Slippers

Date:
1885
Culture:
French
Medium:
silk, leather
Dimensions:
4 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (10.8 x 21.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Cooper Union Museum, 1951
Accession Number:
2009.300.1450a, b
  • Description

    High quality products are often distinguished by the creativity of their design. With Paris as the capital of fashion in the 19th century, some of the best quality and most novel products came out of its myriad workshops. This pair of slippers features very finely worked embroidery. While embroidered floral motifs are fairly common on shoes, the French knot technique is unusual, being both labor-intensive and not reproducible by machine. The black heel provides a pleasant contrast, and exhibits the topstitched edges only seen on the best women’s shoes.

  • See also
    What
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    When
    In the Museum
    Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
80094022

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