All posts tagged: shoes

Beautiful shoes to admire from afar, and beautiful shoes to own

I love shoes. And as a fashion and textile historian, I often find myself nose to glass (or computer screen), drooling over a fabulous pair of antique shoes which I will never own, and which I couldn’t fit even if I did. These are my current favourites: I want them! I love them! I’d give so much to see the dress they were worn with! Alas, I cannot have them. But, I can console myself a little bit, because there are some utterly gorgeous, historically accurate, fairly reasonably priced shoes that I can have. These ones: The fabulous American Duchess has gone to a lot of work to design these shoes and to make them available to other costumers and historical enthusiasts. They are dyeable silk, and are fully leather lined. You can wear them with buckles, or with bows. And, if you order before April 22 you save $20. Sweet! I’m getting a pair (two if I am lucky) for my birthday. I can’t wait to decide what colour to dye them…and how to …

A historical costumer’s Haft-Sin

Published by The Dreamstress

Haft-Sin is a traditional Naw-RÃºz table setting in Persia (Iran), more linked to the Persian roots of Naw-RÃºz, than to the way Baha’is celebrate it, but still a lovely, picturesque idea. A Haft-Sin is an arrangement of 7 items that begin with S, each symbolising a wish for the new year. Here is my Haft-Sin for you: Sabzeh – wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish symbolize rebirth Samanu – a sweet pudding made from wheat germ symbolizes affluence Senjed – the dried fruit of the oleaster tree, look like cherries and symbolizes love SÄ«r – garlic, symbolizes medicine and good health. Poor Dulcinea (below) was criticised for being so robust and healthy that she more resembled a ‘garlic eating peasant’ than the lady of Don Quixote’s fantasies. SÄ«b – apples for beauty and health Somaq – sumac berries – symbolizing sunrise (through their colour) and new beginnings Serkeh – vinegar symbolizes age and patience.

Talk about un-natural shoe shapes…

Published by The Dreamstress

If you thought that last week’s red boots were un-natural in shape, check out these shoes from the Powerhouse Museum in Australia: Look at those insteps! Now, I’m high unusually high in the instep and the arch, but that is ridiculous! I do love the detailing on these shoes: the scrolls around the toe, the buttons, and most of all the tiny blue leather fleur-de-lys, or Chinese inspired patterns. They were made as exhibition pieces to show off the shoe-makers skill, so perhaps actually fitting a real person wasn’t an important skill for a cobbler!