2005 Shoes Four Centuries of Historic Footwear
Historic Fashions Calendar 2005"As you tuck those flip flops under your beach chair, think ahead to those fall boots and holiday sandals. . . . Think Shoes: Four Centuries of Historic Footwear a fabulously photographed tribute to footwear. . . .Learn about 20-inch Venetian chopines, sturdy looks during rationing periods of World War II and underslung heels of cowboy boots."—Darragh Doiron, Port Arthur NewsTowering Venetian chopines circa 1600, nineteenth-century embroidered-silk lotus shoes, and 1930s ankle-strap pumps with tiny lipstick holsters are just a few of the four centuries of treasures offered by this breathtaking and illuminating survey. Peek into the shoe trunks of twelve North American collections from the Bata Shoe Museum of Canada to Kickshaw Productions.This CSA book-on-the-wall is as collectible as it is engaging. In her introduction, costume specialist Melissa Leventon, of Curatrix Group, shares a number of cool heels from her own collection. Shoes is a tour you won’t speed-walk through.From Romans’ sandals to Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo Blahniks, shoes have been far more to us than attractive or functional coverings for our feet. They may symbolize status, gender or sex, luck, fertility, or vanity. Shoes in popular stories and legends enable gods to fly, a prince to discover his true love, or a little girl and her dog to return to Kansas. An exchange of shoes sealed contracts in ancient Israel, symbolized medieval princes’ loyalty to the church, and denoted a bride’s transfer from her father’s house to her husband’s. Shoes are perhaps the most significant and culturally powerful fashion accessory there is.—Melissa LeventonFrom her introductionContributors for 2005 are Bata Shoe Museum; Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University; Children’s Museum of Indianapolis; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Harry S. Truman National Historic Site; Westport Historical Society; Glenn Roberts; Seattle Museum of History and Industry; Panhandle Plains Museum; Amherst Museum; Kickshaw Productions; and Melissa Leventon.A portion of the proceeds benefit Costume Society of America scholarship programs.