Shoes

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Through most of the 18th century, fashionable ladies' shoes were seldom made of plain fabrics. The majority were constructed with patterned fabric, whether self-figured, brocaded, or embroidered. It was not uncommon for a lady to embroider her own uppers and bring them to the shoemaker to be made up into shoes. By the last quarter of the 18th century, embroidery patterns for shoe vamps were being published in ladies magazines. This shoe in the classic shape of the period is a representative example of early 18th century domestic needlework in a popular Indian-inspired floral design. In some areas the embroidery has worn away, showing how the design was first drawn on the fabric in pencil.

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