Getting to the Heart and "Sole" of it... (or shoes, Shoes, SHOES!!!)

Hi all!!!

Ugh! It's Monday again. It seems the older I get, the faster the weekend goes by. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I teach on Saturday mornings, so my weekends only really consist of Saturday nights-Sunday night. I love Sunday nights because 3 of my favorite TV shows are that night: "Once Upon a Time", "Call the Midwife" and "Mad Men". SUCH a great TV night.

But enough of my weekend, or lack thereof.

I want to talk about shoes! (or my lack thereof Hehe)

The other day as I was going through my wardrobe I realized that I am TOTALLY shoe deprived. Well, I guess I always knew that, but with Spring arriving and Summer coming before we know it, the fact that I need more REALLY hit me.

The reason why I don't have many shoes is because I'm slowly getting rid of all of my modern stuff and in a fit of impatience I threw out most of my shoes. Well, put them in a huge bag that is on its way to Goodwill. I don't wear any of them anymore anyway. I've been trying to keep my wardrobe as vintage appropriate as possible, when possible. I decided that the less modern things I have the harder it will be for me to throw on something I don't really like out of pure laziness. Not to say that EVERYTHING in my closet is vintage. I haven't accomplished that goal yet, but I try to keep everything as close to 40s/50s looking as possible.  I've been able to find super cute blouses that have a 40s, 50s or pin up feel at Forever 21 lately!!

Oops... so off subject right now! Back to shoes.

The main shoe problem I'm having is that I'm not good at vintage appropriate shoe hunting. So I've decided to do a little research on the styles of 40s and 50s shoes and this is what I've learned (I'm sure you veteran vintage gals know these things already, I did too to some extent, but I needed to see it all laid out to know where to go from here):


1940s Shoes

As we all know, most of the 40s were war days. So all of the rationing leaked in to fashion and shoes. Heel lengths were restricted to save on materials. Wooden soled shoes were made to save on leather. "Wedgies" were popular and made of cork or wood.

1940s Pump (Image Source)

1940s Wedges: top center and center (Image Source)

I also found out that most shoes came in 3 heel types: The Cuban heel, the Continental heel and the Wedge.

(Image Source)

The were also categorized by style:

Oxfords:  These were practical everyday shoes. They had a thick low sole so that they could be worn comfortably

(Image Source)

Pumps: These shoes were a little less practical and could be worn on special occasions

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Sandals: These could be worn casual or dressy depending on the style. They could be worn as flats, pumps or wedges

(Image Source)

Whew!! That's a lot to remember. And there's more where that came from but that's good to get me started. Now on to

1950s SHOES

We all know I'm a 50s fanatic so these are the ones I needed to research the most. I'm trying to familiarize myself with the cut and shape of 1950s shoes.

By the 50s shoes had a little more glamour to them because there were no more restrictions. Heels got higher  and the stiletto was created. Much of the shoe was cut away to show off more of the foot. By the mid fifties the kitten heel, mule and  flat became popular. Wedges remained popular.

Stiletto:

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Mules: (Can we say YUMMY!!!)

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Kitten Heel: These are from Etsy. If they were in my size I would snatch them up. PLEASE someone buy these!

(Image Source)

Ballerina flats:

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Wedges:

Lucite heels: I LOVE these!!!!  These perfectly clear shoes go with almost anything. I love the glass slipper effect. I really need some this summer!

(Image Source)

So there you have it. My vintage shoe research for the day. Now that I know what I'm looking for I'll do a post about modern versions of these types of shoes. Since it's a little difficult to find actual vintage shoes that are a size 8.5 and in total wearable condition, I (as most of you probably do) need to search for vintage appropriate versions. Although I do want to start buying a least some actual vintage shoes.

Anyone have any tips on buying or finding vintage shoes????


xoxo