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| Museum of London: Mules, 1651 |
Okay, so maybe I’m a little obsessive about red shoes, lol. Here are some red shoes throughout history…
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| The Met – ver y eraly 18th c. |
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| Unsure of the source on this one, but it is mid-18th c, and one of the prettiest shoes ever, imo |
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| National Trust: 1815-30 red satin dance slippers |
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| Shoe Icons: 1860-70, red satin evening pump, one of my favorites |
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| The Met: 1885-90, a very common 17th c-revival style, with the big tongue and crossing strap. We see a lot of this style of shoe in 18th century movies and documentaries, but remember, they are Victorian shoes, not Georgian! |
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| MFA – 1880s-1900, cute red bows too |
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| Manchester City Galleries – 1890. These definitely make a statement! |
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| The Met – 1906 – wonderful red shoes lined in red, with red bows |
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| V&A: 1900 – bright-ass red oxford with red lacing, one of my favorite shoes of all time. This one is on my “to do” list. |
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| The Met: 1926, American-made red satin heel, an what a heel that is, too. |
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| The Met: 1937-39, American made. |
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| Etsy – late 40s |
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| Etsy – late 1950s, early 60s red suede shoes. I just love these! |
So as you can see, red shoes have been “a thing” since at least the 17th century.
What are you favorite red shoes?
15 Comments
VirginiaO'Possum
March 10, 2012 at 11:13 PMRed patent mary janes with pointed toes and a pearl button on the strap. I was 6 and I lied when my mom asked if they fit so she would buy them for me. They were really too small, and I kept trying to wear them anyway.
Unknown
March 10, 2012 at 11:21 PMLol! I had a similar experience but they were in our church op shop, I didn't know then, but they were 40s wedges, I so wanted them for play shoes! No go though, they wouldn't fit my kiddy foot, they were so tiny!
Unknown
March 10, 2012 at 11:19 PMI adore red shoes! Thank you for these beautiful ones!
Angela Reichelderfer
March 10, 2012 at 11:32 PMLove this post – lol! Let me tell you that I had a six-month will-these-shoes-ever-be-on-sale chase with a pair of Guess red patten leather stilettos (1950s style). It was driving me nuts, I even blogged about it. Finally, I broke the bank and bought them and it's been a wonderful, well-worn love affair ever since. Every girl needs (yes, needs) a red shoe.
Tricia
March 10, 2012 at 11:54 PMI'm all in when it comes to RED Shoes! I agree on the red oxfords, love the heel on them. Thank you Lauren for creating the shoes you do. I injured my feet (both at the same time) severely in July of 2010 and all I could wear is Merrell hikers. Your shoes are so comfortable that I can actually wear a heel again.
Caroline
March 11, 2012 at 12:06 AMI love colorful shoes! I just got a pair of red patent leather loafers the other day which are really cute!
Laurie
March 11, 2012 at 12:08 AMI have to stay with low heals, and I'm not a totally red girl, but I do like the 1906 and 1926 styles.
Stephanie Lynn
March 11, 2012 at 1:00 AMI think every girl needs a pair of red shoes! 🙂
StephC
March 11, 2012 at 6:45 AMI do love red shoes and usually have a pair lying around… I'm saving up for Astorias so I can dye them red. 🙂
Brittany_Va-VoomVintage
March 11, 2012 at 1:42 PMmy favorite red shoes are the ones I wore on my wedding day. They are satin with little rhinestone buckles. My dress was white with red all down the back and the shoes were dyed to match 🙂
Zach
March 11, 2012 at 6:44 PMThe ones on the very top are my absolute favorite on here! I'm afraid I'll have to say they're second to the Ruby Slippers, though. I love me some Wizard of Oz. 🙂 You can't beat them.
MrsC (Maryanne)
March 11, 2012 at 6:47 PMI have several pairs of red shoes, I can't get enough of them either. In fact it is my go to colour, not black, for shoes. Moslty because I pretty much live in black, red, purple and orange in verying degrees and combinations! Love all of these shoes. I so wish I could tolerate even the low heels of your lovely shoes, but these days it's flat, or suffer! They are SOOO beautiful though!!
KittyKatt
March 12, 2012 at 3:18 AMWhen David Bowie's song "Let's Dance" came out in the early 80s, I was all atwitter about owning a pair of red pumps that I imagined I could wear with my white cotton peg leg pants, muscle shirt, black bandana tied at the neck and Navy officer's jacket. My glittered, slicked back hair was all of an inch long on the top, and I wore exotic eye makeup and bright red lipstick. The problem was, I had a size 12 foot, and coming from a small town in Washington and having practically no clothes budget, my dream shoes remained only a dream. Now my feet are too wide to get into most heels in my size, but I still hold onto the feeling of listening to the song on my parent's console stereo, imagining how I would dance the night away in my beloved red shoes. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
textilehistorIE
March 12, 2012 at 5:54 PMLove this parade. It's so interesting to take one isolated type of item and then run through the centuries with it.
Anonymous
March 14, 2012 at 3:36 AMI am not a fan of red, but even I would order a pair of those mules in the first picture in red. Wow!