Beautiful but Brutal (Northampton Museum & Art Gallery) - Rosa Niewiara

Beautiful but Brutal 

When I first saw these dainty shoes my first thought was of a well looked after baby in an extremely wealthy family. I couldn't have been further from the truth. Although they are beautifully stitched and well made, they represent a much darker world of fashion and the pain women went through for their image. Foot binding is a Chinese tradition started in the 10th Century by the Han Chinese. They believed it opened up the way for a good marriage and a traditional lifestyle. It was fashion to them and in any culture, country or era there is a pressure to conform to what is on trend and what is popular. You were seen as higher in society by having bound feet and wearing a pair of these intricatly detailed slippers. 

 When young girls reached around 4-7 and their feet were roughly 7cm long they would have all their toes apart from the big one broken and wrapped tightly to prevent further growth. They were wrapped and unwrapped over the years with smaller slippers being put on until early adulthood. As you can imagine this would have been an incredibly painful process but the tradition and belief it would lead to a better life is what motivated Chinese women. The girls would make their own shoes to show their skill at stitching which appealed to future husbands. They made many different types such as these slippers, boots and even shoes with a Western theme. 

Shoes were made for occasions and also dependent on travel such as Chinese women visiting Western countries or being the wife of a diplomat. As you can imagine it was incredibly damaging to the feet and many had trouble walking and standing in later life. Once the feet were bound the process couldn't be reversed and their was much controversy surrounding the practice  Women became dependent on their husbands as day to day jobs were difficult to continue especially as a middle aged adult. It is unlike anything the Western culture had seen however was hard to ban due to what it represented to the Chinese. It was only a century ago that a ban was put in place to stop foot binding and it is not something that is continued in Chinese culture.


Looking at the slippers and understanding their story is a huge contrast as they are so delicate and beautiful yet hold a brutal and painful past. They caught my eye in the museum and I was intrigued to find out more about their history - wondering who wore them? Did it effect their mobility in later life? How long did it take to make a pair? And most importantly, did they find a doting husband which is what caused this tradition to be born?