This particular pair, for the incomparable Susan W., is representative of a style of shoe that was found in multiple different locations. At first, when I was requested to make this style of shoe, I thought it a bit lackluster and uninteresting. As I started to near completion, I started to more fully appreciate this simple but elegant style of shoe. The strap over the tongue and buckle on the lateral side really does give a nice element of visual interest to the shoes. Plus, they look cozy and have that “Mary-Jane-esque” element to them yet maintain their individuality as a shoe.
There are several findings of this shoe style, in Hosdent, Middleburg, Dokum, and Dordrecht, to name a few places. They all have a similar construction in that the vamp extends to form a tongue, and a strap is set in at the medial (inside) of the shoe and goes out to the lateral (outside) of the shoe where it buckles in. Continue reading Mid-Late 16th C. Shoes from Hosdent→
I was recently honored to have been invited to Sweden, to teach shoemaking at a yearly event called Double Wars. I cannot even begin to tell you how wonderful and fantastic an experience this was, meeting so many new people, enjoying the time in the wilderness with absolutely marvelous weather, and getting to share the time with people who were so interested in shoemaking. And, as it turns out, the Fêtes Galantes 2017 in Versailles was being held the Monday directly after the event ended! I had no choice but to make plans to attend the gala as well (you’ll see more in the next post). I could not answer for you how delightful the trip was in ten thousand words, let alone one thousand, but the thousand will have to do:
At Double Wars (hereafter referred as DW), the primary point of the war was to decide upon which side the knäckebröd should be buttered, the hole-y side or the flat side. As a staunch holey-side-butterer, I was dismayed that the flat siders won the war (again), but there will be other years! Now, onto shoemaking discussions and details. Continue reading Double Wars – Shoemaking and More!→
A new pair of 16th century shoes for Brigid T. I’ve continued my trend of making the insole smaller than the last, and I think that it is really paying off. You can really see a bit of overhang on the toe, although some of the period examples (especially in the later 16th century) were even more so. A lot of this has to do with the last, though I suspect that making the insole yet smaller still might produce a similar result. Bows not shown, as I tend to tailor them to the person or let them punch the holes themselves for the best fit.
A new pair of 18th century shoes for John E., done at stitch pitches of 12spi. This is some of the more fine work that I’ve finished, but by no means would it have been considered fine for the day – in fact, it would have been expected for properly constructed shoes from a master’s workshop. In any event, you may already have read the earlier post on a more correct pair of 18th century men’s shoes, and this followed the procedure similarly, aside from the stitch pitch. Some corrections were also made, which I noted there. I did not attach the tongue as a second piece, but rather continued it as part of the vamp instead. As far as I can tell, it really did not make much of a difference.
As mentioned, I ended up making much finer closing threads. I used five strands of 60/1 which is incredibly fine stuff, about the same thickness as two strands of my normal 16/1 or one 10/1. Clearly, more threads plied together make a stronger thread, hence my decision to go with the five strands. Continue reading 18th Century Men’s Shoes – with improved stitching→
Dedicated to the Research and Construction of Chopines, Pantoufles, Zoccoli, Shoes, Boots,and Other Raised and High Heels.
