Our New Neutrals collection (on pre-order now) features three beautiful new shoes, including Vera 1920s Bar Shoes. To celebrate the introduction of this quintessential Roaring ’20s style, we thought it appropriate to discuss the origins of this shoe in more detail!
In the Edwardian era and 19-teens, shoes with intricate straps (like the originals we studied for Bellatrix, Mae, and Astoria) were a popular choice, especially when it came to evening-wear. As the 19-teens turned into the 1920s, straps on shoes remained popular, while the shapes of uppers and heels began to change. As Louis heels and French spool heels began to fade away in favor of Spanish and Cuban heels, straps continued to be a fashionable closure for women’s shoes. Straps also provided opportunities for creative expression and visual interest as shoes became more visible.
Paired with newly fashionable skin-toned stockings, the feet and ankles were on display more than ever before. Like we discussed in our blog post all about the glamorous shoes of the 1920s, shoes becoming more visible had a major impact on what types of footwear were fashionable. As far as the chic were concerned, boots were yesterday’s news by the mid-1920s. In fact, if you look through archival trade journals and catalogues from the time period, one can find lots of boots being sold for low, low prices, as the fashion trends of the time so heavily favored pumps for all occasions!
Some 1920s advertisements featuring bar shoes of all sorts.
As beautiful as these intricate shoes with lots of straps were, the most popular options for 1920s shoes were pumps with a single strap across the instep. Also called Mary-Janes and strap-shoes, simple bar shoes with a single strap were practical, stylish, and versatile. They came in very simple versions with low Cuban heels, undecorated buckles, and understated straps, as well as fancier versions with high Spanish heels, decorative buckles, and sauced-up straps with interwoven leather pieces, cutouts, or appliqués. 1920s design characteristics were echoed through the shapes and ornamentations featured in footwear, as simpler versions emulated the geometric symmetry of Art Deco style, and more embellished versions incorporated metallic features with faceted surface details, sparkle, and artistic excess.
Materials varied widely as well. Bar shoes were often made in smooth leather, in practical colors like black, navy, tan, and brown. They also came in beautiful silks, attractive brocades, and attention-grabbing metallic leathers.
If you have any sort of dance or theatre background, bar shoes and T-straps may remind you of character shoes. That’s because, well, they basically are one and the same! The strap over the instep that defines a bar shoe also made this style handy for all of the dances that were popular in the 1920s- think the Charleston and the Black Bottom. The closures and heel shapes that made bar shoes ideal for the jazz club are still an ideal choice for the stage.
In essence, the bar shoe is a sartorial encapsulation of the 1920s as ‘modern times’. Whether highly ornamented or graceful in a simple silhouette, the bar shoe is an iconic element of a revolutionary change in fashion.
We made our Vera Bar Shoes to retain the simplicity of more practical 1920s bar shoes, with a graceful, artistic touch. Smooth leather in rich neutral shades blends seamlessly into the legline, and swooping suede piping in coordinating colors adds a special touch that really adds 1920s authenticity. Vera is available in 5 colors total, and in B and D width!
If you get Vera (or any of our other New Neutrals styles) on pre-order by March 15, you will receive a 15% discount on each pair. That’s certainly something to dance about!
Pre-Order is Open
March 6-15
15% Discount Per Pair
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