I rarely go shopping for clothes anymore (fabric shopping, well,
that is another story!). Every once in a
while, I will spend a few hours looking for lovely things in the department store only to be disappointed by racks
and racks of poorly made garbage.
And I know I am not the only person who sees a cheaply or
poorly made garment and thinks about how easy it would be to sew something up
that is ten times as nice.
The major exception is shoes. I do not have the slightest idea about how to make shoes. And while I would love all of the creative
possibilities that would open up, I imagine all that glue and leather would not
be very fun to work with.
I am still looking for a pair of fabulous green shoes. Red and purple are relatively easy to find
these days, but the perfect pair of green shoes has evaded me.
It seems that the color was very popular in 1948.
And the standard colors are incredibly detailed. Crossed straps, perforations, rosettes, and
scalloped edges add extra special touches that are often missing from shoes
these days (unless you have a whole lot of money to spend).
So now I would like to make my request that someone invent a
time machine so I can travel back in time and grab bunches of these fabulous
shoes. And I promise to bring back your favorites as well!
Do you think the leather would age in the travel back to
2012?
[Images from Sears Roebuck Catalog, Spring 1948]
Oh this fills me with envy! I shop quite a lot less since I started sewing, I'd rather spend the time in my sewing room. But shoes! I could never have too many, so it's probably a good thing I find it hard to find nice ones, otherwise I'd be very poooor...
ReplyDeleteGood point!
Deleteooooh--I adore the shoes! I completely agree about the sad quality of clothes today--even in the expensive department stores! BTW--have you checked out Zappos or 6pm.com for green shoes? just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion Valerie!
DeleteI am with you on the feelings and attitudes when visiting department stores. Seeing "Made in China" (Or Bangladesh, especially) makes my skin crawl.
ReplyDeleteI don't own a pair of green shoes either! :(
Regarding the aging on the travel back to modern times, I don't think so. I think the whole part of a time machine is so things won't age.
Thanks for sharing these fab images!
xoxo
-Janey
Oooh, can I come in your time machine, too? It just seems like there was a much higher quality of shoes, clothes, etc back in the day. I really hate how disposable fashion is these days.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely invited, Clio! The more the merrier!
DeletePerhaps you'd enjoy recovering an existing pair of shoes with the fabric of your choice using ModPodge. There are directions on their site at http://www.plaidonline.com/. Enter the word "shoes" in the Search box. There are some lovely examples pictured. Okay, it's not a time machine and the results are dependent on the style you started with but you can have any shade of green you want. :-)
ReplyDeleteNot that I profess to have a large shoe collection (very far from it!), but it hadn't struck me until reading this lovely image filled pots that I too am lacking a pair of green heels. Promptly added to the search list from here on out!
ReplyDeleteWishing you tons of luck in tracking down the perfect verdant pair,
♥ Jessica
My mom had a formidable collection of shoes from the 40's, 50's and 60's and since we wore the same same size, I wore many of them until they totally fell apart. I also used to wear a lot of her vintage clothing. She was an outstanding seamstress who could look at anything in a store and go home and make it. I don't have that talent, but I have enjoyed rediscovering sewing for this past year. (I quit sewing when she died a few years ago and threw out my sewing machine and all of her sewing stuff. How I regret that now.) Sewing was the one thing we shared that was good.
ReplyDeleteJohn Fluevog shoes might be another option, they're retro-styled, sustainabley sourced, extremely well made and super comfortable - I have 7 pairs! Including these green 1930-ish sandals:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fluevog.com/code/?w=sale&pp=1&view=detail&p=2&colourID=3453
Have you looked at Miss L Fire shoes? They have a gorgeous green heel in a croc leather. It's a late 1930's / early 1940's style.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Remix Vintage has a splendid green heel. All their shoes are made from original 1940's and older "patterns".
Last week I went shopping for something new for my birthday. Couldn't find anything that said "yes, you want me" and anything that was kind of OK needed some tweaking to be just right. Prefer to tweak my op shop bargain finds. So on afternoon of said birthday dropped into vintage shop right near home and found a beautiful black and white spotted (had graduated size spots) & pleated skirt. Perfect! Got loads of compliments and doubtful I'll see heaps of them walking the streets. Also saw a brown and white spotted pleated skirt which I promptly bought the next week. Very happy! Cathy from Down Under.
ReplyDeleteHave you had a look at Remix Vintage Shoes?
ReplyDeleteNot only are they based on vintage patterns, they are unbelievably comfortable. I own several pairs and cherish them.
My favourite pair that I own are the Anita shoes... in green!! :-)