In
the 21st Century they put the finishing touches to any outfit
and are a sign of status and adornment but shoes were originally
the simplest way to protect the feet. Early shoes were made of
large leaves, bark and grass tied together with vines. The decades
have seen progression in the design of footwear so it is the modern
shoes that are sought after by collectors.
Boots were the favoured footwear for the 19th century, worn by
both men and women styles varied from the front laced Balmoral
boot to the button boot. Delicate shoes were also worn and made
of satin, silk, reptile and leather. The styles were not too different
from modern day shoes with mules being popular with both sexes
for indoor wear and the classic court shoe being worn from 1860s/1870s
onwards.
Towards
the end of the 19th century shoes with extremely high heels became
fashionable, almost impossible to walk in. Known as "Barrette"
because they were fastened with bars and buttons.
The Northampton Museum houses over 12,000 pairs of shoes dating
from 1620 to the present day. One of the highlights of their collection
are shoes worn by Queen Victoria on her wedding day. Made of white
satin and trimmed with bands of ribbon they were made by Gundry
& Son, shoemakers to the Queen and are the epiphany of Victorian
style
By the 1920s and the "Age of Jazz" shoe design became
more prolific. Bar shoes were still popular and brightly coloured
fabrics were the height of fashion which reflected in the fancy
footwear. The 1930s saw more innovative styles with radical modern
shapes being introduced.
The middle of the 20th century saw the biggest turning point
for shoe design; the 1950s introduced the stiletto heel or "little
dagger" as it was also known. A complete turn around from
the chunky designs of previous decades, highly collected the retro
1950s is where most collectors start buying. Good examples can
still be found around car boot sales and jumble sales for a few
pounds – also vintage clothes shops stock many 1950s and 1960s
shoes for as little as £50 upwards.
From
the Rock ‘n’ Roll years into the swinging sixties shoes became
a fashion statement. Beatlemania saw the reintroduction of the
elastic-sided Chelsea boot, which had been fashionable over 125
years previous. Fashion designers such as Mary Quant, started
to experiment with plastics using bright psychedelic colours producing
hip and trendy footwear for the fashion conscious.
The platform boot dominated the mid 1970s with inspiration taken
from the "Glam Rock" pop groups of the decade. The film
"Tommy" was released in 1975 and starred "Elton
John" as the pinball wizard. The famous boots worn by the
star were modelled on "cherry red" Dr Martens, moulded
in fibre glass they stand 4ft 6.5" high. These boots can
be viewed at the Northampton museum as they are on loan from R
Griggs makers of Dr Martens who purchased them at auction when
Elton sold them through Sothebys in 1988.
The
museum also owns a pair of Vivienne Westwood green mock crocodile
super elevated Gillies. M ade especially for the museum they are
similar to the blue ones worn by supermodel Naomi Campbell when
she toppled over on the catwalk in 1993. Westwood is one of the
top names in the collecting world and her products can make large
amounts of money on the secondary market. Expect to pay from between
£400 to £600+ for a pair, especially those dating
from the 1980s. This may seem a lot of money but when you take
into consideration a brand new pair of Jimmy Choo’s can cost up
to £1,000 from a retail outlet, the vintage ones are a bargain.
Modern shoe designer Patrick Cox is constantly aware of the collectors
market and produces limited edition shoes for this purpose. Last
year an exclusive pair of his Swarovski crystal-encrusted red
stilettos was auctioned for "Art of Fashion" and raised
£7,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Other lots included
white stilettos by Stuart Weitzman customised by celebrities such
as Dido and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, these raised £200 – £220
a pair.
Shoes design has progressed increasingly over the last century
with new technology and material available allowing shoe designers
to become more innovative and experimental.. Rebecca Shawcross
of Northampton Museum’s advice is "shoes will not make you
a fortune but buy what you like, wear them and love them".
FACTS
Judy Garland’s "Ruby Slippers" from the film "Wizard
of Oz" made $666,000 at Christies in 2000.
The first Dr Marten rolled off the production line on 1st April
1960
Shoes have been found in buildings where they have been hidden
to protect the house and the inhabitants from evil and misfortune
St. Crispin is the patron Saint of shoemakers.
The oldest shoe in the world was made 8,000 years ago and found
in the USA in a cave.
For further information on the Northampton
Museum and its shoe collection visit www.northampton.gov.uk/museums
