Shoes

Details

Descriptive Terms

shoes (footwear)
satin
silk (textile)
Shoe
Shoe

Label

Walk Right In 11/5/98-3/27/99 This pair of women's buckle shoes illustrates the tradition of the bride wearing something old in a wedding. They were carefully preserved and worn two generations later by Eliza Hussey Goodwin when she married Charles Frothingham on June 10, 1862. [shown with buckles 1931.1668ab] Displayed in Cherished Possessions, 2003-2005
"Cherished Possessions": In eighteenth-century Boston, Massachusetts, the latest London fashions were readily available to those who could afford them. These shoes were made in the section of London called Cheapside, known for its textile merchants and shoemakers. Like most shoes of the period, they have no right or left but were made to be interchangeable. The long tabs were intended to be fastened by buckles, which were worn like jewelry and could be transferred from one pair of shoes to another. Buckles could be set with diamonds for the wealthiest wearers, or, like these, made of paste. The original owner of these buckles, Prudence Jenkins, wore them at her wedding in 1778.

Maker

Chamberlain & Sons (Maker)

Dimensions

4 3/4 x 2 3/4 (HxW) (inches)

Credit Line

Gift of Albert C. Frothingham

Accession Number

1961.12AB

Places

City of London (London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom) [borough]