Girl's Slippers, 1870s

These shoes once belonged to May Rynes (1868-1934), who wore them as a young girl. The flats are made of dark brown leather with small slits on the vamp which are tied with blue silk ribbons. These shoes were made as “straights”, which means there is no left and right. Left and right differentiation increased in the second half of the nineteenth century, but straights continued into the 1880s for dressy shoes (Rexford 2000: 236-7). The collection also owns two dresses that belonged to May as a child.

Donor information states that these shoes were worn by Mrs. Draper's mother, May Rymes (1868 - 1934) as a young girl.

References

Rexford, Nancy E. Women’s Shoes in America, 1795–1930. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2000.