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.