Wedding slippers

C. Middleton

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Notions of feminine delicacy and daintiness in the Romantic period dictated that the proper lady should possess tiny feet and hands. This pair of classic flat slippers of the mid-nineteenth century shows the extremely narrow and tight style, which compressed the foot into an idealized symmetrical shape. The long ribbons laced around and extended the line of the shoe gracefully up the ankle. Although beautifully made, this type of shoe was so flimsy that it could endure only a handful of wearings.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art