Rundown of 30's & 40's Shoes

Vanessa · Aug 29, 2005

A companion thread to the hats . . .

MissQueenie · Aug 29, 2005

Woo!

I don't have much to contribute at the moment, but I'm glad you started this thread!!

~ Queenie

rubyredlocks · Aug 29, 2005

Dagnabit,my digicam was recently stolen!
I have a bit of a 40's shoe collection and could provide a few pics.As a size 51/2 narrow i do very well in the vintage shoe collecting department.It's not a huge collection,but it's growing.
Do they make weekend digicam's yet?

Lauren · Aug 30, 2005

Good idea!!

Here's a few sites that can help out:
Solemates: The Century of Shoes
The Impact of Machinery on Making Shoes
If the Shoe Fits: Collecting Vintage Footwear Be sure to check out the second page, because it has some great images.
A History of the Platform Shoe Cause they had em in the 30's and 40's too. Just ask our local pinups

Ladies shoes of the 1930's from the lovely Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild
Ladies shoes of the 1940's From the same
And there ya go!

decodoll · Aug 30, 2005

A thread after my own heart! I have a pretty good collection of 30's and 40's shoes started myself. I'm a 6 1/2-7 AAA, so I have a pretty easy time shopping for vintage shoes. A much easier time in fact then I ever had shopping for modern shoes! I'll have to take pictures of some of my favourites and post them when I get home tonight.

Kaela · Aug 30, 2005

shoes with pants!?

Hey, gals,
what recommendations can be made about 40s shoes with pants? What's something that I could wear with casual pants? i usually wear wedges, but I wanted something I could wear without looking too dressed up... what would a girl wear with pants to go peach picking? I think lots of shoes look funny with wide-leg pants, except for wedges.
I wear mary-janes with about everything, but I don't think that is very period correct, as far as shoes I'm lost. Does anyone know what these would have been popular for? It's more of a fifties deal, right? ..unless you're wearing junior style clothes, i guess.

decodoll · Aug 30, 2005

I wear lace up grannie style peep toe shoes with my wide-leg 40's style trousers. For dressy slim pants, I usually wear Audrey style flats and for more casual, I wear my keds.

rubyredlocks · Aug 30, 2005

Lace-up oxfords would be another choice,very similar.I also had a feminine version of a mans spectator style shoe that I use to wear.Got loads of compliments,even from non-vintage enthusiasts.

jitterbugdoll · Aug 30, 2005

Another good resource:
http://www.return2style.de/amishoef.htm

swinggal · Aug 30, 2005

40s saddle shoes are good too and I wear vintage wedgies with my slacks as well.

Lauren · Aug 30, 2005

decodoll said:
A thread after my own heart! I have a pretty good collection of 30's and 40's shoes started myself. I'm a 6 1/2-7 AAA, so I have a pretty easy time shopping for vintage shoes. A much easier time in fact then I ever had shopping for modern shoes!

I'm right with you on that! I wear about the same size, and I'm narrow, so getting vintage is a much better bet for me as well. Do you shop on Ebay, and if so what is your user ID? That way I'll make sure I'm not bidding against you for shoes!

Kaela · Aug 31, 2005

thanks, ladies!

Yes, I have a new pair of saddle shoes that I think would look keen with wide-leg trousers.
Keds are great because they're something casual that you can wear out, and they still make them just as they used to, so you know you've always got back-ups. I always get so worried about wearing something out, and it not existing anymore... it's historical blasphemy!
thanks for the ideas!

elsewhere · Aug 31, 2005

decodoll said:
A thread after my own heart! I have a pretty good collection of 30's and 40's shoes started myself. I'm a 6 1/2-7 AAA, so I have a pretty easy time shopping for vintage shoes. A much easier time in fact then I ever had shopping for modern shoes! I'll have to take pictures of some of my favourites and post them when I get home tonight.

Decodoll-- you are a vintage buyer I could love. Do you know how many of your size shoes I find but pass up? I'm sure the end up in landfills, too... but so few people WEAR your size that I just can't buy all the ones I see!
Tell me what sort you like and I'll make a point to pick them up for you, if you are in the market for more.
Now give me a good 9.5 M and I'm set to go!

Angelicious · Aug 31, 2005

I'm guessing the letters (AAA, M, etc.) refer to width?

NZ shoe sizing is pretty lazy; you're doing well if you find somewhere with half sizes, let alone different widths.

Anyway, what's an average shoe width, in terms of both contemporary feet, and vintage shoes? It sounds like vintage shoes are narrower than modern ones? How do US shoe sizes compare to NZ? It sounds the same, since I'm about a size 7, depending on the shoe.

I guess I have to be asking out of interest, since vintage shoes, like vintage everything, seems impossible to find round here.

CherryRed · Aug 31, 2005

I have no vintage shoes. :cry:
They are always so small. What is the comparison to shoe sizes now? If I wear and 8 or 8.5 modern what would that be in vintage??

rubyredlocks · Aug 31, 2005

For the keds fans,here's their heritage collection.There is a version of the shoes from the Aviator for women.
A cute pink pair.
http://www.keds.com/jump.jsp?itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=144

jitterbugdoll · Aug 31, 2005

have no vintage shoes.
They are always so small. What is the comparison to shoe sizes now? If I wear and 8 or 8.5 modern what would that be in vintage??

Shoe sizing is pretty much the same; however, what has changed is the width of shoes. Women had much narrower feet then, and so most shoes from the 1930s-40s tend to be very narrow (AA or AAA). I wear a 7.5-8B, and of the shoes I have that are marked, they tend to be the same in size (or I will fit an 8-8.5 narrow.)

The problem with my size and yours is that they are very common modern sizes--so, when vintage shoes (especially platforms and wedges) go up for sale on eBay, the price will often skyrocket. But do not despair, as I have a large collection of vintage shoes that I have accumulated over the last three years. They're out there!

CherryRed · Aug 31, 2005

Shoe sizing is pretty much the same; however, what has changed is the width of shoes. Women had much narrower feet then, and so most shoes from the 1930s-40s tend to be very narrow (AA or AAA). I wear a 7.5-8B, and of the shoes I have that are marked, they tend to be the same in size (or I will fit an 8-8.5 narrow.)

Thank you Jitterbugdoll. That helps. I was looking at some on ebay today and the measurement in length matched what I would need but the width was about half the size of my foot. I guess that's what comes from wearing sneakers most of your life! LOL

jitterbugdoll · Aug 31, 2005

I think it has to do with the type of shoes we now wear extensively (sneakers and flip flops) and also the fact that we are somewhat taller and heavier then women in the past.

When you looked at the listed measurements, did you measure the inside length and width of a well-fitting pair of your own heels? Sometimes the listed size is not the actual size of the shoe (or sometimes the seller guesstimates), and the measurements actually do match up to your own shoe size.

CherryRed · Sep 1, 2005

jitterbugdoll said:
When you looked at the listed measurements, did you measure the inside length and width of a well-fitting pair of your own heels? Sometimes the listed size is not the actual size of the shoe (or sometimes the seller guesstimates), and the measurements actually do match up to your own shoe size.

No I didn't, I was really just browsing. But when I am seriously shopping I will do that as a comparison. Thanks again!

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