Every Shoe Tells A Story

As an introduction into BA Fashion Marketing I visited Northampton Museum and Art Gallery along with my course members and tutors. The aim of the day was to get an insight into the history of shoes across the globe as well as the shoes that originated from Northampton.

The range of individual shoes present in the museum, right from the first ever shoe through to shoes worn today, I felt there was a key component that linked them all together. Each shoe had a story to tell. The shoes spoke of gender, ethnicity, profession, politics and religion. It was fascinating.

One of my favourite shoes from the museum were Queen Victorias wedding shoes from the 1840's. The shoes were made of white satin trimmed with bands of ribbon. The shoes also had ribbon ties fastened around the ankles which held the shoes in place. The size of the shoe was so tiny it was amazing to see. I feel the way in which the museum presented the wedding shoes spoke so much volume in itself portraying an important moment in British history. The Queens boot makers Gundry and Son had made the shoes for the special occasion.

Not only did the Northampton Museum reveal a great deal on British history and it's shoes but also how beauty was portrayed through footwear and the extremes people would go to wear the perfect shoe. The museum revealed an ancient practice called foot binding. The practice would seem cruel and painful however it was a very popular method of attracting a man as they found small feet very beautiful in a woman. The process of foot binding began at an early age (4-7). They would break every toe other then the big toe and the foot would then be wrapped with binding cloth. This custom was rich with tradition and it was believed to give the family of the daughter a higher social status. 

The wedding shoes and the Chinese foot binding portray beauty in very different ways. Both of them tell a story. A moment in British history and a custom and lifestyle of Chinese women.

The way in which footwear has changed over time is fascinating and the way in which the museum documented this was fantastic. It enabled me to see these changes chronologically giving me a better understanding of the footwear and from which decade. I found the visit to the museum was so helpful in giving an understanding of how designers today have been inspired from shoes of the past. It has also given me a better understanding of the development of shoes over a long period of time.

Northampton shoe gallery visit..

 Visiting the shoe collection at the Northampton Museum and art gallery was most definitely an unforgettable and enlightening experience. As I stepped into the footwear wonderland, groovy sounds of the 80’s and 90’s infiltrated my eardrums. Perhaps this was a tool to engage visitors into the time machine of shoes and based on my individual journey this was successful. In the first room, shoes were categorized based on their cultural association, reinforcing the fact that shoes do not just perform a simple function but also have the ability to capture a memory; acting as an indication of time. The displays varied from loud clumpy union jack decorated platforms from the 90’s to calm and classy court shoes from the 50’s. Bold, chunky platforms, that would now arguably be seen as ugly and ‘over the top’ in today’s fashion trends were hugely evident. Nevertheless, this represented the loud cultural attitude of the people of the glamorous and groovy era of the 60’s.

The most thought provoking display was the one which is dedicated to the colour of red. An assortment of footwear: thigh length boots, leather buckled, silky ballet slippers etc.. were presented. This was an intriguing element of the exhibition as it proves that even if a shoe is a different style or fabric; its connotations can still be similarly communicated if its colour is the same- E.g. an expression of passion. 

A particular shoe that was highly eye-capturing was the ‘Super elevated Gillie shoe, 1999’ designed by Vivian Westwood. Its noticeable height highly suggests some discomfort with the purpose of this creation testing women to think is looking attractive and standing out amongst the crowd really worth the pain?

In the second room visited, the shoes presented were not just restricted to the 20^th/21^st century. It was an honour to see early slipper type shoes from the period of Ancient Egypt, Rome and China. But with the practicality of protecting feet from the weather and rough ground taken care of, style was eventually introduced as the factor of trend became relevant to society. ‘The first shoe fashion’; a beautifully velveted blue craft embroidered with silver thread was 3-Dimensionally displayed in a golden frame. This form of presentation fulfilled its purpose of reinforcing the striking shoe’s unattainability.

The exhibitors provided clever and engaging forms of interaction.  There was an area to try on a range of funky shoes which was highly amusing. The allowance to wear but not having the opportunity to buy the shoes made the content of this display that much exclusive and precious. Also provided was a selection of shoe fabric samples to feel, another attempt to entice the audience’s senses. A distinct room in the gallery contained an interactive touch device which contained memories and stories of Northampton Shoemakers from the 19^th/20^th century with their voices playing in the background. In addition, there was a range of old shoe making machines which specialised in each stage of production. Possibly this was to remind visitors that shoes are not just a beautiful appearance but there is a high level of labour which goes into their manufacture. These general sounds from the distant past which reminded me of the World war times contributed to the exhibition’s historical value.

The centre area of the room was dedicated to the contributions that present and past Northampton inhabitants have given to the shoe industry; specific photographs of relevant participants alongside historic items such as certificates of recognition. The fact that this particular content was in the middle is possible a connotation of the significance that the shoe industry has contributed to the status of Northampton and Vice Versa.

This exhibition differentiates from others that I have seen as it focuses on one specific item in the fashion industry- the main reason for its unexceptionably.  It was a privilege to see so many beautiful creations in such a small space. Overall, my visit to the Northampton shoe gallery has increased my awareness of the footwear industry. It has also reminded me that as well as being an accessory with simpler forms e.g. protection and decoration, on the other hand such a simple item can be a highly appreciated form of personal expression, landmark of time and a tool of reminiscence.

Amber Smitham's Blog 

On the 2nd October, I attended a tour into the archives of the Museum and Art Gallery to research the vast shoe collection on display. To any individual interested in the history of footwear, this was the ultimate location to discover items from over the centuries and across the globe, ranging from brogues to military boots to elaborately decorated Wellington boots even to 1930s fetish footwear. 11,000 pairs of shoes are kept inside this establishment, all containing their own piece of history and where they originated from.

Overall however, despite analysing many pairs from different eras I found myself fascinated with the trend of the 1920’s and in particular this pair of Black High Heeled Diamante Shoes which you can view below. My reasons for this are due to the exuberance of elegance and class, as well as combining liveliness, optimism and freedom from conformity. The shoemakers focussed hugely on attention to detail and influenced throughout the decade, which fabrics ranging from silk to gilded to reptile skin to tan leather. This was evident in each pair I found amongst the collection, demonstrating the normality of this trend. Obviously this was because of the outfits shifting in design, with dresses shortening, revealing the shoe itself, therefore becoming a major fashion statement in this era as shoes could not just be hidden underneath a long gown but needed to be selected with much more deliberation and care. In addition, the dance craze boomed by 1924, thus the introduction of ‘Mary Janes’, T-bar and cross-over straps and the 2 inch heel height became mass manufactured and a popular fashion statement was initiated. 1925 also gave way to international influences with the Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris, which exhibited Greek, Asian and Egyptian motifs.

The component of this shoe that initially strikes me, however, is the jewelled heel, a very feminine, fun, and outgoing feature that would appear to have been worn for an upper-class party or evening event. It would have been the perfect height and with the heel also widening towards the bottom, plenty of support to dance in. It was also, to my surprise, a recurring trend as today’s fashion consists of this style. The second eye-catching element is the diamante buckle, highly fashionable in 1926 which stunningly stands out boldly against a classic black velvet fabric, which was actually a safe option to the bright, wild colours many women wore. Buckles were often known to be encrusted with semiprecious materials for instance pearls and sequins again to add the glamorous eye-catching effect. This was definitely a decade that sparked off the importance of adding that 'something special' to your outfit but ultimately allowed you to feel liberated from old fashion habits in order to express postivity in society.

Yes! Shoes!!!

                Yes! Shoes!!!

The Northampton museum of art and gallery is definitely a place to visit especially for the shoe fanatics. The showroom has a large large number of shoes for both sexes from each decade and its designer. The collection of shoes is over 10,000 to be precise 12,000. 

From the lot, the heel less shoe was the one that caught my eyes. Also known as the Lady Gaga's shoe today.

These heel less shoes has been around for some time now. Andre Perugia is said to be the founder  of these shoes.He made shoes for a famous designer known as Paul Poiret.

Perugia first experiment of these type of shoes was in 1937, it is an eye catcher. The shoe creates an illusion that the wearer is suspended in the mid air. The heel less shoe is also known as Trompe L'Oeil  or fool the eye shoes. A book he wrote "From Eve to Rita Hayworth" in which he said that the way to unveil a woman's personality was to study her feet. How amazing it is for a lady to walk in these shoes. This shoes tells you that fashion never fades it keeps coming back. Your feet does the talking on the runway and on the streets with these pair of shoes. 

The shoe tour was an amazing experience for me since I am a lover of shoes I did enjoy the tour and would recommend it to everyone just to have the experience of visiting the museum to view all the shoes from all over the world. You will never regret this experience.

The Red Ballet Shoes

Northampton's Museum and Art gallery was filled with many incredible shoes, however the shoes that really caught my eye had to be the red ballet shoes that were worn by Moira Shearer in the movie 'The Red Shoes'. It is known that 25 pairs of red ballet pointe shoes were made for the movie however the pair in the photo were never worn (hence why they are such great quality!) 

The ballet shoes really stuck out for me as I used to do ballet myself and it always amazed me how elegant dancers looked in pointe shoes and how they can dance on tip toes. 

Red is renown for many meanings - lust, danger, threat or possibly obsession? But these shoes had the meaning of danger as the shoes when worn take on a life of their own and in the movie, they lead Moira Shearer (who plays the character Vicky) to the edge of a balcony where she is pulled off and struck by a train. Once the shoes have been removed, she then dies.
Safe to say rather Moira than me having to spend the majority of the time in pointe shoes due to their crippling effect! However, if i could dance in those ballet shoes and look elegant then that would be a bonus.

 The shoes are in immaculate condition which makes them much more impressive and looks more expensive. Personally, i really like red shoes as i think they can add a dash of colour to an outfit if it was all black for example and it doesn't look cheap and tacky. Obviously the ballet shoes wouldn't be worn out in public, however the colour still draws attention to them and creates the storyline for the movie.

The Northampton museum and art gallery visit

Footwear fanatics pay attention, The Northampton museum and art gallery houses a world famous shoe collection, its is recognized nationally as a treasured and important collection playing homage to Northampton town 'cobbler town' being known for its shoe making history. The museum exhibits and celebrates that art of shoe making using fascinating interactive visual and interactive displays.

The museum showcases collections from a wide variety of cultures and era's, as well as iconic shoes and styles relating to films or performing. 
 The collections and gallery have the ability to engage and inspire every genre of audience that visits.From Queen Victoria's satin ribbon wedding shoes when she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in the Chapel Royal St. James. Also featured are the boots worn by Elton John himself in the 1975 Rock opera film 'Tommy' as well as classic shoes such as JuJu jellies who still produce the shoes in Northampton and have done for over 25 years now, which have recently become extremely popular in the media and on the high street in the summer months.

On the 19th of October I had the valuable opportunity to take a look around the museum and gallery and explore the gallery and archive, containing and excellent resource of factual information on shoe making and shoe traditions and generations. I enjoyed finding out about the different and unique shoes and exploring deeper into the stories behind them.

When looking round the museum's shoe collection several areas caught my eye, I particularly liked the 'Red alert' red shoes collection showcasing several different attractive red shoes, the stand really popped caught my eye, it presented several different iconic red shoe designs and displays the contrasts between different shoes and I noticed how the red can be used to create a certain mood depending on the style, material and purpose.

Education and entertaining, Northampton museum and art gallery preserves the fading art of shoe making inside it, It is undeniably worth a visit if you hold an interest in shoes, and its down to you to decide.....which shoe would you like to wear?

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery

                                                  

                               Northampton Museum and Art Gallery

Are you the person that really love shoes? Are you the person that would like to know more about different type of shoes past ? Northampton Museum and Art Galerry is the right place. As many people know Northampton has a great history for shoe manufacturing. People from all over the world visit this museum in order to see how many different shape,high, lenght  shoes can be.Thats why it is not surprising why there are so many good reviews about this place.

When you first walk inside you enter into a bright , sky color foyer with delicate white stairs and brown leather  armchairs . Walls are  decorated with great people such as Marilyn Monroe ,Mahatma Gandhi , William Rossi quotes.From there you can choose to go three ways...

Upstairs you can find a wonderful exibition from stone age to age when shoe manufacturing in Northampton was very popular.How rooms, shoe shops, clothing,tools looked like. On your way out you can try local poeple clothing from old times and take a picture with them as well.Going back down stairs , there is fascinating room with exibition of clothing, scooters from around 1960`s.At the same place there is gift shop where you can treat your self with tea or coffe and buy trifle to a friend or family.When you pass to another room , you feel like you traveled through time. 1960`s – 1990`s music makes you really feel into that times.Shoes from the film “The Red Shoes”,local person- Jeffrey West shoes, fetish collection and more.

The last but not least area is with shoes from  differnt parts ,centurys of the world. Memorable men`s and women`s shoe fetish collection. How in one`s own way there are unique. Great attraction for younger generation , they have a chance to try shoes from various places of the world.Also fascinating collection of removable heels with swarovski`s for posh ladys.Furthermore , people who have no clue how shoe making works , there is a seperate room with display of people working in fabrics photos and equipment which were used to make marvelous shoes in city of Nortampton.

To all the people that are intrested in fashion, shoes, history or is just curious to know more about shoe manufacturing history have a chance to come to Northampton Museum and Art Gallery to see them selves how amazing it is. 

Mock Croc's by Vivienne Westwood

Northampton Museum and art gallery famous for the largest collection of shoes and history of footwear is home to many incredible and outstanding pairs of shoes. Throughout various historical times and from several famous designers, the museum has kindly purchased many amazing pairs of shoes for our viewing. The pair that most caught my eye when looking through the collections was the “Super Elevated Ghillie Shoe”, Designed by Vivienne Westwood.  Known for her statement fashion and eccentric ideas these shoes are only one item in the many collections of hers that could be described as extravagant.

Next to the green mock crocodile super high heels is a quote from Vivienne Westwood herself “Slightly Uncomfortable footwear exaggerates the posture and forces people to question how they walk” and question how you will walk in these sky high heels is very true. The heel measures at 9 inches and the platform at the front is 4 inches even though the 4 inches at the front may offer some more support and the laces may help bring in some sturdiness our guess is that when wearing these shoes Vivienne’s idea of you questioning how you walk comes into play big time. Would you come up with a new method of trying to walk as normal in possible in them or just stick to how you walk in any other pair of platforms? As we can see these aren’t just any type of platforms there super elevated platforms.

Even the best of us struggle to walk in these super enhanced shoes when Naomi Campbell famously fell on the runway modelling this footwear in Paris 1993. It was the purple version of the one’s that we see in the museum but anyone who has seen the clip of her falling over our heart goes out to her and the shoes look more than impossible to walk in.  So if even iconic supermodels can’t walk in these shoes maybe it is safer that they stay on show in Northampton’s Museum and art gallery as we all don’t want to be falling over trying to walk in them. 

For all Shoes Lovers don't miss
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery 

Each one of us want to step out and make a change in life but we wont be able to do that without the right shoes, as Marilyn Monroe said “give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world”. A lot of people tried to make themselves a shoe print through wearing different types of foot wear in different trends which changes a lot through time depending on the life style and interests. 

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery has a huge collection of historical, modern and creative collections of different footwear. It’s an opportunity for shoes lovers to have a look and experience the trier section and try to put some heals on. 

It is a chance to visit the museum, which contain 12,000 amazing shoes from different types of brands and shoes makers around the world. It feels like fairy tells because each section have a story to talk about from a specific period of time.

No matter what you are wearing nothing can present your confidence and power like the red perfect shoes. It gives attention to your steps and shows that you can face the world. Who knows the mining of having red shoes in their wardrobe should visit the red shoes section. It shows the attraction with some sentences to describe the importance and the history of the colour when it related to foot wear. 

No pain no gain!! It’s the price of keep glamour and beauty. High heels made the ladies look prettier and gorgeous and its give a better figure. However, walking or dancing on those heals will be so hard but its not for females who want to show that they are on the trend at that period of time.

By: Maryam AL Khusaibi

The Northampton Museum and Art Gallery

The Northampton Museum and Art Gallery
As a lover of anything related to fashion I knew that the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery was going to be something that I was going to enjoy. Looking round the museum there were a hundreds of pairs of shoes from different eras including Queen Victoria’s wedding shoes. Out of all the shoes there was to view, there was one particular pair of shoes that caught my eye, they were a pair of blue silk carriage boots from 1885, with a fur lining and intricate stitching details.

 

 

These boots intrigued me so after going home I decided to do some more research on carriage boots and found that the boots would usually have slit down the middle for ease of access and to make it quicker for the wearer to slip their feet in. Theses boots are made from blue brocade silk, with silk ribbons that were used to tie the boots in place.

Boots like this would have been worn by a lady on a chilly evening whilst in a carriage on her way to or from a ball or dinner party. The beautiful evening shoes that she would have been wearing previously would have been replaced with a more practical yet equally as beautiful pair boots like these with a fur lining to keep her feet warm during her journey.

With the research I did I found that carriage boots would usually be would usually be quite simple with little to no embroidery, so these boots are unusual in the sense that they had embroidery on the toes and front of the boots. I found it intriguing how much work went into a pair of boots that would only be worn in a carriage that very few people would see. In times of no central heating I see how boots like this would be essential for women, and no woman would refuse the chance to buy another pair of shoes!

The Northampton museum and art gallery is definitely a place that I would revisit to see what new gem you can find. For any woman or man with an interest in fashion or shoes or want to gain some inspiration it’s a must have place to take a trip to and I can’t wait for my next visit.

Overview of the stores.

Have you ever wondered how old shoes looked? What fabric was used to make them? How heavy or light they where? Where they made for people with big feet or small? Which colours where used the most in the 19^th century? Well you can do that in Northampton’s Museum & Art Gallery shoe store tour.

 

 

 

The tour isn’t like any other tours. I have been into many museum tours, but this was different, and I was lucky to have the experience. First a guide told what types of shoes they have, how many, from which centuries, told me and the others in the tour a bit about the shoes. And then came the fun part. We were given white gloves and I had to wear them when I touched the shoes. Yes, in the shoe store you are allowed to touch shoes and look at them very closely. When I walked in the room where they keep all of the shoes I was surprised. The shoes weren’t displayed in shelves behind a glass door. They were in boxes in movable shelves. If I wanted to see shoes I had to rotate a handle to move the shelves just to get to the box I wanted to. Then I had to walk between the shelves and take the box of my choice. When the tour guide gave us the gloves she instructed us how we need to deal with the shoes. When you see a box you want you have to take it carefully not messing the order of the boxes. Then take the shoe out carefully and after you have looked at it you have to put it back exactly the way it was and where it was.

 

In the shoe store they have many various types of shoes from various years. They have a big collection of sneakers, Chinese shoes and every day shoes. It is very easy to find what you are looking for in the shoe store, because everything is much organised. The shoes are arranged by years and the labels of the years are on the shelves. Women’s shoes are in the boxes with red dots on them and the men’s are in the boxes with the blue dots. And on every box there is a description of the shoes that are inside the box. So you can now what type of shoes are in the box without even opening it.

 

 

I think everyone would enjoy the shoe store tour. Even if you don’t like shoes that much, or you are not interested in history, then just for the experience to wear the white gloves and being able to touch something in the museum, finally. I would definitely recommend the shoe store tour to everyone, because I had an amazing time and experience.

Museum Blog - Aaleyah Morris

The Super Elevated Ghillie Shoe!

I was extremely excited to start my course at the University of Northampton to do Fashion Marketing and I can honestly say the highlight of ‘welcome week’ for me was being able to attend the Northampton Museum and art Gallery. I knew it was a highly looked up to establishment and I could not wait to see it for myself and learn more about the fashion industry over the last few decades. I knew that the Museum would offer me so much to write about and picking one thing for me was extremely difficult as every item in the museum had such an interesting story behind it. I eventually decided that I was going to write about Vivienne Westwood and her unique idea of the ‘Super Elevated Ghillie’ shoe which she first designed in 1993 for her 'anglomania' collection.

 I decided to write about a Vivienne Westwood item as she is widely known for her different and abstract designs and whether you love or hate her or love to hate her it's no secret that Vivienne Westwood is one of the most respectable and worldwide known designers. She first designed the shoes shown in the picture on the left in 1999. I find the shoes incredibly interesting as they are known to be nearly impossible to walk in and extremely uncomfortable for wearing but yet models and designers still love to flaunt around in them. The same shoes of a different pattern (shown below) also made public headlines back in 1993 when Naomi Campbell took a stumble at a runway catwalk show, thus creating one of the most memorable fashion moments of the past.

 I have always had a keen interest in anything that Vivienne Westwood designs and although I would never be brave enough to pull off any of her creations myself I love being able to see how people interpret Westwood into their own individual style. One of the main things that attracted me to these Westwood shoes was the rarity of them, these shoes would definitely not been seen on somebody’s feet whilst they were walking down the high street and it just goes to show how wacky and uncommon her designs can be. I believe that most of Vivienne Westwood's designs are purely created to make a fashion statement and to get people talking about what she could be planning next which is why I think her designs are incredible to look at.

NORTHAMPTON MUSEAUM AND ART GALLERY

 

The art museum of Northampton is one of the famous in UK, and in the globe, as its renown of footwear. The museum include history of Northampton, history of shoes, and the factory, gallery of ancient footwear, and fashion shoes  which is in modern life , exhibition of Fine art, and fashion exhibition  of costume and vintage wear  back to 60’s and 70’s.

 

The museum has two floor, on the first floor is about history of Northampton, the life style ,and artitchure ,and how shoes shop are existed from that period of time .

 

The another section of first floor is exhibition of fine art, which has different artist who participate, the exhibition has painting of emotion  expression that’s mostly done by oil paintings ,others images and statues. also there is exhibition of exotic vintage accessories such as  cutlers

 

 

 

 

The ground floor has three main galleries, are footwear manufacture in Northampton ,it has machines , imagines of the factory ,The first shoe designers ,the second gallery have lots of variety of shoes ,from ancient to beauty symbol ,and old vintage to classic footwear such as the start of the heels ,and boots.

Fashion Gallery is all the fashion footwear ,and fancy ones that is full of glitter, and exaggerated shapes ,heels .Moreover tend to be the futuristic contemporary shoes.

Stars shoes there is collocation of stars singer [mAB1] ,that what there were on stage.

A zone of gallery that’s is for limited period of time ,and the one which is running now is about  vintage pieces of  clothes ,footwear ,and accessory that’s refers to 20^th century fashion of th 60’s,70’s ,and 80’s.

 

Eventually after having a tour of the museum ,there is area to do some shopping such as, shoe books ,and souvenir.

     

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 [mAB1]

 

 

 

 

Maadhad AL Busaidi(13428853)