1925 Fawn shoes
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1925-1930 A pair of shoes in fawn leather
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A side view of the right shoe
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The sole of the left shoe; the label is visible and also the numbers 3 and 4 below that
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The label imprinted on the sole
Description
These are bar shoes with a strap and button fastening. The ½" wide bars are an extension of the quarters and have openwork of three diamond-shaped holes where they widen out at the sides.
The vamps have decoration, ³⁄₁₆" wide, of a row of punched holes round the edge, with stitching each side; a line of the same decoration goes round the quarters from their join with the vamp, ⅜" down from the edge and ⅜" from the edge where the quarters join at the back of the shoe.
The knock-on heels are in the syle of a Louis heel but the heel breast is not continuous with the sole; they are 2½" high and covered with the fawn leather. Shoes are made upside down on the last so the final layer on a heel is called the top piece; there is a metal plate, ¹⁄₁₆" thick, under the top piece on these heels, presumably to protect the heel when the top piece wore down.
The quarters are lined with tan leather which extends as a ½" wide strip round the inside edge of the vamp, which is lined with white cotton, and the sock is cream leather and has some brown stains, although the shoes are unworn. A piece of darker tan suede lies over the inside back seam of the quarters and extends for about 1½" inside the top edge each side as a heel grip.
On one side of the lining of the quarters of the right shoe are the numbers 3 and 4 spaced apart which may be to do with the size, followed by a five digit number which may be the style number. The numbers 3 and 4, one above the other, are also incised on the sole where it narrows into the waist.
The shoes were made by C & J Clark Ltd. of Street in Somerset, and their label is imprinted on the soles; it has the company name and address, as well as stating Established 1825, and giving the name of the style - The Tor Brand. This information is also on a small fabric label sewn onto the lining near the back of the right shoe, which is very hard to see.
Contemporary illustrations
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Detail from an advertisement in Good Housekeeping, 1924
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Detail from an advertisement in Good Housekeeping, 1924
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Detail from a cartoon in Punch, March 1925
Contemporary items
1927 Printed cotton voile dress
More shoes from the Hopkins Collection can be seen in Footwear, published by The School of Historical Dress and available from the Hopkins Costume Trust bookshop.