Vicky Garrington
“These quintessentially 60s boots in buttermilk yellow and black plastic were the height of fashion, but not necessarily what you would expect a child to be wearing. The dedicated follower of fashion sporting this pair would have been around nine or 10 years old and probably had very obliging parents.
The boots – which recall swinging Carnaby Street and designers like Mary Quant – come from an era when footwear manufacture was dramatically changing. In the early decades of the 20th century, shoes had been an expensive commodity and people opted for practical styles that would be suitable for all occasions and outfits.
When plastic and other similar materials came on the scene, shoes could be more stylish and disposable. Production moved overseas, away from the traditional British manufacturing centres like Northampton and all this led eventually to the high-street shopping and fast fashion trends of today.
Plastic was a new material that lent itself to the speedy creation of multiple new styles, but it wasn’t as supple or breathable as leather. Taking these boots off after having had them on your feet for several hours at a disco would probably have been an interesting experience for everyone in the room.
The museum has been collecting costumes since the 1920s and we are delighted to still receive donations ranging from dainty treasures to more outlandish modern styles, as we don’t have the budget to acquire objects ourselves.
Putting this exhibition together, I found a lot of shoes in our collection that had been in storage for so long that they were completely new to me.
It was lovely to put wildly contrasting pairs together; in the same space as these boots, there are some early 20th-century brewers’ work clogs in leather and Women’s Land Army shoes. The different styles spark some interesting debates about how we get dressed – and why.
We have, for example, a pair of 1930s gold leather evening shoes which belonged to Ella Morison Millar, Edinburgh’s first female town councillor, who took up her post in 1919, and we also show a glamorous pair of silver mesh sling-backs worn by a Mrs Davidson to dinner dances at smart hotels in the city.
“These quintessentially 60s boots in buttermilk yellow and black plastic were the height of fashion, but not necessarily what you would expect a child to be wearing. The dedicated follower of fashion sporting this pair would have been around nine or 10 years old and probably had very obliging parents.
The boots – which recall swinging Carnaby Street and designers like Mary Quant – come from an era when footwear manufacture was dramatically changing. In the early decades of the 20th century, shoes had been an expensive commodity and people opted for practical styles that would be suitable for all occasions and outfits.
When plastic and other similar materials came on the scene, shoes could be more stylish and disposable. Production moved overseas, away from the traditional British manufacturing centres like Northampton and all this led eventually to the high-street shopping and fast fashion trends of today.
Plastic was a new material that lent itself to the speedy creation of multiple new styles, but it wasn’t as supple or breathable as leather. Taking these boots off after having had them on your feet for several hours at a disco would probably have been an interesting experience for everyone in the room.
The museum has been collecting costumes since the 1920s and we are delighted to still receive donations ranging from dainty treasures to more outlandish modern styles, as we don’t have the budget to acquire objects ourselves.
Putting this exhibition together, I found a lot of shoes in our collection that had been in storage for so long that they were completely new to me.
It was lovely to put wildly contrasting pairs together; in the same space as these boots, there are some early 20th-century brewers’ work clogs in leather and Women’s Land Army shoes. The different styles spark some interesting debates about how we get dressed – and why.
We have, for example, a pair of 1930s gold leather evening shoes which belonged to Ella Morison Millar, Edinburgh’s first female town councillor, who took up her post in 1919, and we also show a glamorous pair of silver mesh sling-backs worn by a Mrs Davidson to dinner dances at smart hotels in the city.
The often-complex relationship women have with shoes has become something of a cliche but it’s one with which many women identify. It is interesting, though, that this exhibition of footwear through the ages has also been well-received by men, who have popped in and recognised something their grannies might have worn, or recalled shoes they themselves wore as children. Shoes are very evocative items, and we all have memories and stories about our favourite pairs.”
Stepping Out: Shoes from the Collection of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, is at the Museum of Edinburgh until 20 December. Vicky Garrington is a history curator at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh