Vintage Clothing | Women's Footwear in America

The Spectator Shoe | Variations.

February 29, 2016 § 4 Comments

The Spectator Shoe: A two toned leather oxford born in the late 1800’s becoming popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Below a Spectator inspired shoe patent from 1939 by my grandfater, Ben Benjamin.

Hollywood, California, Shoppers, April, 1942. (Photo Courtesy Library of Congress)

Footwear News, 1972.

Bunny Boots, Apocalypse Now, 1979.

January 2, 2016 § Leave a comment

Costume sketches for Bunny #2, Apocalypse Now (1979), c 1976 at The Museum of the Moving Image, New York.

Apocalypse Now Trivia IMDB

The visit by the Playboy Playmates was based on an actual visit by 1965 Playmate of the Year Jo Collins. She was so popular with the troops that she was made an honorary GI. The Playmate of the Year character in the movie was played by Cynthia Wood, who was herself Playmate of the Year in 1974.

Artist Ralph Barton | Woman In Dressing Room, January, 1915.

December 31, 2015 § 2 Comments

This morning wanting to get on the bandwagon with my Facebook friends who have been vivaciously posting New Years Greetings, I began to peruse the internet in search of my own when I stumbled upon the illustration here by artist Ralph Barton. The internet has a way of making you forget what you originally set out to do and before long I found myself swept away by his story and beautiful artwork. I hope you will take a moment and do the same.

~Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Courtesy Library of Congress.

A CASE OF MELANCHOLIA ~ The New Yorker

Ralph Barton and Charlie Chaplin.

Ralph Barton

On May 19, 1931, in his East Midtown Manhattan penthouse apartment, Barton shot himself through the right temple. He was 39 years old. His suicide note said he had irrevocably “lost the only woman I ever loved” (the actress Carlotta Monterey had divorced Barton in 1926 and married Eugene O’Neill in 1929), and that he feared his worsening manic-depression was approaching insanity. Almost immediately, his reputation dropped from sight; several years after his death, a caricature of George Gershwin sold for a mere $5. Ralph Barton’s ashes were returned to his native Kansas City and interred in Mount Moriah Cemetery. -Wikipedia

Carlotta Monterey.

Katie Elizabeth and John Calvin Smith.

November 14, 2015 § Leave a comment

Holidays on Facebook give us all a chance to share family photos and honor those that came before. This one posted on Veteran’s Day of college friend Malcolm B. Smith’s grandparents, Katie Elizabeth and John Calvin Smith caught my eye.

Daddy was a good looking man and a great catch. He had a great laugh and beautiful sense of humor. Below, Daddy before a grenade robbed him of his eyesight and happiness. He married once more, fathered another daughter. My sister Diane and I both gave him grandchildren, but he only lived to know my son. However from his bloodline, he now has grands and great grands. RIP daddy. Jerlean Noble

My Favorite Shoe Bloggers Are At It Again, Check Out The Latest From TheHistorialist.

November 12, 2015 § Leave a comment

1933 | ONE MODEL, TWO LADIES AND ‘THE’ BOTTIER

1933_January_Officiel

Elizabeth Taylor | Style Maven.

October 12, 2015 § 1 Comment

Dame Elizabeth Taylor & 5TH & 6TH Husband Richard Burton, Johannesburg, 1975.

Customcraft Shoe Ad Reminiscent Of Salvatore Ferragamo Shoe.

July 3, 2015 § Leave a comment

In reverse.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Project | Martin Scorsese

July 3, 2015 § 3 Comments

Walking down 48th Street and Lexington Avenue today I found myself wondering where I was as I passed by Colony Music. At first I thought maybe it had been reopened as a smaller version of itself until I realized I had walked into the middle of the set for Martin Scorsese’s new HBO show Rock ‘N’ Roll. Alas the PA who asked me to move along snapped me out of my fantasy flashback in time. They even dirtied up the streets and a couple of the drivers for the vintage cars were engaged in a real life drama as they verbally duked it out.