Slippers

1790–1805

Not on view

The contemporary style and taste for simplicity are well exemplified by this pair of attractive slippers. Large and ornate shoe buckles had begun to go out of style in the 1780s, but their demise was radically accelerated by the anti-aristocratic sentiments of the French Revolution. The way was then clear for the slipper to supplant the latchet shoe as the primary style of fashionable womenswear. Strong or dark colorations were often seen around the turn of the18th century, and the attractive dark teal blue color seems to have been one of the favorite choices. The shoes are extremely well preserved, and the smooth, angular lines give us a sense of how they would have looked when new.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Exhibition History

Title: Slippers
Date: 1790–1805
Culture: probably British
Medium: leather
Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Herman Delman, 1954
Object Number: 2009.300.1484a, b
Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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