I have some exciting news to share with you all!
While I was in Williamsburg, I had a couple meetings with the costume departments of Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, both of which went very well. The result is that we’re going to be developing some styles with both sites!
It’s early days, but I can hint to you that the 18th century shoe will be made of wool, and the Jamestown shoe will be a slashed leather flat. Both shoes will be worked for maximum comfort and durability outdoors, for the interpreters who will be wearing them daily…and they both will be available to the general public to buy too. 😀
I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of research already. Here are some inspirational pieces for the Jamestown shoe…
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| VandA, shoe, c. 1600, English |
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| John de Critz the Elder, portrait of James I, 1606 |
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| Robert Peake, portrait of Prince Henry, son of James I, c. 1608 |
In other weird,wacky, and wonderful news, out of the blue, Whoopi Goldberg has asked us to make four pairs of the most richly decorated shoes I can dream up. My head is spinning in so many directions! I have no idea how she found us, or what she’s planning for these, but I’m really excited to see what kind of stuff we can come up with. Brocades and embroidery and silver lace, oh my!
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| The Met, early 18th c. |
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| VandA, Spitalfields silk shoes, c. 1735 |
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| Museum of London, shoes, c. 1760 |
I’ll share more about these projects soon!
28 Comments
Cassidy
March 27, 2014 at 12:13 AMI have to say, if you'd said a mystery celebrity wanted to buy some extravagant shiny shoes, Whoopi would have been my last guess.
My excitement over the prospect of wool shoes is high!
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 1:19 AMI would never have guessed Whoopi either, but here she is! Crazy!
Trinny T
March 27, 2014 at 2:15 AMAwesome! Congratulations on the Whoopi project! 😀
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:51 PMThank you so much!
Jordan
March 27, 2014 at 3:17 AMThat's great! Congratulations!
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:51 PMThank you!
Thread-Head
March 27, 2014 at 4:06 AMGuinan wants your shoes. Girl, you have ARRIVED.
My mind is blown over your Jamestown + Williamsburg collaboration! Congratulations on the well-earned recognition!
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:51 PMThank you!
Olympe de la Tour D'Auvergne
March 27, 2014 at 4:30 AMTerrific, congratulations! Will versions of the Whoopi shoes also be available to the public; because those sound divine.
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:50 PMThanks! Not sure yet – we've never done anything like this before, so it's kindof an exploratory process. We'll see.
Dregae
March 27, 2014 at 4:35 AMJust letting you know I spotted some American duchess shoes in the hallmark tv series "when calls the heart"
Grace
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:50 PMOh, thanks for the heads up! I'll need to find the show and watch it…
Kleidung um 1800
March 27, 2014 at 5:34 AMWow…WOOOOWWW!!! Absolutely exciting news 🙂
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:50 PMThank you!
Steph
March 27, 2014 at 2:02 PMOh I can't wait to see what Whoopi does with them! And how over-the-top gorgeous you make them!
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:49 PMEeee! I'm thinking vintage laces and all sorts of things!
Del rio
March 27, 2014 at 4:24 PMCongratulations. Your work is worthy of deserving these projects. I'm already looking forward to seeing the results
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:49 PMThank you! I've over the moon!
Aurora
March 27, 2014 at 7:04 PMWhoopi has a "shoe spotlight" on The View where she wears crazy cool shoes and sends a shout out to the people who made them. I'd recommend that, if she's gonna use the shoes for that, that you have some available to the public to buy when the feeding frenzy starts from her push.
Lauren Stowell
March 27, 2014 at 8:48 PMOh my giddy aunt! You're right … just in case…should prepare….
fixitfaerie
March 28, 2014 at 2:08 AMWow! So many exciting things going on. Congratulations. We all are so lucky to have found you and being able to purchase your beautiful shoes. Thank you, thank you…..
Anna
March 31, 2014 at 8:51 PMBling. It needs bling. Like…precious-metal embroidery and the lovely flat eighteenth-century sequins. I'm kind of terrified about what you'll come up with because as soon as I see it, I'll NEED it.
Lauren Stowell
March 31, 2014 at 11:36 PMI'm kicking around the idea of doing a really limited run of whichever 4 styles we do for Whoopi. It may or may not work – some of the ideas I've come up with have antique/vintage laces on them that obviously we wouldn't be able to reproduce exactly, but who knows. I won't lie, they won't be cheap, but they will be awesome.
Anonymous
April 1, 2014 at 6:16 PMVery keen on the shoes – probably welted with a double sole, grain out, quarters seam, and they appear to be unlined. It's interesting that there isn't any evidence of a top band or stitching along the opening, as that was very common at the time.
Congratulations also on the excellent commission! One thought might be to take your "off the peg" shoes and bling them up considerably, showing how versatile they can be, even with regular clothes. That way, if she does intend to talk about them on her show, the masses will have access to the same shoes that she talked about, rather than a limited edition run (then again, limited edition could always turn into production!).
– Francis
Lauren Stowell
April 2, 2014 at 3:57 AMThanks! After talking with Whoopi a little more, the shoes we're making for her are just for her, so we won't be doing any kind of production. Still, the idea of some blingin' "special edition" stompers in the future appeals to me…
Augustintytär
April 11, 2014 at 9:23 PMThat all very exciting!! Congratulations!
Dryad'sGroveCostumes
June 11, 2014 at 1:11 AMAre these them? https://www.facebook.com/whoopigoldberg/photos/a.773381362673886.1073741827.181582881853740/813439938668028/?type=1&theater
Lauren Stowell
June 11, 2014 at 1:13 AMThat's one pair – we did 5 custom designs for her 🙂