Slippers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This attractive pair of pink kid slippers is typical of the bright colored shoes worn with the plain white dresses of the early 19th century. The cut-out design, here surrounding simple chain-stitched motifs on fabric but often found over plain leather in a contrasting color, was widely seen at this time and was meant to emulate the slashed ornamentation of Tudor dress. Also of note is the evolution to the heelless shoes of the 1810s by the use of a simple, low wedge heel. This style of upper is also frequently found with a small "Italian" heel, showing a certain degree of latitude in the fashionably acceptable choices.

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