Shoes

John Golden

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The low tie was the dominant style of man's shoe in the mid 19th century. These dressy black patent shoes are a modified version of the latchet tie style of the previous century, with their narrow latchets secured through a single eyelet. Multiple-eyelet shoes of the same basic cut, the predecessor of today's blucher, were in use at the time, but the more delicate latchet form is appropriate to a shoe better suited to social entertainments than hard wear. Patent leather was introduced into footwear in the 1790s, and its shiny surface has made it a popular choice for men’s formal dress ever since.

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