low heel heights in shoes

[Royal]

Hi. I have been looking at a few vintage fashion websites and it looks like heels were prevalent in those days. Surely *some* ladies wore flat shoes when they went out...didn't they? What about Katherine Hepburn - did she wear men's shoes? If anyone can sort me out on this matter I would appreciate it. I would love to wear vintage clothes but heels aren't realistic for my line of work.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

They wore wedges of various heights, and for casual wear, they did have canvas sneakers (like Keds) or flat sandals. But this would be for very causal activities--sports, going to the beach, etc. Even your basic ‘granny shoe’ for daywear would have had some sort of heel. You’ll find that women who grew up in these eras often insist on wearing heeled shoes their whole lives. For example, a friend’s grandmother *had* to wear them—wearing high heels for so many years shortened her calf muscles, and it hurt her to go with out the extra height!

If you rent the Aviator, you can see Kate sporting a nice pair of wedges with her typical slacks and jacket look. These shoes are comfortable and easy to wear, so she probably did wear them in real life!

The best website I have found for fashion history is www.return2style.de. An excellent resource can be found in their museum.

 

[Royal]

Thanks for the help, jitterbugdoll. Here's something kinda funny - I was just looking at the site that you mentioned...AND I was watching "The Aviator" only an hour or so ago. I guess I will have to try and find something appropriate. Once I have more moolah saved up, naturally.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

That is funny!

Have you seen www.remixvintageshoes.com? They’re a tad expensive but have great repros. I bought a pair on eBay for half price--they are a decent shoe, comfy, and have last about two years. The site is good even if you just want to take notes on suitable styles! When I work in an environment where I can't wear heels or open toes though, I actually wear a pair of Ked's. Not too expensive and last a great while!

Oh, and I forgot to mention saddle shoes, which although most commonly associated with the 50s, were popular in the 40s too. Check out these photos from the thread on WWII women:

 

[Royal]

I will have a look at the remixvintage site, thank you very much. Great photos, too.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Royal, I just realized I still had the 1940s on the brain when I replied! Wedges were't unveiled until 1938--take a good look at the shoe pages on Return2Style for more options. They are the best place to start, I think!

Plus, you can pick up two books covering Sear's catlogues that titled "Everyday Fashion of the ___"--they have them divided by decades. They run about $15, and you can find them at amazon.com.

Also, something like these flat Mary Janes might be just the ticket. They've got a retro look to them and would work with more casual day outfits:
http://www.dancestore.com/shoeswomens.html

 

[Royal]

No worries, doll. I've already had a peek at the remix shoe site and realized that their shoes were out of my league, if you will. I like the ones on the dance store site, though. I was looking at similar styles to those Mary Janes at Payless - I need cheapie shoes for now.

 

[Lauren]

Their versions of flats generally were about 1" to 2" heels. Katharine Hepburn adopted this style (like a form of golf shoe or saddle style shoe), but, as jitterbugdoll mentioned, this was for casual wear. The younger, more fashion conscious woman would have most likely opted for higher heels, especially for formal or evening wear, but the more pre-teen or matronly could get away with a shorter heel no matter what the occassion.

 

[Royal]

Thank you for the input, Lauren.

P.S. I thought maybe I'd misspelled Ms. Hepburn's first name. I used an 'e' where an 'a' should have been.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Like I mentioned--I scored mine on eBay for much cheaper (they are a little high, in my opinion)! Seriously, that's a great avenue for some really good deals, so long as you can wait a few days for the auction to end/shipping.

Good point, Lauren. I myself am not as well versed in 20s fashions as I am 30s-40s--but I would imagine that the more causal attire and shoes came into play in later decades, as the social atmosphere changed. But for the most part, women were very dressy (as compared to today's standards) in all three of these decades!

 

[BixChix26]

there were definitely "sports shoes" in the '20s, primarily of canvas, with hard rubber soles, cap toes, and laces, typically with a 1" or so heel. In fact, I just sold a pair.

 

[Royal]

Alright. Thank you for responding, BixChix.

I ended up buying a pair of espadrille sandals and they look nice but are not all that comfy. I've been a practical shoe type for my whole life and it looks like that might change. Boo hoo.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Royal -- There must have been flat dress shoes of some sort -- not all women can wear heels. I have not been able to do so, not even when I was young and was told by a podiatrist that I should never wear them.

I did wear them when I was in my twenties and paid the price with battered feet and a nasty foot operation.

I have a wide width, a high instep, high arches, weak ankles, and bad balance. I see some women teetering around on those Rita Hayworth ankle breakers and cannot imagine how they can even stand up.

There must have been some dressy flats in the twenties and thirties that women wore. I know -- I will ask my 86-year-old mother.

karol

.

 

[Royal]

Good idea, K.D. - thanks for the help. I wore my espadrilles yesterday and they weren't too bad until I had to walk on gravel. That's just with a slight wedge heel. Something a bit flatter would be better.

 

[swinggal]

There were definatley flat shoes in the 40s because I have several old Sears catalogues which show these styles. Funny thing is...they are back in the stores this year in Australia - exact replicas. They were the flat "ballerina' style shoe that came in all colours. Some even had an ankle strap and a little bow but they were definatley flat. But I think the fashion was aimed more toward the late teen girls of the time and they are in the 1946 catalogue. But there are 'Penny Loafers' in the 1942 one that I have. One page even has espadrilles (completely flat with the long ankle ties) for summer and I bought two repro pairs of these last year to wear with shorts from target of all places!

Wedges were predominent as a casual everyday shoe too and they came in varying heights. Ads showing wedgies filled the pages of womens magazines and catalogues of the time. I have many vintage pairs that I have piced up in op-shops and on ebay. The only repro pair I have are Aris Allens, and I dance in those. Remix are great because they are exact reps.

I also have a vintage pair of black suede sandles that have a very low half inch heel but are styled exactly like wedges. Just like the wedge has been cut off. They are very feminine and go well with any outfit.

 

[Lauren]

I have definately seen more fancy evening shoes from the 20's that are not high heels. Up until the mid 20's most heels seem to have been no more than 2.5" high, and those usually in a form of boot or shoe that could be laced or buttoned tightly. I don't think we got the "evening sandal" like we have today until the 30's. I remember my grandma telling me that the movie stars would squeeze their feet into the smallest size heel they could when they made their footprints at the Chinese Theatre, (and the higher the heel, of course, the smaller the size looks). Not everyone could wear the high heels, certainly, but they were more prevelant with the fashion concious. As I mentioned before, the older women and the girls in their early to mid teens generally did not wear as high of a heel. If you look at older catalogs you will see that there are shoes with only 1-2" heels. But that was generally not the standard for the fashion world. I believe that ballet flats came in the era of Audrey Hepburn, in the 1950's, but they most likely had them in some form in the late 40's as well.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I have the "Everyday Fashions from the Forties" Sears catalog compilation book, and ballet flats appear to have come into vogue at the very end of the decade.

The 'small foot' trend was popular for many years, and you can see wedges advertised in early 40s catalogs and described as being able to make your feet look tiny, or doll-like. Funny that those severely pointy-toed shoes are so popular today--I think they claim they make the leg look longer, but they sure make the wearer's feet look huge in the process!

 

[Lauren]

Haha! I know what you mean! I thought they were cute so I tried a pair on, then turned sideways. My feet looked huge! Needless to say, I descided against them.

 

[swinggal]

hehe...yeah. The 'Baby Doll' toe certainly made the foot look cute and small. I have largish feet and they always make them look smaller which is nice.

I have a pair of pointy points that I bought back in 1987 (same as the fashions now) and yeah, they make my feet look huge!!

My nana (93) told me that in the 20's they sometimes wore flat shoes covered in satin or silk, they had an 'oriental look' she said.

 

[kamikat]

a question about heel heights in shoes

When looking through my copy of the Sears 1940's book, it shows that several pairs of shoes that were available in a choice of heel height, many in what I consider a more reasonable height, like 2in. Why is it that most of the shoes I've run into on eBay and all of the repros are all 3in or higher?