Wedding slippers
Notions of feminine delicacy and daintiness in the Romantic period dictated that the proper lady should possess tiny feet and hands. This pair of classic flat slippers of the mid-nineteenth century shows the extremely narrow and tight style, which compressed the foot into an idealized symmetrical shape. The long ribbons laced around and extended the line of the shoe gracefully up the ankle. Although beautifully made, this type of shoe was so flimsy that it could endure only a handful of wearings.
Artwork Details
- Title: Wedding slippers
- Designer: C. Middleton
- Date: 1844
- Culture: American
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. E. C. Ward, 1924
- Object Number: 2009.300.1401a, b
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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