I feel a need to demonstrate to you all that although October has been an incredibly busy month, and although I’ve made progress on several projects that have not yet been completed (but look for some candy-posts in November =), I did finish up this pair of 1550s shoes for a friend of mine – my apologies for the poor shot, but I was in a rush to get it shipped out. Flat sole, wool sock, pinking and scoring on the vamp and quarters, whipped in stiffener. I tried to curve the sole of the last to pull the treadsole stitching in underneath the shoe, but I suspect that it needs to be much more extreme than I made it in order to be like some of the period examples where the upper (the toe especially) overhangs the treadsole by what seems to be a good quarter inch.
There are some very exciting projects that are currently in the works! I dare not post about them until all things are settled, and my apologies for the total tease. In truth, my goal has always been to try and get people into high quality footwear that looks good and feels comfortable. I try to do this through classes, through teaching, and as well as through taking commissions. These projects-which-shall-not-be-named-as-yet takes this endeavor to whole new audiences, hence pushing my agenda to shoe the historical world in quality footwear. Stay tuned for more details…!
Based on a 1590s pair of shoes found in a Dutch shipwreck (Dutch SO-1 shipwreck, wrecked off the island of Texel in the Wadden Sea on Christmas Eve in 1593), I used the slashing pattern and a 1570s pattern to make this newest image. You can see both the original and my work below. I clarified the lozenges on the vamp to make them distinct, and the quarters do not cut away in the center like the extant pieces do. I also cut some vamp tabs for a touch more decoration. Single heel lift on these – one thing I did notice is that I need to burnish both after the outsoling is done (when the outsole is wet) to flatten it out, and then after it is dry, to give it a sheen. I have also started to burnish the sole of the shoe to give it a bit of a shine as well.
This pair was constructed with more tooling on the vamp based on a pattern in Goubitz, and with straps intended to fall underneath it. Unfortunately, the top of the pattern was cut straight across for the opening rather than curved, which did not completely hide the straps. I’ve since adjusted the pattern to make sure that this does not happen again! Still, I do enjoy the cutwork pattern. The fingerloop laces can be tied outside of the shoe or on the inside of the shoe – both are documentable. In fact, in some shoes do not even have holes in the vamp for the laces – one would tie the straps down underneath it.
Dedicated to the Research and Construction of Chopines, Pantoufles, Zoccoli, Shoes, Boots,and Other Raised and High Heels.
