shoes for thought

ladies' mules, c. 1875-1900, Northern Italy or Portugal
I would love some fur-lined mules, please.

ladies' oxfords, c. 1885-1900, England
eat your heart out Christian Louboutin

graduation project, 2010, Lieke de Konig

orthopedic "surgery boot", 1930s
interesting if not exactly attractive

ladies' clogs, c. 1850-75, Normandy, France
exquisite!

rain shoes, early 20th c, China
clever

men's work shoes, indigo cloth and iron studs, mid-20th c, Guizhou Province, China
studded soles would be fun

ladies' stilted clogs, Philippines, early 20th c
I just love these, not sure why

farmer's clogs, mid-20th c, China

mules, c. 1940s-50s, American
very "South Pacific"!

"horse shoes", 2008, Iris Schieferstein
surprisingly appealing

chopine, late 16th c, Italy
velvet with metallic embroidery and metal studs: a nice combination

mill clogs, early 20th c, Leeds, England
I like the metal reinforcements and the little pinked detail.

ladies' "slap-sole" shoes, early 18th c, England
(the bottom protective sole "slaps" freely like a flip flop)

shoes with matching protective leather patten, c. 1700, england

leather wood and metal pattens, c.1720-30, england
I love this idea. I cannot believe no one is creating shoes with pattens!

boot with protective overshoe, late 19th c, Turkey
Brilliant, no? I would wear something like this in a second.

In spring a young girl's Fancy turns to... shoes.

compiled from various sources:

www.shoesornoshoes.com/

www.powerhousemuseum.com/

www.virtualshoemuseum.com/

www.batashoemuseum.ca/

www.vads.ahds.ac.uk/
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/