Bottier, French

Shoe, mid-1920s

Gilded-leather, silk satin

Gift of Anonymous donor

“Footprints on the Sands in Ancient Times were made by shoes no more picturesque, and not as varied, as the modern interpretations on the Boulevards today.”

-“Paris Keeps the Mode at Her Feet,” Vogue, May 1923

A fleeting glimpse of the foot from under layers of long skirts and petticoats was exciting in the Victorian era. The interest in shoes tended to focus on good cut and high quality. By the late 19th century and early 20th century popular attitudes about what women were capable of was changing. Women’s involvement in the Great War, athletics, and the work force solidified a paramount shift in women’s roles. As hemlines shortened and skirt volume decreased, a new emphasis was placed on hosiery and shoe decoration.  Interest in shoe design and coloring increased. The bows, beads and steel-cut buckles of shoes ca. 1900 exploded into the feathers, rosettes, bright satins and gilded leathers of the 1920s. Hemlines rose above the ankles exposing the entire leg for the first time in the modern history of women’s dress. This dramatically new sense of freedom in dress was not a gradual change but a break in tradition. The emphasis of an ensemble shifted from the clothes to the legs and feet.

The 1920s shoe was high-heeled. Early in the decade heels were curvy in the Louis XIV style and later the slightly lower, straighter Cuban heel became more popular. The shoe shown here with its pointed toe, single bar strap and gilded Cuban heel is the most iconic shoe shape of the twenties.  The influence of Egyptian, Greek and Oriental art were particularly strong in the twenties. The gilded leather heel and appliquéd leaf motif on this shoe are a good example of these exotic influences and the Art Deco movement. Colors and fabrics were bright and daring, particularly for dancing. The pair here with their party color and zigzagging edges emulate the exuberance of the Charleston in the movement of their design. Colored shoes were not matched with the dress but contrasted and were worn with sheer colored stockings. 

Paris was the most desired place to shop for the latest styles. For women, a great motive for traveling there was the opportunity to indulge in her passion for shopping and observing the latest fashions. This shoe was made by a Parisian manufacturer, Bottier (meaning shoe).  The workmanship on them is astoundingly finely detailed compared to the manufacture of most shoes today.  The topstitching around each outside edge and leaf pattern is remarkably tiny and finely placed close to the edge of the material. This shoe is one example from the hundreds in the Museum’s permanent collection whose scope spans over 150 years.

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