The “Harvest” Collection {Behind the Soles}

It may still be *way too hot* but we’re ready for Autumn, which means a fresh crop of shoes and boots for our first collection of this most glorious of seasons. This is a lovely little collection because it’s made up of three very practical, super comfortable, common sense styles from three different periods.

We have two come-back kids, Schuyler 18th century flat-heeled latchet shoes and Rosie 1940s-60s double-buckle boots, and an all-new direct reproduction you’ll adore, the Larkspur Wool and Leather Booties. Here’s a bit more about each one…

Larkspur

Let’s start with the new pretties first, Larkspur. This little boot is a direct reproduction of an exceedingly common and well-loved style seen throughout the 19th century and into at least the 1930s. I found a pair of these from the 1890s on eBay, and suddenly started seeing them everywhere, so I take that as a sign from the Universe.

What I love most about the Larkspur boots is that they accurately span an insanely long amount of time – 130+ years! Similar booties with soft, barely-square toes can be found in the Regency era, and they persist through the entire 19th century. I was surprised to see them pop up in the 20th century too, and to be honest it’s easy to see why this pattern remained so popular. They don’t look out of place even today, in the 21st!

The original antique 1890s boot that served for our reproduction Larkspurs.

Schuyler

Many of you over the years have requested flat 18th century shoes. We first introduced the Schuyler flats in 2019, and now it’s time for an updated version. The new Schuylers take their pattern from several pairs of surviving originals:

The new Schuylers are made in pebbled leather similar to the texture of Moroccan leather, popular in the Georgian period. The black, oxblood, and green pebbled leathers are all period accurate and a very good choice for middling to lower class impressions. We’ve also softened the toe, brought the latchets up higher on the foot, and lowered the heel a smidge, making these shoes both crazy comfy and incredibly practical.

Rosie

Another “re-up,” the Rosie Double-Buckle Boots are back. This was originally a Royal Vintage design reproduced from an original boot sent to us by a lovely follower. Our original is a civilian boot, most likely a boy’s size, various versions of which were available for kids, men, and women from catalogs like Sears and Chicago Mail Order.

The military-issue double-buckle combat boot was developed in 1943 for overseas use by enlisted men and officers. They were originally a light tan rough-out leather (the suede side) with smooth leather buckle tops, rubber soles, and metal rivets. From 1950 on the tan was replaced by smooth leather in a russet/army brown color.

We’ve made some updates and additions since the first rendition of the Rosie boots. Firstly, more colors! We have the russet brown and all black in smooth leather, and the rough-out tan suede of the 1940s. The toe boxes are very round and generous, making these boots very comfortable and wide, a B/C width. Lastly, and due to testing and feedback, we’ve gone with a treaded rubber sole. The original antique boots and our first version had rubber soles with no tread, which were fine for most things but *terrible* in the snow! So for the sake of not having our customers slip and slide all over the place, we’ve added treaded soles to Rosie v.2.