A Walk Through History
Shoes can make or break a look. Rising hemlines, along with the emergence of counter-cultural and individual styles, led to an explosion of iconic and innovative footwear throughout the 20th century. Let's take a look at some of the shoes that shaped the past century.
1. 1900s: Buttoned Boots
Fashion at the turn of the century tended towards the long and flowy. While shoes may have been out of sight for the most part, they were far from out of mind. The archetypal Edwardian shoe is a narrow boot made of seal skin or Moroccan leather, secured with buttons or laces.
Bennett W. & Son, cordonnier - Bottier on Wikimedia
2. 1900s: Pumps
For evening events in the 1900s, women turned towards pretty pumps and delicate slippers. Formal shoes were narrow at the toe with a low, slightly curved heel. Bows and detailing could be spied amidst the flow of skirts during a ball.
Creator:Alfred J. Cammeyer on Wikimedia
3. 1910s: Spectators
Skirts began to rise as so-called New Women threw off the shackles of the Victorian era. Of course, these rising hemlines meant more focus on what women were wearing underneath. Designers started playing with color and texture, taking inspiration from the two-toned boot covers men wore.
Schober and Co. Laird on Wikimedia
4. 1910s: Oxfords
Women were more active than ever in the 1910s, both physically and in the workforce during the war years. Due to war restrictions, women wore sensible shoes with round toes and wedge heels. Not only did these shoes use fewer resources, but they were practical for first-time entrants into the workplace.
5. 1920s: T-Bars
With the rise of the Jazz Age in the 1920s, shoes for young women were made with one thing in mind: dancing. T-bar heels are likely what you picture when you picture the prototypical flapper girl. T-bar shoes were strappy and secure, with a low, solid heel that could hold up to dance marathons or speakeasy busts.
Creator:Alfred J. Cammeyer on Wikimedia
6. 1920s: Mary Janes
After men returned from the war, some women stepped aside to let them reclaim their places as homemakers; others didn't. For modern women working as stenographers, teachers, and sales clerks, they needed shoes that were comfortable to wear all day. Mary Janes had first come into fashion during the last decade, but they really took off during the 1920s due to their simplicity and comfort.
7. 1930s: Strappy Sandals
The 1930s were a decade of contradiction: a time of austerity and suffering for the majority of the population, yet one of the most stylish for those who could afford it. Inspired by the glamor of the silver screen, dressy sandals became all the rage. These sandals had a low Cuban heel, decorative straps or lacing, and most often came in white.
8. 1930s: Two-Toned Shoes
Similar to the spats craze two decades earlier, women's shoes leaned towards monochrome color palates. The contrast of light and dark made even the most simple of heels stylish on a budget. Some popular styles included oxfords, saddle shoes, and slingbacks.
State Library of New South Wales collection on Wikimedia
9. 1940s: Saddle Shoes
As the war rolled around, women decided they weren't done with two-toned shoes just yet. Saddle shoes exploded in popularity in the 1940s, largely for teen girls, but for grown women as well. Saddle shoes were sporty and comfortable, a casual shoe to be worn for exercise or at home.
10. 1940s: Peep Toe Heels
Some 1940s shoes look absolutely massive by modern standards, but we think maybe women were just excited for war rationing to be over. These heels featured a blunt toe box, stacked square heel, and blunt toe. The cherry on top was the peep toe: a small, yet sultry peek at nylons.
Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia
11. 1950s: Slingbacks
In 1957, Chanel introduced her iconic two-toned slingback, and the rest was history...except, slingbacks had already been mega-popular in the previous years. The 1950s were a conservative decade for fashion, with women being pressured into hyperfeminine roles of domesticity. Slingback straps could be found on most styles of shoe, but were most common in delicate stilletos.
12. 1950s: Loafers
For the women who prized comfort over couture, loafers were the way to go. Similar flat shoes such as mules and moccasins were also popular, but loafers were a comfortable staple in young women's closests. Casual shoes were worn with casual clothes, meaning—scandalously—they were worn without stockings.
13. 1960s: Go-Go Boots
Inspired by the Space Race, footwear took on a futuristic slant. No style exemplified this better than the go-go boot: mid-calf, low-heeled vinyl boots in chic white. Nancy Sinatra's 1966 release "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" helped go-go boots become a symbol of female power.
14. 1960s: Kitten Heels
Tall, thin heels were the go-to shoe of 1950s women in wiggle dresses, but the design endured to the following decade in a modified form. In the early 1960s, kitten heels began to replace stilettos. Kitten heels were slightly shorter, making them easier to walk in, but still elongated and accentuated the leg.
opdrachtgever: Cameo Room on Wikimedia
15. 1970s: Knee-High Boots
As skirts continued to reach daring new lengths, so did boots. The 1970s took the go-go boots of the previous decade and made them taller, louder, and crinklier due to the fabrics used. At the beginning of the 1970s, boots were considered inappropriate work attire; by 1977, boots made comprised 20% of all women's shoe sales in America.
16. 1970s: Platform Shoes
If you thought shoes in the 1940s were big, you ain't seen nothing yet. Coinciding with the meteoric rise of disco and glam rock music, shoes were bigger and better than ever. Platform heels were androgynous, dramatic, and great for dancing.
17. 1980s: Jellies
Although PVC shoes were first created following WWII, they didn't take off until the 1980s. The original 1980s Jelly shoes were inspired by the "cheap & ugly" shoes worn by shrimp fishermen, upgraded for the modern women. Early jelly shoes were colorful, glittery, and, sometimes, even scented!
18. 1980s: Sneakers
There are too many iconic sneakers of the '80s to choose just one brand. Converse, Adidas, Nike, and Rebok all introduced iconic shoes worn across genders and subcultures. However, if we had to choose, we'd go with Keds, the sneaker of cheerleaders and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing.
19. 1990s: Doc Martens
Doc Martens were actually introduced way back in the 1940s using army surplus, but they really took off for Americans in the '90s. For grunge and other counter-cultural movements, Docs were the ultimate sign of rebellion: a combat boot that stuck it with a man. Paired with worn jeans and flannel, you have an iconic look of the 90s.
20. 1990s: Ballet Flats
On the other end of the spectrum from Docs were ballet flats, part of the conservative preppy inflence. Sweet and demure, ballet flats were all-American and girly. These shoes were made for walking around the mall, and little else.
