Boots

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Utilitarian shoes were often worn out and discarded, so it is fortunate to find a good quality specimen in fine condition. This pair of walking boots is serviceable but not particularly fashionable. The side lacing had been predominant for thirty years, but was going out of style in the 1860s to front lacing. Cloth uppers were also standard on earlier ladies' boots; all-leather uppers did not become common until the 1860s.

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