invented footwear, he walked. That’s it barefoot! The invention of footwear was the first step forward in devising protection for the feet. The sandal is perhaps the oldest creation and has its incarnation as far back as the Egyptians and evolved in modern times as the flip flop. Jeweled sandals worn by the privileged few in the early Roman Empire were decorated with priceless gemstones and pearls. However, one could not exist by the sandal alone and eventually different styles were needed as transportation. Footwear back then identified with one’s lifestyle or work and shoes did not come sized for the right or left foot. In those early days it was just one size fits all. If you were a member of the wealthy class or a member of the court, however, you could have your servant wear the shoes for a while so that they could break them in for you. Going to great lengths to outdo one another in the 15th century women of fashion privilege and dandies outdid the pointed vamp statement with such an extremely pointed projectile that a gold cord had to be extended from the point to the top of their boot so that they could walk.

DECORATIVE DESIGNS

The French took the shoe and boot into further decoration with lace trimmed cuffs in the 17th century and the Cuban heel painted red was a style reserved for the king. The wealthy classes in Europe wore shoes in which the uppers were made in the rich brocades of the Orient, and from the looms of Venice and Genoa. During the Empire period in France women opted to imitate the Greek and Roman fashions and wore such diaphanous garments that only a delicate slipper could accommodate such attire. Costly to make and fragile these slippers did not last more than one night on the dance floor. Sadly, too, fashion victims who wore these sheer gowns in frigid weather didn’t survived either.

THE CULT OF HANDCRAFTED SHOES

Footwear was one of the great industrial arts in the Middle Ages and the workers bore a distinction of service with pride and production of a specific nature. Leather tanners, boot, shoemakers and cobblers were organized into guilds and each guild had it own armorial insignia attesting to the quality of their trade. Interesting, is it not, that the same tools used in the production of handmade shoes today are the same type of tools that were used in Europe in the l8th century? Handcrafted leather shoes or custom made shoes are an expensive rarity. Today, however, most shoes combine machine production with handmade features. Herman Delman, of Delman Shoe fame, who specialized in building shoes that were chic, yet comfortable, believed that skilled construction was essential to the creation of a quality shoe. He employed several notable designers over the years, including Roger Vivier, Herbert Levine, and Kenneth jay Lane as a means shaping the tastes of fashionable women across the country. An extrovert and proficient businessman Delman knew the power of educating the viewing public about handcrafted shoes. At one time, Delman store on Madison Avenue featured an oval window showcasing three cobblers at work. “Scandal Sandals and Lady Slippers: A History of Delman Shoes, Exploring the Company’s Vibrant History of Style, Advertising and Fine Craftsmanship" will be on view at The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, March 9th through April 4th. Free Admission.♥




BIO:   Polly Guerin, a former professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology took 20 of her students every summer on a fashion expedition tour to visit the Couture Houses and meet the designers in the fashion centers of Europe. Ferragamo’s shoe museum in Florence Italy was a main attraction as was the Gucci Factory just outside of the town limits. Culture was always part of the tour and included visits to Fontainebleau and Versailles in France and the Albert & Victoria Museum and Blenheim in England.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great post Polly. Right before I read this I was looking at shoes on Zappos. We can never have too many shoes, and its enlightening to learn the history behind them.

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  2. Now we're talking Polly. Give me a pair of Stiletto Heels any day. They are the perfect pair of shoes. You can go fancy with a cocktail dress or casual with a pair of jeans. Thanks for the flashback. Hmm...I still own a pair or two!

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