Wedding slippers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Even as heels began to come back into fashion in the 1850s, the prevalent choice of brides was the flat, heelless slippers that had been worn for nearly half a century. Changes in toe shape, throat depth and shape, and trimming distinguish the slippers of one date from another. This pair wedding shoes are adorned with a large and elaborate combination bow/rosette accentuated with web-like lace, a form of trimming which was stylish in the late 1850s and early 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