Vintage Fashion | Women's Footwear in America

Clunky Clogs Go Soft | Footwear News – July 6th, 1972.

November 18, 2014 § 4 Comments

Surfing Thongs

July 13, 2014 § 2 Comments

Esther Williams

Growing up on the Gulf Coast of Florida there wasn’t whole lot of surfing going on. We still had a surf shop though and lived by the beach, so spent most of our time in flip flops or zoris, which is what my dad called them. I remember when Surfing Thongs became popular. There wasn’t anything that had that cushiony feel when you walked. They were light, but thick. I loved them. Now that summer’s here and we’re getting ready to make our annual exodus from the city to visit Grandma in Florida I find myself reminiscing about the first time I tried a pair on. How unusual they seemed from the regular flip flops we would buy at the five & dime store near the beach. No wonder now my favorite summer shoe is Ginger by Reef.

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Salvatore Ferragamo

April 27, 2014 § Leave a comment

Notes from a trip to Italy that my grandfather took in May of 1955 when he was the general manager for the I. Miller shoe factories.

Salvatore Ferragamo/Women’s Runa Suede Bow Pump

THE SALVATORE FERRAGAMO MUSEUM

More Treasures Discovered

April 23, 2014 § 6 Comments

My sister who lives in my grandfather’s former home in Florida found a few shoes stored in her garage. 1 pair of I. Miller, 1 pair of Daniel Green and 1 Crik-etts. The I. Miller and Daniel Green look like they’re from the 1930’s. It’s a mystery as to why he would have saved them since he didn’t leave Schwartz & Benjamin until the 1940’s and joined I. Miller in the 1950’s. They look like samples to me — too small to belong to my grandmother Rose. They may have been his designs that were copied (Patent). Unfortunately with the relentless Florida humidity the shoes are in sad shape.

What is the rule about wearing white?

April 2, 2014 § 16 Comments

It seems every Spring and Summer I notice my friends with Southern roots get out their white pants. The only fashion rule I remember from my eclectic childhood was no shorts in Manhattan – period. Looking back through family films and photos it’s clear that this was a rule strictly followed at one time. After some googling I found Memorial Day to Labor Day is the rule and no white clothes after Labor Day. I also learned that Emily Post gave the ok to continue wearing white after Labor Day.

Why We Can’t Wear White After Labor Day – Time Magazine

Still from family film footage. Somewhere in Long Island.

How to Wear White After Labor Day: Ten Pieces for Fall – Vogue

Still from family film footage. Somewhere in Long Island.

My grandmother holding my dad.

I. Miller Shoes

March 16, 2014 § 14 Comments

In 1952 my grandfather Ben Benjamin became the General Manager for the I. Miller Shoe Company.

I. Miller – A Little Jewel Box of a Shoe Store, New York Times Feb. 10th, 2008

Follow up to the 2008 New York Times article: At Restored Landmark in Times Square, Mixing ‘Brash and Beautiful’

Andy Warhol

I. Miller Shoe Advertisement from The New York Times, April 17th, 1955.

Andy Warhol found early success as a commercial artist and was hired by I. Miller as their chief illustrator in the 1950’s.

1954

Courtesy The Library of Congress: Reproduction Number: LC-G612-T-36355-B,Call Number: LC-G612- 36355-B <p&p> [P&P] Date Created/Published: 1939 Oct. 21.

CRIK-ETTS

March 15, 2014 § Leave a comment

My grandfather, Ben Benjamin created a shoe called Crik-etts that boasted the first flexible sole. I found these clippings with some other things he gave me. He didn’t tell me much about it. I wish I had known to ask him about this part of his life and also his days at I. Miller that followed.

Thinking of Warmer Days

March 11, 2014 § 9 Comments

Winter in New York City is messy. I just got back from a lovely visit with family in sunny California. The day I left it snowed and the day I returned it snowed. I’m ready to shed my winter layers and put my sandals on. I fantasize about moving somewhere warmer.

For now though, while still deep into this unusual and painful arctic winter – I thought I would indulge myself with some images of Summer.

St. Petersburg, Florida

Bathing beaches – New York beauties at Atlantic City carnival Sept. 8 1922

Joan Crawford

Santa Monica Pier

Roxy McGowan and Mary Thurman in bathing suits, Mack Sennett Productions Courtesy The Library of Congress, Reproduction Number: LC-USZ62-97733

Roxy McGowan and Mary Thurman in bathing suits, Mack Sennett Productions c.1918

Treasure Island, Florida

Bata Shoes

February 17, 2014 § 2 Comments

I’m embarrassed to admit on a blog about shoes that I had really never heard of Bata shoes.

Herbert Levine c.1962-64 – The Bata Shoe Museum

120 Years of Bata Advertising

I was telling my husband about a shoe museum I’d found in Toronto Canada called The Bata Shoe Museum when he pulled out a childhood photo from Peru. He told me he had begged his mother for the shoes he’s wearing in it — his Wayfinder Shoes by Bata. Embedded in the heal was a compass that fell out after only wearing them a few times. He remembered the stores were all over Lima.

Lima, 1973

More about the Wayfinder shoe

Bata Rimac, Lima Peru

The company Bata shoes was founded in 1894 in Czechoslovakia and was one of the first real shoe manufacturerers. If you’d like to know more about the history of Bata Shoes click the link here.

History|Bata shoes for all

When Did Women Stop Wearing Gloves?

February 13, 2014 § 20 Comments

I remember as a child wearing white gloves for special occasions. I found this beautiful photo of my mother and father. Very Mad Men. My mother told me it was taken sometime between 1950 and 1954 at a reception in the garment district before they were married.