SUPER ANIMAL: Lady Shoes

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Lady Shoes

Though it is difficult to see shoes under the long gowns of the period, we do know that women’s footwear was usually a soft slipper. They were made of delicate fabrics such as brocade, silk, or embroidered leather, none of which were waterproofed. This necessitated the pattern, an overshoe with a wooden sole, usually aspen, with an open leather vamp. The patten was tied with latchets onto the foot over the shoe. For the wealthy, it became common for the shoe and patten to be made of the same fabric. The patten had been a fashionable piece of footwear in the previous century, but in this century was worn only as a necessity.
The chopine, another piece of footwear with a raised sole was introduced to Europe in this period. The chopine was worn especially among the courtesans of Venice, and the fashion quickly spread to the rest of Europe, being especially popular in Italy and Spain.