Because I've gotten so many questions about this- they aren't likely to be ballet shoes. That style is familiar to us because this is the era in which ballet slippers really develop and fossilize. So these are completely typical every day slippers for European and American women. Ballet slippers just kept this style around after we added heels back onto shoes in the 1850s and slowly changed styles! They are a wonderful example of how old fashions became something new. Likely they were worn for ball dancing or evening events, more so than heavy walking (although plenty of articles mention women wearing light slippers out and about causing bad health). It's not that they CAN'T be ballet slippers, it's that the odds are very against them. Hundreds of thousands of these were made for regular wear vs a very small number for ballet. And there's no wear that indicates any use other than walking (no toe wear etc).
@Kathywake23
Жыл бұрын
On a slightly different note, it would be fun to see you go to Freed in London and ralk with the pointe shoe makers.
@BlueDragonfly3
Жыл бұрын
I think they could still be for ballet; perhaps for class or a single performance. You mention no wear at the toe. I wonder if you are referring to the tip of the toe. During this era almost no one went on point as Marie Taglioni had just introduced it around the 1820's, so a flat slipper like this would not likely have been altered (darned and or padded) to go on pointe by most dancers.
@NicoleRudolph
Жыл бұрын
@@BlueDragonfly3 Oh, no, I meant the upper portion of the vamp. When you point your feet in ballet dance it's common to brush the top of your foot occasionally in drags. The type of ball dancing that was popular at this time stays more flat footed. All of my ballet slippers (non-pointe) would wear out in areas other than the sole, and these all have lots of wear only on the sole. Odds are just way against these being anything other than the most common shoes of the era.
@AnnabelleDrumm
Жыл бұрын
My guess is that they belonged to a travelling shoemaker providing different sizes for the client to try before making an order.
@traveljournal9928
Жыл бұрын
because early ballet slippers were just ballroom slippers we can't rule out they didn't do ballet in these shoes, but ballroom was probably more common. If they were ballet slippers, it probably was before they started shortening the toe and bringing in the arch (I'm a dancer not a shoe person sorry I don't have the vocabulary). But I agree that these were dance shoes.
@saraht855
Жыл бұрын
Alternative theory: shoes owned by one person who is so terrible at dancing they did in fact have 3 left feet
@gangoolie68
5 ай бұрын
😂😂😂
@KenZchameleon
Жыл бұрын
I love the idea that these were saved as mementos by friends or sisters. Once again, a lovely history lesson.
@raraavis7782
Жыл бұрын
That would be a lovely idea for some kind of mystery novel. Three almost identical left dancing shoes are found in some old lady's house upon her passing... what's the story behind them?
@ursulaoreilly3013
Жыл бұрын
Or they could have belonged to one person, who grew out of one size and purchased another etc. Or possible a one legged woman? Just a thought.
@terramarini6880
Жыл бұрын
Perhaps they belonged to one (still growing) young lady who had a signature color. Maybe she always wore out the right shoe and as indicated by the increase in size would get a new pair in her current size to match her existing wardrobe. She kept the remaining good shoe of each pair for the memories they held. This is fun!
@glitterberserker1029
Жыл бұрын
I love the idea that these were matching shoes for a trio of sisters. I could see my sisters and i buying the same shoes for some sort of event. Even know when I'm about to turn 30 my mom still gives us 3 versions of the same thing for Christmas all the time. Usually just the same sweater or blanket in different colors.
@angiebee2225
Жыл бұрын
I have two sisters and definitely got the same gift as one of my sisters, and sometimes both (age differences accounted for one sister not getting the same things as the younger sisters).
@NamiSparrow
Жыл бұрын
These shoes make me think of the twelve dancing princesses story! With shoes like these of COURSE they could wear through a pair after a night out 😅 IT FINALLY ALL MAKES SENSE
@katlover4442
Жыл бұрын
Ballerinas can kill off 1-2 (or more) pairs of pointe shoes during one performance, depending on how much time they are en pointe, technique used, etc… imagine having to be the person who has to order all of the shoes for companies like ABT, NYC, SFB, Joffrey, lol!!! 🩰
@ritageorge8748
Жыл бұрын
Oh my I'm in my 70's & do so love it when a person in any comment section brings out something that snaps a visual for me👍thanks
@ceciliadueppen
Жыл бұрын
Omg I'm glad you connected it, it never made sense to me that they would do so much dancing that their shoes would fall apart at the end of the night, but with such flimsy shoes it makes so much sense! It also kinda dates the story itself in a way
@thirza9508
Жыл бұрын
I study archaeology, and your thought process behind the dating, style, and the possible stories are somewhat similar to what is done with archaeological artefacts. I love how we look at objects and can tell so much about them, and imagine the stories of how they came to be and ended up where they end up. Totally fascinating, I would love more videos like this!
@aimeemorgado8715
Жыл бұрын
Isn’t the study of material culture more exciting when it is shared across disciplines!
@MrsBrit1
Жыл бұрын
The birth of the ballet slipper! Thank you, dancing shoes, for giving us ballet as we know it!
@caitis1091
Жыл бұрын
This makes me think of dancing schools or maybe a ladies finishing school, where they give you a list of required things that you have to buy from a certain shop. Maybe three sisters all went to the same school hence the identical shoes and probably nostalgia too?
@karenneill9109
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking they could have been purchased for an event such as a wedding. But I don’t think the whole ‘matching’ thing was fashionable at the time. The idea of a finishing or dancing school is very intriguing.
@abbydavis6015
Жыл бұрын
Oh my goodness I was so excited to see you make this video! I’ve dreamed of adding these to my collection for years now, even before I was really into antique shoes. While I’m not a fashion historian by any means, I’m almost certain these are 19th century ballet shoes or at the very least (based the the small bows at the top of the vamp) dance shoes inspired by ballet shoes. The only reason I believe they could be a copy of professional ballet shoes are because most examples of early ballet shoes (and even modern ones) do not have any decoration on the vamp as the audience would be too far away to see it. It would be a waste of time for shoemakers to add that little bow to something that breaks down and needs to be replaced with a new pair so frequently. Typically a bow is only seen on shoes inspired by ballet slippers because people mistake the elastic ties at the vamp as being for fashion over function. However, considering the stitching, the actual vamp elastic, the slight wear at the tips of the toes, and the fact that you can see and feel the imprint of the person who wore them, (not too mention the differences in the shapes of the vamps) it’s possible they are legitimate 19th century ballet slippers! Before the mid-18th century ballet shoes actually did have small heels on them, but Marie Camargo is noted as being the first ballet dancer to wear a flexible flat “slipper-like” shoe which allowed her to perform jumps and turns safely. Ballet dancers are also recorded as first being seen dancing en pointe in 1795 when Charles Didelot used cables to lift the dancers up onto their tiptoes. This quickly gained popularity with audiences, and the ability to dance en pointe without the use of cables was finally achieved by Marie Taglioni in the 19th century. Her shoes were noted as being a slightly modified version of Marie Camargo’s. They still did not offer any support for the dancer but they were made with a leather sole and satin fabric much like the ones in your video. Leaving her to use only the strength of her feet and ankles to lift her up en pointe for brief moments throughout her choreography. If these are indeed an example of the first “pointe shoes” that could also explain the shapes of the vamps and why they’re so narrow, as many dancer’s feet tend to compress when they pointe and/or stand up on their toes. It leads to us buying more narrow shoes as they’ll only be worn for a short period of time and the majority of that time will be spent with our foot in that compressed position. I’m sorry for nerding out a bit. As a professional ballet dancer and vintage lover, this video was such a joy to watch and I really hope you’re able to find more information on these!
@NicoleRudolph
Жыл бұрын
It's actually the other way around! Ballet developed so much during this time that they picked up the style of standard shoes and slowly modified and codified them. This style picked up in regular fashion starting in the 1810s and had minor changes until the 1850s. Everything about them is VERY typical for regular shoe construction during that time. But very functional! Hence ballet shoes haven't changed much from the every day shoes dancers first started wearing.
@annhartley8425
Жыл бұрын
I’ve seen examples of Regency shoes that look very much like these. The shoes used for dancing were so delicate that they were never worn to the ball, only at the ball, and women would have several pairs alike as they could wear out one or more pairs of shoes in an evening, depending on how much dancing they did. I suppose a young lady could measure the success of her evening by the number of shoes she ruined!
@misspeach3755
Жыл бұрын
@@annhartley8425 Makes sense. In German folklore, there is a fairytale from the 1800s called "Die zertanzten Schuhe" ("The Shoes that Were Danced to Pieces") - it's about twelve princesses who escape to a ball each night. In the morning, their father, the king, is left wondering why and how his girls' shoes always have holes in them. The shoes were probably of this type.
@annhartley8425
Жыл бұрын
@@misspeach3755 I remember that story, I know it as “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”.
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
The smallest of the shoes is in the smallest size you typically find adult women’s shoes in, so while the smaller two are definitely smaller than average, they’re not necessarily child-sized either, and the largest one is pretty average (the middle size in feminine styles tends to be around 38).
@999Giustina
Жыл бұрын
I'm the middle shoe size so definitely not that small! I'm a regular shoe size.
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
@@999Giustina 36 is the smallest shoe size you find on the “regular” shelves in the women’s section of a Norwegian shoe store, but there’s usually also a shelf with a smaller selection of size 35, and also size 42.
@angiebee2225
Жыл бұрын
@@ragnkja My half-Norwegian mother would appreciate the special section. She wears a US women's size 5 (which the internet tells me is a 35) and has trouble finding shoes in stores sometimes. On the other end of the spectrum, my dad's feet were too big to buy his shoes in most stores and we had to go to some special shoe store to get his shoes (internet tells me his size in European sizing would be 48.5/49).
@pcbassoon3892
Жыл бұрын
The biggest one is an American 7.5, which is small, but not absurdly small. I wear a 6.5 and it's usually the smallest, or close to the smallest, size stores carry, but not the smallest size made. So if the biggest is a 7.5, these are very small shoes, at least by American foot standards.
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
@@pcbassoon3892 While they’re all smaller than the average women’s shoe, the largest is only very slightly smaller, and only the smallest is just outside the standard range of sizes offered (it would be on the “size 35 and 42” shelf).
@Emma17456
Жыл бұрын
The research process you went through in this video, and the analysis of the shoes, is basically what we do in archaeology. I love the effort you put into your videos!
@nidomhnail2849
Жыл бұрын
Really enjoyed your analysis of the shoes. As the oldest of three sisters, your story fits. I have an alternate idea of how these shoes came about. I do not have any training in the history of theatre costumes, so your comments would be very informative. The shoes strike me as ones purchased and maintained by a theatre company. They are the same color but vary by size and use/age. My suggestion assumes that theatre companies at that time purchase the costumes and shoes for the dancers and actors. What are your thoughts?
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
This type of shoe is indeed what ballet dancers of the time would have worn (and the pointe shoes that appeared in the late 19th century are basically a stiffened and reinforced version of this), so that sounds very plausible to me. Two of the shoes are smaller than average but still just about in the adult size range, whereas the largest is pretty average for women’s shoes.
@seregiel9541
Жыл бұрын
This would have my guess as well. Or even if not the company itself, the troupe ordering them together.
@raraavis7782
Жыл бұрын
@@ragnkja You're spot on. I don't dare try to put a direkt link here, lest my comment gets deleted by KZitem...but if you google Emma Livry slippers You'll find an article about the history of ballet shoes with a picture of these exact same shoes, allegedly worn by dancer Emma Livry, circa 1860. Now I can't vouch for the correctness of the information, obviously. I'm not that deep into the subject. But I knew, these shoes looked familiar, right away.
@helenamizera3807
Жыл бұрын
That's what I thought too. My imagination goes further and I'm imagining a stage door Johnny collecting shoes from his conquests.
@kohakuaiko
Жыл бұрын
those shoes make me think of "twelve dancing princesses" as they look like they could easily be danced through in a very long night.
@grimnirnacht
Жыл бұрын
The theory of the sisters owning the shoes makes me think of that fairytale of the dancing sisters. They'd dance through their shoes in one night and the king was utterly perplexed
@theresaohalloranjohnson84
Жыл бұрын
Oh my gosh, I loved this. I loved your hypothesis, especially. Now I want to write a historical fiction based on the three pink silk shoes.
@adedow1333
Жыл бұрын
Do it! I'll read it!
@sarahgoldberg6614
Жыл бұрын
I worked in a shoe store for 15 years. The left shoe is the display shoe. People tend to grab the display shoe and walk around in it and if a shoe is out long enough it can show some wear and need some in-house reviving.
@megwilcox2878
Жыл бұрын
What a great find! Without including the unicorn - provenance - with the collection, the people who preserved these shoes left us to make up the story. I think you've done a good job of that. It was so much more common in the 19th c. for sisters to wear the same fabric, even the same style of dress, it would make sense that they'd need matching shoes. Likewise, the idea of the set being broken into two, one for each side makes sense. I was trying to understand why single-lasted shoes would be marked left or right, but it must be for future reference, when the shoes take on the shape of one foot or another in wear.
@dariaorme1282
Жыл бұрын
These three odd shoes ended up being surprisingly sweet! I definitely loved this video.
@julicorn2289
Жыл бұрын
I used to do baroom dancing. the shoes had suede soles but over time they get shiny from dirt and stuff, so we also had metal brushes to scrape off that shiny layer. Its fascinating how Dancers across the time and space has similar expiriences. Or just people in general.
@robintheparttimesewer6798
Жыл бұрын
I do enjoy getting a chance to look through antiques collections. I would love to have the time knowledge and room to collect for myself but this really works out so much better! I like your idea of how the left shoes ended up together. It's as good an explanation as anything else. Any time you want to explain well anything I'm here for it. Your videos are like a mini history class! The kind we didn't know was out there or interesting when we were in school!
@anieth
Жыл бұрын
I really appreciate the consistency of your videos. The filming is excellent, the research is the die for, and the way you structure the information is also clear and just amazing. Please keep up the good work.
@deanyaschempp
Жыл бұрын
Great video. When I first saw them, I thought they looked like fitting shoes, that would have been used to take orders. They could have been worn by a shoemaker's daughter, etc., when the new styles came out. She might have been forced to wear a couple of diff sizes and use the left for both feet.
@VanK782
Жыл бұрын
I would LOVE a video on how these shoes are made, their simplicity seems like it would make it easier to fully understand and if someone wants to get into shoe making this seems like a simple enough early project!
@cmhvalex5400
Жыл бұрын
I love your story about the sisters. The part of me that loves fairy tale endings pictures one of the sisters getting married and moving off far away, so they gave one set to the sister moving away and the other two kept the other set to share, as they stayed with/near each other. I mean, it could also be something tragic, like one of the sisters passed away, so the two remaining sisters split the pairs, but I like the first story better.
@kellybraun7048
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, a tragedy was my first thought, like it was the last event they went to together. I like the “moving far away” hypothesis better.
@sarahwatts7152
Жыл бұрын
I love the idea that these do come from sisters (I can't imagine them going to different households, plus it's not really common to see people collecting current shoes like this...well, unless they have a very particular affinity); I'm imagining one of the sisters as more of a Lydia type, on her feet all night, and the other two less inclined to dance
@marcellarensi131
Жыл бұрын
I like your family memento theory. It reminds me of what my cousin and I did with our great grandmother's sets of covered roasting pans and cast iron frying pans. There's absolutely nothing special about them except that they were hers. We split them up between us. He got the biggest and smallest cast iron frying pans and the middle-sized roasting pan. I got the big and the small roasting pan, and the mid-size frying pan. I think about her every time I use them.
@dianeluke1746
Жыл бұрын
These are what I always imagined Edwardian dancing slippers to look like. I know they are older than that but now I want to know if dancing slippers (like ball dancing) stayed the same despite changes in shoe and clothes fashion.
@vadalia3860
Жыл бұрын
I love your hypothesis, so sweet and human. People have always just been people.
@grinnellian2001
Жыл бұрын
Have you read Mrs Hurst Dancing? It's a series of watercolors showing daily life of a family in Delaware (I think) from around 1820. There is a great drawing showing the girls going to a party wearing boots and carrying their dance slippers over their shoulder. I'd be happy to send you a photo if you don't have the book.
@n3onstars
Жыл бұрын
I'm in the middle of reading The House of Salt and Sorrow (a horror/murder mystery based on the 12 Dancing Princesses) and these remind me so much of the fairy shoes (although those are leather) in color and design. ♥ What a lovely find!
@violetsprings470
Жыл бұрын
The antique shoes look better than I would have thought for the 1840's. Thanks for sharing!
@traceej4685
Жыл бұрын
I love seeing the shoes you have and up until joining your channel I never gave a second thought to the shoes of the past. Thank you for sharing your collections and your knowledge with us!
@MsSteelphoenix
Жыл бұрын
Fascinating, and also I think your hypothesis for how they're together is very likely. I'd add that the reason the difference in wear seen is perhaps that they were bought a year apart for each pair - perhaps for coming-out balls or similar, so the eldest sister wore hers most and the youngest the least. I'm eldest of three siblings and this happened with our ballet shoes. Relatedly, these remind me an awful lot of my ballet slippers - the linen inner/silk outer and the thin leather sole, very clear to see where they developed from!
@lynndragon2536
Жыл бұрын
you can see in these the history of what becomes modern ballet shoes, in the shape and construction which is kind of fun when you think about it
@KatherineYoung
Жыл бұрын
Those are so pretty! I now have antique shoes in my home and 100% was inspired by you to rescue them and display them.
@evewagand3374
Жыл бұрын
Regarding tiny stitches: I went to a turnshoe making class, and they said a boar bristle was used instead of a needle. The thread would go into the interior of the hollow bristle, secured with wax. This way the hole did not have to be thicker than the thread.
@fikanera838
Жыл бұрын
These are so adorable! Such a beautiful colour, & I love the idea of three sisters buying them together. Maybe one suster kept the right shoes & another the left ones, out of sentimentality for the memory of a season.
@Ella-iv1fk
Жыл бұрын
somewhere I have one tiny leather glove from the olden days, this gives me hope that maybe someone out there might value it for the story it tells them
@arwengrune
Жыл бұрын
I would LOVE to see you make a replica of these!
@sahpem4425
Жыл бұрын
They remind me of Anne’s (Anne of Green Gables) kid slippers or the many dancing scenes (although Georgian era) in Austen novels. It’s so nice to have an image for these scenes. I’ve imagined it many times. ❤
@bohemiansusan2897
Жыл бұрын
Narrow shoes are something I rarely see these days. Growing up, I could buy them easily. By the mid 80s it was just one width😢. Being narrow got me excited.
@gangoolie68
5 ай бұрын
As an ex ballet dancer- these definitely look like ballet flats to me. Maria Taglioni started wearing pointe shoes in 1830s. History talks about her specially made shoes. I suspect the 2nd number could be a customer number - or if made for a company - might be the number for each dancer. I know this goes against the second number - while mass produced, but the second number quickly shows which dancer prefers which. Alternatively the Second number is for the vamp style. Could also be the same dancer growing up into the longer worn pair with the smaller shoes worn less. If sisters, the. The eldest daughter danced the most.
@DipityS
Жыл бұрын
Well, that was fascinating . The whole video was so interesting, but when you boiled things down to how you think the shoes were purchased and worn and interacted with I was completely riveted.
@3frenchhens818
Жыл бұрын
Now I finally understand what all that wrap-around ribbon was for!
@anezkajandova76
Жыл бұрын
I have different idea about their story. They were purchased teather or dance company. They are made to look the same but fit different feet. I can see the girl dividing the loot when they get bought new shoes, trying them on and getting the best possible fit. Some sew in ribbon, some sew in elastic. Then trunk with like 20 pairs got forgotten and unused. Someone found it later enough, that they were curiosity and not usable shoes, so they took out just few of them to keep or show someone else.
@lydiarobb5174
Жыл бұрын
This was so interesting! Would love to see you talk through how you dated other shoes in your collection.
@aliceputt3133
Жыл бұрын
Totally dance shoes. Originally used during balls, but also used in ballet, often reinforced with ribbons sewn across the toes to stabilise the toe section. They were only ment to use once or twice before being discarded.
@evelyn_r
Жыл бұрын
Love it when you do videos about shoes, but I also wanted to mention that I love your hair and the way the light hits it ❤
@5minuterevolutionary493
Жыл бұрын
The use of implicit and explicit social history in your videos is really well done, and a needed process in the world generally, seeing the material culture through the lens of human exchange and meaning, rather than in purely utilitarian terms. Great great stuff, subscribed.
@farangarris2598
Жыл бұрын
I ĺove the simple style of these shoes. Thank you for this new lesson , Nichole
@janethagy8871
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Nicole! I love history and I love fashion so I look forward to your well-compiled and informative videos.
@momof2momof2
Жыл бұрын
This was very interesting ! Thanks for sharing 🥰💐🪷🌼🌞💗✝💖🇺🇲
@ruggaboo35
Жыл бұрын
I loved this video, so much little niche information that I never would have thought about. Thank you so much for sharing and I look for ward to the next one you end up doing about your collection!!!
@macdaiddavidson8051
Жыл бұрын
That was fascinating! Thank you it was very interesting to learn so much about them.
@jessimckenna2904
Жыл бұрын
I'm not an expert on historical dance shoes, but as a dancer, I can't help thinking these are ballet slippers. They are nearly the exact same construction we see now.
@maryinsky
Жыл бұрын
BTW, thanks, Nicole-lots of great clues you pointed out and historical detail. Your hypothesis makes sense. I have a similar pair in white satin, deaccessioned by a museum, probably 1830s, no size, so probably custom for a wedding? I use them to teach ballet history.
@elizabethmonsees3643
Жыл бұрын
Cool On first glance they remind me of ballet point shoes these may have been worn by someone who wasn’t on points or full points but made to look like them they look like slippers also but the soles are more reinforced with leather or suede than that of nighttime slippers. Thanks for sharing 💕😊
@dr.gwendolyncarter
Жыл бұрын
The second number may be the shoemaker ID number. Ballet pointe shoes have a stamp on them to denote who made the shoe.
@pandora881
Жыл бұрын
Samples for salesmen to carry and demonstrate to customers (stores, etc). The numbers on the sole are likely style #s, they’re each just slightly different.
@ybunnygurl
Жыл бұрын
I immediately know these are dance slippers! They could very well be ballet shoes but they could have also been slippers for dancing at balls because they were very similar in the 18th century for a good chunk of time One only has to look at fashion plates to know that the trendy shoe for balls was of this style.
@tiasara5967
Жыл бұрын
Pretty sure they were ball dance slippers for formal settings. Soles were not made larger than the foot as they are mostly today (except for fancy driving shoe styles). The fabric of the shoe would wrap around and under to hold foot on to sole.
@tinygypsyladycreations7265
Жыл бұрын
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing and yes please keep sharing!
@caribeads9772
Жыл бұрын
Yes please, more shoes and their stories!
@angryhistoryguy5657
Жыл бұрын
I love the amount of information you've gleaned from these! Speculation: maybe one of the sisters died young and the other two split the set between them to remember her?
@RobynCoburn
Жыл бұрын
Please keep doing shoe videos. Fascinating.
@jakecavendish3470
Жыл бұрын
They are dancing slippers from the 1840s (missing the ribbon for securing them). There are an identical pair in the collection of the Science Museum in London (belonging to Queen Victoria). I imagine the they are left over stock from a shop or a dancing school. It wasn't uncommon to have lots of pairs of these as they wore out fast but no idea why three left ones would survive if they belonged to one person. However from friends who do ballroom dancing I do know that you may take two pairs with you, one half a size up, as feet tend to swell after a night of dancing
@debidarling24
Жыл бұрын
They look like dance shoes. For high society. So beautiful. They look like they're a predecessor of a point shoe somehow... What a gorgeous colour. ❤
@CaliKiwi-
Жыл бұрын
Fabric was almost always repurposed in older times.. I would say the fabric and ribbons were from an old gown and perhaps made for children of that family for a special event, wedding or such..
@hayleybowen6106
Жыл бұрын
The biggest is most worn and the smallest is less worn because they'd have grown out of them and the biggest handed down consecutively , so worn twice as long, and 3 times as long , for the biggest size. Why only one of each survives is a mystery, but maybe much later on, someone, maybe a couple of shoe designers or makers decided to split them up to have an example of each style for reference, each. Maybe they split the cost of buying them from an antique shop. Who knows! Hope someone who has the other 3 sees this. Shame if they were thrown away. They are lovely!
@ariannedechateaumichel7777
Жыл бұрын
I love the story of the three sisters, and of course the thought process and knowledge that brought you to that point. But as a writer, I get the feeling that you might have just planted a story idea in my brain.
@lorettatollefson7010
Жыл бұрын
This was fascinating. Thank you!
@bonzwaygo
Жыл бұрын
i wonder if these were from a dance school? these seem like they might have been used in a production as they would have needed all the shoe colors to match but span a wide variety of sizes
@HumanCatfoodDispenser
Жыл бұрын
a thought on only having the lefts. I can't speak to everyone, but I definitely wear my shoes out unevenly based on my dominant side.
@heidiclarke2333
Жыл бұрын
If sisters had them that could be why the largest was most worn, as it passed down and all 3 wore the largest, I was always glad I was the oldest😅
@helenamizera3807
Жыл бұрын
I'm thinking that the smallest one would have the most wear in that situation. But it's unlikely that the family would keep buying the same color of shoes through the years, so maybe that isn't the solution.
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
@@helenamizera3807 When buying multiple sizes of the same garment for children, the smallest would see the least wear because it would only be worn by the smallest child, whereas the largest would be worn by all in turn as one child outgrew that size and their sibling grew into it.
@nelliebly6616
Жыл бұрын
@@helenamizera3807 if they also had a purple dress that got handed down fx
@nelliebly6616
Жыл бұрын
@@ragnkja the foot is not small for as long time as it is big/its final size...
@ragnkja
Жыл бұрын
@@nelliebly6616 That too, but my dad and uncle would get identical winter coats (apart from size) every couple of years growing up, and my uncle would then use the smaller coat one winter and the larger coat (previously my dad’s) the next winter, so naturally the one they both wore would show more wear than the one that only my uncle used.
@purplealice
Жыл бұрын
The construction of those shoes is similar to that of modern "pointe" shoes, except that pointe shoes have the toe area reinforced.
@VanK782
Жыл бұрын
I wonder if it's possible that one person bought the same pair three times, just a few weeks or months apart as they worn out? And that would explain the slight shifts in toe shape etc depending on the current popular style?
@beckstheimpatient4135
Жыл бұрын
I could probably wear those shoes! The middle one at least! I'm really curious how it'd fit me.
@laurajensen3446
Жыл бұрын
Is lilac a color for second mourning in this time period? If so, then the shoes might represent the first social event after a period of grief.
@Seal0626
Жыл бұрын
I find it fascinating/mildly disturbing that ballet shoes just have not changed since this era.
@RychaardRyder
Жыл бұрын
for the comments saying these shoes could have been bought for bridesmaids at a wedding, while on one hand the idea of completely buying a new outfit to be worn once was almost unheard of, these shoes could have been cheap enough due to mass manufacturing to keep as mementos and if the bridesmaids were sisters/relatives or very good friends there was a chance they could have worn matching coloured gowns that were made up for such an event but then worn over and over afterwards, families would often buy fabric in bulk/ by the bolts! i remember a photo of *SEVERAL* women all wearing almost the exact same fabric of dress except for things like brooches and other accessories since once you paid for the fabric, which today, and i imagine even more so back then, would be sold at a lower rate the more you buy, the labor of having a dress tailored would be very affordable in comparison.
@geneard639
Жыл бұрын
One hypothesis would be, there was a woman who put aside the left hand shoes because she only had need of a right hand shoe. Makes sense if they were found together.
@Emma-kf2kj
Жыл бұрын
I'm really curious about the slightly different toe shapes, vamp lengths and opening widths. I've maybe misunderstood your statement, but you said they'd cover a range of different styles in whatever the season's fashionable colour was. Makes sense. But these to me just look like the exact same style. Would they really qualify as a different style on such minuscule differences in toe shape? Like obviously I'm viewing this through a modern eye and maybe in the period the differences would be more obvious... but still. Is it not more likely that those differences are just due to low quality control in a mass manufacturing process, particularly one that relies on handmaking? I'm thinking of trying to buy a few versions of the same staple top in a high street shop today and finding them all to be frustratingly different... 😒 This is a fascinating video!
@c.f.3818
Жыл бұрын
I enjoyed this video bc I'm a history buff and its cool to see what shoes my ancestors would've wore. No Nikes then for sure.
@LottamaBunMom
Жыл бұрын
I would love to hear the story of how you acquired these and all the shoes in your collection. NOT the names of the person but just if they came from a family, store, hidden trunk in the attic, et.
@ande100
Жыл бұрын
I have come "a crossed" versus '*across*' What a clever way to reel in us left brains. Now my real right hemi is all yours!
@gray_mara
11 ай бұрын
A thought. Three sisters go to a ball, the first for the youngest. Shortly afterwards, one sister falls ill and dies. To remember their lost sister and the only ball they attended together, one surviving sister takes the three left shoes and the other sister takes the three right shoes. They go their separate paths in life, with a remembrance of the sister they loved and lost, and now no one remains who remembers them at all beyond three left lavender shoes in a collection.
@TheBonitajeffrey
Жыл бұрын
Is it possible the other number is the vamp of the shoe like a ballet shoe?
@TheBlueThread1983
11 ай бұрын
It’s the circumference of the ball of the foot!
@dinky..
Жыл бұрын
This is so so interesting!! Yes please!!!(in regard to sharing more😊) xxxx
@catherinecrawford2289
Жыл бұрын
Could they have been shop samples?
@toeslayer
Жыл бұрын
Thank you again for a delightfully informative video
@Bexinmo
Жыл бұрын
I wonder if the second number is the makers signature.
@devh6168
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking either three sisters, or perhaps part of a costumed production of some kind?
@oldskills
Жыл бұрын
I think the sole may have been sanded as the smooth leather can be quite treacherous.
@999Lumen
Жыл бұрын
Dear Nicole. I have just discovered your magnificent channel! Would you know the name of the beautiful piano piece you start your videos off with?
@shirleyporter9025
Жыл бұрын
They could be bridesmaids shoes, kept by the bride as a momento of the day, there is likely to be wear as with dancing and could explain the different sizes and different levels of wear....maybe we will never know.
@yvonneburns2786
Жыл бұрын
Its more lilely to be the last number for the specific clientele of the shoes.
@lyndabethcave3835
Жыл бұрын
I've been watching too many videos from The Pointe Shop because I took one look at the thumbnail and was like "they're vintage pointe shoes!".
@Foundingmother1
9 ай бұрын
These are dancing shoes, the ballerina , the first dancer to dance “on pointe” or on her toes simply darned shoes like these on the shanks allowing her to stay on point for a few seconds thereby appearing to float
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