Evening slippers

Francis O'Neill

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

While shoe fashions vary in the United States and Europe, French designs have always held a certain cachet that secures them a place in the market. The short, pointed upturned toe of this pair of slippers reflects French taste in the 1890s, and suggests that the shoes were either imported by the New York vendor or deliberately made in the French style for a special clientele. American-made shoes of this period tend to have a notably longer toe. The shoes are well made with attractive embroidery on the vamp in a motif typical for the period. The robust standing bow serves to compliments toe shape.

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