Woman's White Leather Shoes
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Description
This pair of white kid slippers are dated to the 1860s. They have decorative leather rosettes at one time hand sewn to the vamp, but which have since been removed. The rosette began to appear on evening slippers in the 1850s, growing larger until the late 1860s, when it became a large oval that extended beyond the throat line to rest on, and cover, part of the instep. Rosettes began to go out of fashion by 1874. They were sometimes called Marie Antionette slippers.
These shoes were worn by Amelia Manton (1833-1878) when she married William Chandler, probably circa 1860.
Compared to other shoes in collections, this style is common. White, low-heeled, square-toed shoes made of white kid leather, with bows on the vamp remained popular through the 1860s and 1870s. This shoe would be considerd a slipper, defined as a thin-soled, low cut shoe with no fastenings.
References
Rexford, Nancy. Women's Shoes in America, 1795-1930. Kent (Ohio): Kent State University Press, 2000.