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FRATTEGIANI INDEX

June 16, 2019, 11:57 pm
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CUTTING EDGE DESIGN: THE RIPPLE SOLE

June 21, 2019, 1:00 am
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1949 | The "Ripple" Crepe Sole
Source: The Indianapolis News | October 7, 1949

GIRLS!
PENNEY'S HAS THEM. THE NEW AND EXCITING
RIPPLE SOLE LOAFERS 
The ripple sole is a smooth moulded rubber wrap on a conventional crepe sole, with an added feature Western buckle. Two fall colours. 
The Salem NewsSeptember 26, 1949

The term "Ripple sole" was already out there since the early 40's and usually meant ripple-edged sole used both for men's and women's and later for kids' (above image). However, retired Detroit shoe salesman Nathan Hack had a different idea in mind when he though of it.


1952 | Rippling Walking
Army boots & lady's shoe
Source: The Daily Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) - April 24, 1952

Nathan Hack said his new "ripple sole" is the first new departure in footwear since Julius Caesar put heels on shoes to enable his soldiers to walk farther. "And that was 2000 years ago"he said. 
Hack, past president of the Detroit Shoe Retailers Association, said the ripple sole is made of a rubber-leather composition. It is attached beneath the regular sole and "lengthens each stride six inches more than ordinary shoes", Hack said. 
The ripple sole consists of a series of waves running from the front of the heel to the tip of the toe. As the body leans forward, each successive ripple gives way so that when a step is completed one has the feeling that he is walking downhill. 
Courier Post
April 19, 1951 (Camden, New Jersey)


1953 | First actual application of the Ripple Sole
Source: Dayton Daily News (July 11, 1953)


Hack stumbled upon the ripple sole with the help of Dr. Lawrence E. Morehouse while searching for a shoe to cut down the hazards of broken legs and ankles among paratroopers. Jumps tests were taken and the results were successful to a certain degree. Still, while walking, the testers reported a "walking on air" feeling and that gave the two inventors the idea to further experiment the sole for a different use.

The ripple sole absorbed shock, stored energy and then aided in lifting the foot for the next step ... The inventors believe ripple soles will prove a blessing for postmen and policemen and others who spend most of the day on their feet. 
"I think the ripple sole will find a place in athletic events too" said Hatch. "At least it will relieve the strain on million of pairs of feet". 
The Daily Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
April 24, 1952


1953 | The Ripple Sole for athletic shoes
Source: The Daily Herald (December 25, 1953)


The Ripple Sole forerunner was a convalescent boot he gave on a royalty-free basis to the U.S. Army in 1944. Nathan Hack called it his "contributions to the war effort" and his way to pay back a debt he owns to Uncle Sam.

The Ripple Sole gained momentum when two national magazines (Colliers and The Reader's Digest) run extensive articles about Hack's invention. The applications in standard footwear became apparent so he patented his idea (assigned to the Ripple Sole Corp.) and licensed it domestically to Nashua's Beebe Rubber Co. (New Hampshire) at the end of 1955.



1952 | The Resilient Shoe Soles by Nathan Hack
Filed July 14, 1952 - Granted June 14, 1955
Source: Google Patents


1956 | The Coward Shoe
Source: Daily News - December 4, 1956


Adopted by many producers (Levy's, Naturalizers, Palizzio, Florsheim, Sandler of Boston...), the Ripple Sole became a success (The Ripple That Became a Tidal Wave) and starting from 1957 a "Ripple Sole Week" was held in Tucson and lasted until the early 1970s. 

Nathan Hack died at 87, October 4, 1971 in Santa Monica, California. He came from Poland at the age of 16 and founded in Detroit the "Hack Shoe Company" in 1916. He later became president of The Greater Detroit Shoe Retailers Association and honorary life president of the Michigan Shoe Association. The photograph here below portrays Hack in 1966.



1966 | Nathan Hack and his Ripple Soles
Source: Detroit Free Press



RIPPLE OFF SOLES
(SIDE EFFECTS)

To rephrase Nathan Hack quote: the ripple sole will relieve the strain of dozen shoe designers looking for something old to be copied. And that happened straight away.


1967/1968 TITANO
Cerro Maggiore, Milan

1971 | V.I.P. (Verolanuova Industria Plastica)
Thermoplastic injection
Verolanuova, Brescia


"After much testing Adidas has come up with THE ripple sole: soft, durable, extremely comfortable and functional." 
FROM A 1972 ADIDAS ADVERTISEMENT. 
After much testing, THEIR ripple sole was used for the models ANTELOPE and ROM.




1988 | Patrick Cox
Source: Shoes by Colin McDowell

2010 | George Cox for Japan's BAL

Clockwise from top left:
2012 Buttero; 2013/2014 Ash; 2012 Hiroshi Tsubouchi; 2015 Paciotti


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U P D A T E S

June 25, 2019, 12:56 am
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Source: Mod Bag


1921 - 1929 | MASKS BY ANDRE' PERUGIA
PART 2/3

1925 | ANDRE PERUGIA
EVENING SHOES AS SEEN IN VOGUE

1938 | HOTEL DU NORD
FEAT. ANDRE PERUGIA & ARLETTY

1950 | DELMAN
"TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY" GOLD SANDAL

1957 | SHARPENED SHOES
THE CYRANO LAST BY BETH & HERBERT LEVINE

1957 | JOSEPHI OF DELMAN
THE ROSE PETAL SANDAL

1961 | ALBION | FLORENCE
G-CLEF SANDAL

1967 | DAVID EVINS
FOR I.MILLER [HEELSTORY]

1967 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
CIRCLES OF SUEDE

INTRODUCING BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
PART 2


Source: Mod Bag

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1931 - 1949 | MELLY BY POMPEO RAVIZZA | PARABIAGO

July 2, 2019, 12:00 am
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1931 | MELLY by Pompeo Ravizza
Hand-made shoes | Parabiago [Milan]


The first trademark of the firm “POMPEO RAVIZZA” and the brand name Melly, was made on July,9, 1929 at the Regional Council of the Economy of Milan. The company was based in Parabiago, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 4 (now Piazza Maggiolini) and was specialized in the production of luxury and handmade women's footwear.

The shoe factory was among the sponsors of the magazine born in the Parabiago area "Il Modello della Calzatura" ("The Shoe Model"), where we found the first advertisement, published in 1931. In the Industrial Yearbook of Milan Province (1939) it was stated that it produced handmade welts and that the models were exported to England and Switzerland.




La prima registrazione della DITTA POMPEO RAVIZZA e del nome Melly, fu fatta il 9 luglio 1929 presso il Consiglio Regionale dell'Economia di Milano. La ditta aveva sede a Parabiago, in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele 4 (l’attuale Piazza Maggiolini) ed era dedicata alla produzione a mano di calzature di lusso da donna. 

Il calzaturificio fu tra gli sponsor della rivista nata nell'area di Parabiago "Il modello della Calzatura", nella quale abbiamo trovato la prima pubblicità, pubblicata nel 1931. Nell’Annuario industriale della Provincia di Milano del 1939 si specificava che era specializzata nella lavorazione del guardolo a mano e che i modelli venivano esportati in Inghilterra e Svizzera. 



1938 | MELLY by Pompeo Ravizza
Hand-made shoes | Parabiago [Milan]
Source: Uric magazine


Surviving the Second World War, in December 1946 the company had to register again its trademark at the Rome Chamber of Commerce. Then, in the 1960s the ownership of the company went from Pompeo to Pierina Ravizza. There is no further news of this shoe factory.


Sopravvissuta alla seconda guerra mondiale, nel dicembre 1946 l’azienda dovette nuovamente registrarsi presso la CAMERA DI COMMERCIO DI ROMA. Infine, negli anni ’60 la titolarità dell’impresa passò da Pompeo a Pierina Ravizza. Non si hanno altre notizie successive di questo calzaturificio.


1949 | MELLY by Pompeo Ravizza
Hand-made shoes | Parabiago [Milan]
Source: Ars Sutoria magazine

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1956 | DELMAN: THE CHANDELIER HEEL

July 5, 2019, 6:36 am
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1956 | Delman
The Chandelier Heel


CHANDELIER - Born to get many a backward glance ... a glittering "Chandelier Heel" on a black satin evening pump by Delman. Crystals dangle from a fine steel wire spiralling around a 1/4-inch steel column strategically placed under the heel to perfectly balance foot and carry body weight. Retail price is about $150. It can be made to order in fabric or leather. 
Lansing State Journal - October 21, 1956

A rare Delman Chandelier Heel is kept at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the museum's date (c. 1950s) can now be amended.



1956 | Delman
The Chandelier Heel




HEELSTORY




1956 | Delman
Source: The Atlanta Constitution - October 15, 1956


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1965 | DAVID EVINS | FROM THE BOTTOMS UP SERIES

July 9, 2019, 6:19 am
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1965 | David Evins
A model from the BOTTONS UP collection


David Evins's toast to the new season. He starts literally at the bottom of a new Miss Evins walking shoe of glove soft crushed calf by molding a sole of sueded leather as soft and flexible as a moccasin in strong color contrast. 
Source: Arizona Republic - February 15, 1965

The only known model from this series is kept at the Goldstein Museum of Design; the generic museum's date (1960-69) can now be amended.




1965 | David Evins at Woolf Brothers
Source: The Kansas City Times - August 18, 1965


1965 | David Evins
A model from the BOTTONS UP collection

1965 | David Evins
A model from the BOTTONS UP collection



DAVID EVINS
I N D E X



1965 | David Evins
A model from the BOTTONS UP collection

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1966 | DAVID EVINS | RED & GREEN SATIN SLIPPERS (NOT MADE FOR AVA GARDNER)

July 12, 2019, 12:29 am
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1966 | David Evins
Buckled satin slippers (detail)
Source: San Francisco Examiner - August 24, 1966



"Never were fashion and footwear so dependant on each other. Take the new party pants and at-home things. They're either extravagantly elaborate or extravagantly amusing"

He (Lee Evins) displayed the perfect shoe answer for either category: a pair of backless pumps with enormous round jewelled buckles one shoe red, the other go-ahead green.

David Evins' brother Lee interviewed by Fashion Editor Mary Stanyan
San Francisco Examiner - August 24, 1966



1966 | David Evins
Red & green buckled satin slippers
Source: "Shoes" (Workman Publishing, 1996)

1966 | David Evins
Satin slipper



SO, WHAT ABOUT AVA GARDNER?

Both Linda O'Keffe's book "Shoes" and The Museum At FIT states that this slipper was made for the famed actress although with different dates: 1955 the former and 1960 the latter.

Most probably they were both mistaken by a 1989 press photo that collected four shoes supposedly made for as many celebrities: Liz Taylor, Lena Horne, Ava Gardner and Judy Garland (clockwise from top of the below photo).



1989 Press photo | David Evins shoes
Photograph: Buster Dean
Source: Historic Images


And while all of them were certified Evins customers, for at least three shoes out of four we can prove they were part of an ordinary Evins collection. Lee Evins' statement on top is proof of that; also, take the photograph here below: the lady assisted by Lee Evins doesn't look like Ava Gardner, does she?
Case closed.



1966 | Lee Evins at I. Magnin shoe salon
Right below corner: buckled satin slippers
Source: San Francisco Examiner - August 24, 1966


DAVID EVINS



1996 | David Evins
No Ava Gardner, no 1955: is "Stop & Go" at least correct?
Source: "Shoes" (Workman Publishing, 1996)

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1965 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | BUCKLES, BUCKLES AND MORE BUCKLES

July 16, 2019, 6:22 am
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1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Buckles In Vogue
Source: The Tennessean (Nashville) September 15, 1966


1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Unnamed buckled pump (detail)
Source: eBay

1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Unnamed buckled pump
Source: eBay

1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Unnamed buckled pump
Source: Vintage Divine


The Houland-Swanson ad here below (August 1965) shows on top the model TRACERY SQUARE, our unnamed buckled pump, another pump with brass horseshoe trim ("Lucky Me silhouette) and finally another pump that remains at large. For now.



1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Buckles & Bows
Source: The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) - August 8, 1965


1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Pump with horseshoe brass trim
Source: eBay

1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Pump with horseshoe brass trim (Detail)
Source: eBay


BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES
I N D E X


1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Pump with horseshoe brass trim (LUCKY ME silhouette)
Source: The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana) - August 15, 1965

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1954 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | THE CIRCLES

July 18, 2019, 11:21 pm
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1954 | Beth & Herbert Levine
"The Circles", stay-on mule 


HERBERT LEVINE, famous for the stay-on magnet insole. "The Circles" in black or navy suede, 27,95 Gold reptile 29,95.

Source: Detroit Free Press
September 12, 1954


The MAGNET insole was Levine's own take of Maxwell Sachs' spring-o-lator. The Levines were the first to experiment Maxwell's invention (as seen in LIFE magazine May 24, 1954) but were not granted exclusive rights for its use. 

The model "The Circles" (above) is kept at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and its record date (c.1950) can now be amended.



1954 | Beth & Herbert Levine
"The Circles", stay-on mule (detail)
Source: Detroit Free Press - September 12, 1954

1954 | Beth & Herbert Levine
"The Circles", stay-on mule 

1954 | Beth & Herbert Levine
"The Circles" with other heavy hitters of the footwear industry
Source: Detroit Free Press - September 12, 1954



BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES




1954 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The Stay-On Shoe
Photographs: Gjon Mili
Source: LIFE magazine - May 24, 1954

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1968 | DAVID EVINS | THE SANDAL 'SERPENTINE'

July 23, 2019, 8:54 am
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1969 | David Evins
The "Serpentine" sandal
Source: The Herald Statesman (Yonkers, NY) - March 10, 1969


"SERPENTINE" - The rose moire high-rising sandal with scroll beading in crystal and rhinestones is from the "ultra pants-oriented" collection by David Evins. At Mr. Jay, 237 Millburn Avenue - Millburn, N.J. 
Source: The Item (of Millburn And Short Hills) - May 15, 1969


The "Serpentine" sandal was actually showcased at the end of 1968 and here below you can see Mr. Evins proudly holding the model.



Precisely
1968 | David Evins holding the "Serpentine"
Source: News Journal (Mansfield, Ohio) - October 17, 1968

1969 | David Evins
The "Serpentine" sandal
Source: Detroit Free Press - January 16, 1969



FOOTNOTE

Starting from 1989 it's been said that the "Serpentine" sandal (never referred as such) was made in 1962 for singer/actress/activist Lena Horne. First it was a 1989 calamitous press photo and picked up the same year by the book "Shoes: Fashion And Fantasy" by Colin McDowell. Others followed suit, like the ubiquitous "Shoes" by Linda O'Keeffe, and of course countless web sites. 

McDowell text, next to the picture here below, highlighted that footwear - especially made for stars and celebrities - must match their strong personalities and because of that, celebrities can be shod in footwear that the ordinary woman won't dare to touch.

So, although we are a bit late to tell you Mr. McDowell, this "Lena Horne sandal" wasn't made for Lena Horne (hats off) but for the ordinary woman like me and that I'm very willing to try it if only I could find a pair. Kind regards.



DAVID EVINS
I N D E X


1968 | The "Serpentine" sandal
As seen in "Shoes" by Colin McDowell (1989)
No 1962, no Lena Horne: it must be clear now.

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1960 | DAVID EVINS | LOW CUT SHELL PUMP

July 26, 2019, 5:11 am
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1960 | David Evins
Low cut shell pump | Multi-colored fabric, multi-coloured rhinestones


Fall's new directions are delicately pointed, gracefully slimmed down and proportioned. The arrow toe, the elongated slender toe, the low cut shell. 
Orlando Evening Star - October 5, 1960

The above description fits the Evins shoe as well as others featured in the advertisement here below, yet the Evins silhouette is unmistakable.

It is part of the great collection of The Goldstein Museum of Design. The museum offers no date so we kindly provide one that is reliable.




1960 | David Evins
Low cut shell pump
Source: Orlando Evening Star - October 5, 1960


1960 | David Evins
Low cut shell pump | Multi-colored fabric, multi-coloured rhinestones

1960 | David Evins
Low cut shell pump | Multi-colored fabric, multi-coloured rhinestones



DAVID EVINS
I N D E X



1960 | David Evins
Low cut shell pump | Multi-colored fabric, multi-coloured rhinestones

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1961 | DAVID EVINS | SANDAL WITH CRISS-CROSS JEWELLED STRAPS

August 8, 2019, 1:45 am
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1961 | David Evins
Sandal with criss-cross jewelled straps
Source: press photo *


... you may custom order the shoe of your choice in any fabric or leather, and trimmed to your liking. For instance, the shoe pictured here is peau de soie trimmed with fake jewels. If you'd like it plain or in brocade that's the way our Dave will make it for you. It's as easy as that, and fun too. 
Source: Democrat And Chronicle (Rochester, New York)
October 31, 1961

Either plain or trimmed with jewels or whatever, it would be nice to see an actual model but, as it is, no such luck. The closest thing would be the ad here below, probably from the same collection.




1961 | David Evins
Sandal with criss-cross jewelled straps
Source: Democrat And Chronicle (Rochester, New York) October 31, 1961


DAVID EVINS
I N D E X




1961 | David Evins
Fancy Footwork
Source: The Boston Globe - October 17, 1961


* Photo credits of the press photo lost in a HD crash. 

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1961 | PIERO MANZONI | FRANCO ANGELI'S RIGHT SHOE

September 16, 2019, 1:46 am
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1961 | Piero Manzoni
Franco Angeli's Right Shoe (private collection, Como)
Source: Italia Pop catalog, 2016

1961 | Piero Manzoni
Franco Angeli's Right Shoe (private collection, Como)
Source: Italia Pop catalog, 2016



PIERO MANZONI
1961 | MAGISK SOKKEL NO. 2

FOOTWEAR & ART
1832 - 2013




1961 | Piero Manzoni
Franco Angeli's Right Shoe (private collection, Como)
Source: Italia Pop catalog, 2016

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JAMES CRUMLEY: NEW JERSEY GUYS SHOULDN'T WEAR COWBOY BOOTS

September 23, 2019, 9:08 am
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I sit here (at the Depot) in this chair and watch people walk past, and look at their shoes. I never write about shoes, but shoes help create character. 

James Crumley








“... she liked to play the gangster’s daughter, but her father was a famous Butte tailor - she sported black jeans, a white cowboy shirt, red boots that matched her mouth, and an attitude as sharp and sparking as a straight razor.”

James Crumley
From: “The Right Madness” (Viking Hardcover, 2005)








“His banker’s Stetson had never seen sweat, his beady eyes hadn’t seen his oversized belt buckle beneath his gut in years, and his exotic boots squeaked like endangered species on his dainty feet.”

James Crumley
From: “The Right Madness” (Viking Hardcover, 2005)








“Once we had drinks in hand and perched on stools at the breakfast bar, Cathy sighed, then said, “Austin in the seventies. What a fucking circus. It was like Hollywood with cowboy boots. Or maybe, what we thought Hollywood was like."

James Crumley
From: “The Final Country” (2001)








“I told him the beers were on me. He said thanks, then walked out of the bar, still unsteady on his new cowboy boots.

“Guys from New Jersey shouldn’t wear cowboy boots,” Lalo said as he brought me a fresh beer.

“Well, mi amigo,” I said raising the glass, “I think my days of cowboy boots are over. A man in my condition could fall off them high heels and hurt myself.”

James Crumley
From: “The Final Country” (2001)



FOOTWEAR
A N D
BOOKS



1939 - 2008 | James Crumley
Photograph: Lee Nye


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NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOE BUSINESS | PART 1

October 8, 2019, 8:11 am
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This is what Tchaikowwsky says in one of his letters: "Since I began to compose I have made it my object to be, in my craft, what the most illustrious masters were in theirs; that is to say, I wanted to be, like them, an artisan, just as a shoemaker is .... (They) composed their immortal works exactly as a shoemaker makes shoes; that is to say, day in, day out, and for the most part to order."

Igor Stravinsky
From: An Autobiography (Simon & Schuster, 1936)


1954 | Shoe Business
Photograph: Kees Pot


I got the job because Dad had procured for the top boss his position at the Continental Shoemakers branch. (This was still before the poker game and the decline and fall of “Big Daddy.”) Of course the bosses were anxious to find an excuse to get me out. They put me to the most tedious and arduous jobs. I had to dust off hundreds of shoes in the sample rooms every morning; then I had to spend several hours typing out factory orders.
 
Digits, nothing but digits! About four in the afternoon, I was dispatched to the establishment of our main client, J. C. Penney, with great packing cases of shoes for their acceptance or rejection. The cases “were so heavy that it was a strain to lift them: I could carry them only half a block before having to set them down to catch my breath.

Tennessee Williams
From: “Memoirs.” (Doubleday Books, 1975)



1963 | Who's minding the store?
Jerry Lewis | best shoe salesman in the history of celluloid shoe salesmen
Source: La Madraza


“Concentrate on shoe stores. Did you girls ever use a restroom in a shoe store?"

"I asked once," Aileen said, "but they said it was for employees only."

"You know why they said that? It's because the rest rooms in shoe stores are the dirtiest johns in the entire United States. Shoe salesmen, wearing suits and ties, think they're too good to clean up their john, so they let it go to hell. You can get two hours' work, or six bucks, for every shoe-shop john you clean. They're filthy."

Charles Willeford. 
From: “New Hope For The Dead” (St. Martin's Press, 1985)




1972/2007 | Hank Willis Thomas



“What do you do?” Michael asks Sam.

“I’m a shoe salesman.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

“You didn’t ask me what I did for fun. You asked me what my job was.”

“What do you do for fun?” Michael asks.

“Listen to Tammy Wynette records,” Sam says.”

… 

“How come you wanted to be a shoe salesman?” Michael asks him in the car.

“Are you out of your mind?” Sam says. “I didn’t want to be a shoe salesman.”

Ann Beattie
From: Fancy Flights (1974, part of “The New Yorker Stories” - Scribner, 2010)



1951 | Naturalizer | ad detail
Source: LIFE magazine


"There was a generation of [75-year-old] women in my area ... who had [a] toe cut off to fit into the tight tight pumps," said Clooney. "So every time you'd see those women coming in, you'd be like [points to the other side of the room]'You take that lady. I am not going near that."

George Clooney
Source: moviefone (2012 - Not available anymore)



NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOE BUSINESS
PART 2


1941 | Young Female Terror
Source: LIFE magazine


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NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOE BUSINESS | PART 2

October 15, 2019, 2:00 am
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Next, we went to work with my aunt, who had a shoe factory. We had to work with gallons of glue, and a lot of the workers were addicted to sniffing it. They would sniff that shit and be high for hours, so we did it too, and we got high as fuck. Imagine me at 12 years old, sniffing glue and making shoes, out of my fucking mind. 

It’s a weird high, man: I’ve never really experienced anything like it since. It’s a little bit like being on acid—you hallucinate and you hear voices. At one point I remember I sniffed so much glue that I saw my dad. I saw him standing at the door in front of me, and I freaked out. He was pissed at me: it was very serious, and I saw it as a sign of him saying, ‘Cut that shit out or you’re going to die.’

Max Cavalera
From: My Bloody Roots (Jawbone Press, 2014)



1957 | Richard Clark representing Sbicca Of California
Source: LIFE magazine (February 25, 1957)


This prompted a family meeting in which Mum, Pop and Pat decreed that I should now ‘get a proper job’. So I went to the Royal Arsenal Co-op Society warehouse in Woolwich, where I got a job packing and loading shoes from seven ’til five, with the option of doing an hour-and-a-half’s overtime. This was great ’cos the manager would always clock off at five and we’d end up playing football in the yard and getting paid for it.

Ginger Baker
From: Hellraiser. The Autobiography Of The World's Greatest Drummer (Perseus Books Group, 2010)




Ca. 1924 | Master shoemaker
Photograph: August Sander
(The Master Craftsman from People of the Twentieth Century)
Source: MoMA


“Your career is important to me, Jack. And the reason your career is important to me is because it’s unique. If I wanted to be in the shoe business, eight million shoes all the same, I’d be in the shoe business. The business I’m in, this crazy mad business of show business, not shoe business, in which I thank God I’ve had a certain modicum of success, in this business, every new face, every new body, every new voice, every new talent that comes through that door is a separate and unique challenge, another opportunity for me to prove myself. 

Do you know what I mean, Jack?”

“I think so, sir,” Jack said. Today he wore brown loafers and tan chinos and a polo shirt with an alligator on it and an open, welcoming, guileless expression.”

Donald E. Westlake
From: Sacred Monster (Mysterious Press, 1989)




1940 | Master shoemaker
Photograph: August Sander
(The Master Craftsman from People of the Twentieth Century)
Source: MoMA


I finally found my home in a Red Wing store. But I couldn't wear work boots everywhere. Sometimes I needed sneakers and of course, dress shoes. This got a little tougher when there was a major shift in the world of shoe retailing that would frustate my life to this very day: the death of the professional shoe salesman.

The Toes Knows, Part Two

"He's liked, but he's not well liked"

Arthur Miller, Death Of A Salesman

Not true. I loved shoe salesman. Not the dispirited store clerks they have now, but actual shoe salesmen who knew their business.

Yes, I'm talking about real shoe men who knew shoes and feet that went in them with an expertise that rivalled that of NASA engineers.

Rick Garvia
From: The Road Gets Longer If I Stop (Lulu.com, 2013)



1930's | Shoe salesman


“A man makes a pair of shoes - the best - he expects nothing of it: he knows they will wear out: that’s the end of the good shoe, the good man. Any kind of a scribbler writes any kind of a poem and expects it to last forever. Yet the poems wear out, too—often faster than the shoes. I don’t know but in the long run almost as many shoes as poems last out the experience - we put the shoes into museums, we put the poems into books.”

Walt Whitman
From: “Walt Whitman Speaks” (Edited by Brenda Wineapple, Library Of America, 2019)



NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOE BUSINESS | PART 1
Igor Stravinsky, Tennessee Williams, Charles Willeford, George Clooney

FOOTWEAR & BOOKS
Shakespeare, John Fante, James Crumley, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Adams ...



1963 | Jerry Lewis | Who's minding the store?
We insist: the best shoe salesman in the history of celluloid shoe salesmen


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1953 | ROGER VIVIER - DELMAN - H.R. RAYNE: THE CORONATION SHOE

October 16, 2019, 11:59 pm
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The Coronation Shoe was a Delman shoe manufactured by H.R. Rayne and designed by Roger Vivier.

Let that sink in.


1953 | Roger Vivier | The Coronation Shoe
Source: Heavenly Soles (Cross River Press, 1989)


Over the years this piece of information felt by the wayside leaving the sole Vivier claiming fatherhood. Of course Delman acquired by Genesco - and slowly fading into oblivion - didn't help, but it is truly remarkable that H.R. Rayne forgot about it in spite of their role as Royal Family's supplier being prominently showcased on their website. 


Moreover, H.R. Rayne was the first name to be erased from the whole deal as we were able to retrace only two mentions: one in 1953, when Delman celebrated the joint venture with Dior, and another one in 1957, although, we are sure, more sources can be traced in the U.K.
The only book that touch upon the Delman - H.R. Rayne collaboration is Mary Trasko's "Heavenly Soles": the picture on top comes from page 68 and following is the original caption: 


"… design by Roger Vivier of the coronation shoes for Elisabeth II, 1953, created in association with English manufacturers Rayne. The gold kidskin sandal had a slight platform for comfort (since the Queen remained standing during the three-hour ceremony) and a heel studded with garnets. Pen and pencil on paper. (Roger Vivier, Paris)"



1953 | Roger Vivier
Le Soulier De La Reine
Source: hprints


This is the most famous shoe never seen when shod (cause the length of the gown) and even when not shod. No pictures are in existence of the Vivier's Coronation shoe, nor the original artefacts since they were not part of "The Queen's Coronation 1953" (Buckingham Palace, 27 July-29 September 2013). 

More than that, even serious historians doubted that Vivier designed the Coronation shoe:

In a recent discussion I had with Alexandra Kim, a former curator at Kensington Palace, Kim said: 
“...there are no surviving (coronation) shoes that they know of and no record of them being Vivier… it seems highly unlikely that the queen would wear the shoes of a French shoemaker for this event and I also think that she might have chosen more comfortable/practical shoes for an event which was long, with a heavy crown to worry about and shoes that wouldn’t be seen.” 


So, here goes the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth:

"I made the design here in my peaceful workshop after being inspired by the rose windows of Chartres and I sent it to London last December," he (Vivier) said. "The Queen accepted the design and I have made a unique pair of shoes which are at the same time light and strong to bear the strain of Coronation Day."

He said the model was to remain secret up to the Coronation next Tuesday so no other woman could copy it ahead of time and wear the same thing.

Robert Ahier
United Press Staff Correspondent | May 25, 1953



Chartres Cathedral | Detail
Photograp: Francesco Bandarin
Source: Unesco


It is understood that, as soon as Coronation Day was over, Herman Delman cashed in on the project:


"Delman is the creator of the gold kid slippers Queen Elisabeth wore on Coronation Day ... the new queen's slippers, with an open "rose-window" medallion edged with jewels on the toe and rubies in the slender heel, are being duplicated for sale in America this fall.

The Journal Herald | July 14, 1953



"Her majesty wears a size five, narrow", according to Herman Delman, head of Delman, Ltd., whose French salon made the shoes for Elisabeth.

The shoes cost the court nearly 20 guineas (slightly over $50) - but Delman hastens to add that next fall there will be copies available in all sizes for American women at less. About $49,75 he figures.

Arizona Republic | July 5, 1953



Delman's Coronation Shoe up for sale
In spite of the caption, the pair on the left is more likely "inspired by"
Source: Left - The Corpus Christi Caller Times | August 30, 1953
Source: Right - The Leader Post | June 4, 1953


Given all the above, we now have proof that Vivier designed the coronation shoe via Delman while the role of H.R. Rayne is certain but vague. We'll leave that to our friend Miss Rayne to further investigate.



Delman's Coronation Shoe up for sale
Source: The Leader Post | June 4, 1953



FOOTNOTES

Here things get interesting: in 2013, for the 60th Coronation Anniversary, the brand Roger Vivier (the man died in 1998) manufactured a Coronation Replica to celebrate the event and they failed to mention the original was made by another brand.


2012 | Roger Vivier
The Coronation Shoe REPLICA in Hong Kong (January 2013)
Source: LifeStyleAsia

On the other hand, Delman and H.R. Rayne said nothing, but Bally Of Switzerland went beyond outer limits:

Bally has created an exclusive exhibition in Australia and Singapore to commemorate the 2012 Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, showcasing two replica pairs of shoes worn by the Queen at her wedding and coronation. 

Selected from the Bally Shoe Museum’s treasures, these replicas of the shoes worn by HM Queen Elizabeth II for her 1947 wedding to His Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and her 1953 Royal Coronation will be on display for the first time in Australia and Singapore in selected Bally stores during August. 

The Queen’s wedding shoes, crafted from duchesse satin, and her Royal Coronation shoes, created with gold kidskin, will be on display exclusively at the Bally Queen Victoria Building Boutique in Sydney, from August 1-8, 2012. 

Source: Bally


Now: how silly is that? Actually Bally didn't say they made the coronation shoe but only the replica, only it bears no resemblance to the authentic Coronation shoe. 



The Coronation shoes according to Bally | Replica
Source: Bally

Replica of the shoes worn by HM Queen Elizabeth II for her 1953 Royal Coronation, displayed for the first time in Australia at Bally Queen Victoria Building Boutique in Sydney — at Queen Victoria Building. 
Source: Bally.


In the end, we're left here with the moral that marketing reigns supreme and makes a mock of footwear history along the way.

One final thought: how come at Kensington Palace there are no surviving Coronation shoes? Who is the one that - at a certain point - decided to throw them away? 

THAT would be nice to know.



1985 | Andy Warhol
From the Reigning Queens portfolio
Since 2012 part of the Royal Collection

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SHOEDOG {DEFINITION OF}

October 24, 2019, 2:53 am
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... I loved shoe salesmen. Not the dispirited store clerks they have now, but actual shoe salesmen who knew their business.

Yes, I'm talking about real shoe men who knew shoes and feet that went in them with an expertise that rivalled that of NASA engineers.

Rick Garvia
The Road Gets Longer If I Stop (Lulu.com, 2013)


1961 | Vero Cuoio ad detail (Genuine Leather)



That, in a nutshell, is the definition of a "shoe dog", also "shoe-dog" or "shoedog", any way you wanted it. 

The key things are the dedication and the expertise of the craft. The obsession, also. 

To further illustrate the term, take novelist George Pelecanos: back in 1994 he placed a shoedog in the novel of the same name:


“That skinny kid, at the store—”

“Antoine.”

“Yeah. He called you ‘Shoedog’. You gonna tell me now what that’s all about?”

“You might not understand, man. It’s about having some kind of direction in your life.”

“Try me.”

Randolph leaned over the table. “You ever see a dog, man, when he’s walkin’ across a bridge? Well, that dog, he doesn’t look left and he doesn’t look right. He keeps his head down, lookin’ at his paws makin’ a straight line, all the way. And the only thing he’s thinking about, the whole time, is gettin’ to the other side of that bridge.”

George P. Pelecanos
“Shoedog”. (Hachette, 1994)


Hope this is clear. If not - or even if it is - the novel "Shoedog" comes highly recommended. 



Hideous lettering and layout | Don't judge this book by the cover
George P. Pelecanos | Shoedog (Hachette, 1994)



More recently the term "shoedog" gained notoriety thanks to Nike's co-founder Phil Knight's memoir:

“Shoe dogs were people who devoted themselves wholly to the making, selling, buying, or designing of shoes. Lifers used the phrase cheerfully to describe other lifers, men and women who had toiled so long and hard in the shoe trade, they thought and talked about nothing else. It was an all-consuming mania, a recognizable psychological disorder, to care so much about insoles and outsoles, linings and welts, rivets and vamps.”

Phil Knight
From: “Shoe Dog” (Scribner 2016) 




Phil Knight
Shoe Dog (Scribner 2016)



We cannot say when the term came to life; we do know however that the oldest use of the word in novels (that we know of) comes from beloved/hated critic Leslie A. Fiedler in his short stories collection "Pull Down Vanity, And Other Stories".


“I am a shoe salesman, a shoe-dog my colleagues prefer to say, too frail and timorous to work ever in the great downtown stores, where each pants leg is creased to an ultimate sharpness, each skull, ferociously brushed and brilliantined, shines in the subdued light, and the quick crackle of conviction spreads from the insolent smile, the jaunty stride, noiseless on the thick carpeting."

Leslie A. Fiedler
From the short story "An Expense Of Spirit" off “Pull Down Vanity, And Other Stories”(J.B. Lippincott Company, 1962) 


The short story was first published by the magazine Partisan Review in January 1949 (available online at Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center); Fiedler also used "shoe dog" again in another story called "Nobody Ever Died from It" (1956), also collected in "Pull Down Vanity".

The author doesn't delves much into the word meaning, but the book highlights a few passages that shine a light into it. Maybe, he too, was a shoedog after all. [2]



1921 | I.Miller | Deluxe Shoes
Ad detail


BOVVER BOOTS
DEFINITION OF

SNEAKER PIMP
DEFINITION OF



FOOTNOTES

[1]

In November 2010, The New York Times run an article titled "American Speech: Lingo of the Shoe Salesman (1934)". It was taken from the archive of American Speech – “a quarterly of linguistic usage” published on behalf of the American Dialect Society.

It goes to a great length to explain terms such as "up", "McKay", "wrap-up", "chromo","compo", and so on; unfortunately when it comes to our term - at the very end of the article - we got a laconic explanation:


From what has been said in the foregoing paragraphs, it may have been noticed that the shoe salesman’s lot is not a happy one. This perhaps accounts for his name. In the lingo he is known as a shoe-dog.

American Speech - Vol. 9, No. 4 (Dec., 1934), pp. 283-286


Yes, perhaps. Or perhaps not. Shoe salesmen may not be very happy, but that it might apply to NASA engineers, runway models or X Factor judges. Especially X Factor judges, so it doesn't add up. Good thing is the date - 1934 -, so that we know "shoe dog" was already there. 



1957 | Sidney's David Jones' store
Feat. I.Miller shoes



[2]

Leslie A. Fiedler was indeed a shoedog:

“As mesmerized as he may have been by imaginative literature, Leslie got his earliest knowledge of the world through real-life experience. Like so many of his fellow Jewish intellectuals, who would later constitute a major force in twentieth-century American criticism, Leslie earned his first paychecks doing nonintellectual work. 

His Saturdays at the shoe store his uncle managed would begin at eight in the morning and last until he and his fellow workers had cleaned the place at eleven or eleven thirty at night.”

Mark Royden Winchell
From: “Too Good to Be True: The Life and Work Of Leslie Fiedler” (University Of Missouri Press, 2002) 



1967 | Ferragamo | ad detail
At Saks Fifth Avenue

[3]

Time to "wrap-up", but if you happen to know more about the word "shoedog", please let us know.



ca. 1911 | Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones
The Shoe Shop

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ERTÉ [ROMAIN DE TIRTOFF] FOR DELMAN SHOES

November 6, 2019, 11:41 pm
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“Erté’s own appearance might be taken for an illustration of his theory; physically small and slight with sensitive features, he looks, as a prominent motion picture figure remarked, ‘like a nice kid’.” ...

“Here Erté declared his fondness for distinctive footwear (he admits to over twenty pairs of shoes) in an unusual modification of the Deauville sandal. These oxfords had wing-tips and heels of soft calf which met low on the sides and extended up the eyelets. The remainder of the shoe was made of closely woven thin leather stripes of grayish glint. 

Daily News Record, 23 March, 1925
From: “Things I Remember” (Quadrangle, 1975)


1932 | Erté | shoe design
Source: “Things I Remember” (Quadrangle, 1975)


“My collaboration with Holeproof Hosiery lasted five years. This foray into the realms of advertising was soon followed by another, for Hermann Delman Shoes. Once again it was Henry Sell who put me in touch with Delman, a great friend of his. Along with the advertising, Delman asked me to do some shoe designs. In each of his shoe collections he wanted a series of special models of my design. Many of these are now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. 

Erté
From: “Things I Remember” (Quadrangle, 1975) 



1934 | ERTÉ [ROMAIN DE TIRTOFF] FOR DELMAN
Source: MET, NY


"My collaboration with Delman, which lasted until the outbreak of World War II, was resumed after the war. Delman and I got on very well. He was a pleasant, cheerful man who was fond of the good life. He usually came over to Paris accompanied by his charming girlfriend, who was descended from a line of American-Indian chiefs.”

Erté
From: “Things I Remember” (Quadrangle, 1975)


1938 | Herman B. Delman
Source: Detroit Free Press | March 27, 1938


The chronology at the end of the Erté autobiography reports collaborations with Delman from 1931 to 1939, but contrary to what stated above, nothing after WW2. All the Erté artworks available at the MET website are certified 1934, minus one, with dates on the back ranging from April to September 1934. 

However, we unearthed one small fact worth considering ...



Left: Delman footwear ad from the Orlando Evening Star | February 5, 1932
Right: Erté artwork at MET | September 3, 1934


The Delman advert on the left is from February 5, 1932, while the Erté artwork is dated September 3, 1934, which of course raise a few obvious questions that probably will remain unanswered.



More Erté drawings for Delman at

1974
ERTÉ [ROMAIN DE TIRTOFF]

1960
THE HEEL ACCORDING TO DELMAN

1832-2009





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BACK ON THE SADDLE SHOES | PART 1

April 9, 2021, 1:40 am
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White bucks and saddle shoes

That's what the kids all choose

Jeans and slacks of course

Oh, yes, they sure look boss

Getting ready to go steady

Are white bucks and saddle shoes

1958 | "White Bucks And Saddle Shoes" (excerpt)
Written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman



1943 | Washington, D.C. Saddle shoes are still popular at Woodrow Wilson High School
Photograph: Esther Bubley


It was a slow build-up since the beginning of the last century, but the first big break of the saddle shoes came with the well known LIFE magazine cover (June 7, 1937); after that, they went in and out of fashion pretty regularly. 



The Class Of 1937 At Sarah Lawrence College | Bronxville, N.Y.
Photograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt
LIFE magazine | June 7, 1937



THE COLLEGE GIRL HAS A STYLE ALL HER OWN

NEW YORK - On the campus, college girls from coast to coast like flared or pleated skirts, saddle shoes and short wool socks and sweaters. Sweaters and still more sweaters. For afternoon, dirndls in velvet and velveteen, and Tyrolean jumper frocks are their pets.

Marian Young
Rochester Times-Union | August 6, 1937



1938 | Norman Rockwell
Football Hero (The Letterman) | detail
Saturday Evening Post | Cover | November 19, 1938
Source: The Best Of N. Rockwell (Courage Books, 1988)


Rockwell is the definitive stamp of approval. He also featured saddle shoes in other prominent paintings like "Liberty Girl" (1943) or his "Triple Self Portrait" (1960). However, this fashion presented some issues.


SADDLE SHOE PROBLEM

As for footwear, you can't put down those saddle shoes that start out in September looking as saddle shoes should and end up in June with the complete disapproval of the dean and the entire faculty.

Most saddle shoe addicts are convinced that the comfort of their classroom footwear, the simplicity of depending on trusty old saddle shoes instead of having to bother with rubbers or overshoes, are reasons enough for tolerating the dirt and run down look of the campus footwear.

So if you must conform to the saddle shoe tradition, take along some white cleaner and try, once in a while anyway for the sake of the faculty who have to see your feet, to touch up the dirtier spots on those mistreated shoes.

The Times Record
Troy, N.Y | August 27, 1941



Girl In The Can
Year & photographer unknown
Source: Saddle Shoe Habitat


The beginning of the 40's saw the first signs of changing taste among teenagers.


NEW FASHIONS IN SHOES FOR "TEEN AGE GIRL"

Good-by, brown and white saddle shoe. Hello, shiny moccasins and oxfords.

Schoolgirls are bidding a fond farewell to their beloved, begrimed and be-autographed saddle shoes by government order forbidding the manufacture of two-tone shoes. But they are hailing with equal joy the new fad for well-shined play shoes of brown antique calf or alligator.

... "We're tired of sloppy saddle shoes", says one spokesman. "We want our feet to look neat now - just as neat as our clothes."

Dorothy Roe
The Binghamton Press | November 23, 1942



1960 | Saddle Shoes & Bobby Sox
Photograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Source: LIFE magazine | December 26, 1960



The very same photograph used for the LIFE cover above reappeared in an article titled "A Dull Moments Of Mad Fads" (December 1960):

This clamp of distant years, the late '30s, during which a man and a maid could view the moon as a thing rather than a place, also included:

… saddle shoes and bobby sox were thriving, and later the socks were to thicken into the cherished horse-bandage look …

Elliot Chaze
LIFE magazine December 26, 1960



BACK ON THE SADDLE SHOES | PART 2

BACK ON THE SADDLE SHOES | PART 3



1938 | Norman Rockwell
Football Hero (The Letterman) | Saturday Evening Post | Cover | November 19, 1938
Source: The Best Of N. Rockwell (Courage Books, 1988)

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