Label for the exhibition Shoes Pleasure and Pain (2015-2016)
Not For Rainy Days
The soft, flat pumps favoured in the western world for the first half of the 19th century were not made for walking. The silk satin uppers and very thin soles limited women to the domestic sphere. The message that these flat shoes conveyed was that the wearer was wealthy enough to lead a largely domestic life and had no need of hard-wearing or comfortable shoes.
White flat slippers
About 1851
England
Silk satin and leather
V&A: T.272&A-1963 [2015-2016]