Shoes and boots are not boring for women today, and when you look back at the options fifty years ago, there were many bright and vibrant colors that made it possible to make some amazing examples.
Up until the late nineteen sixties, most film and photography was black and white. It has been hard to visualize the colour of this media. Sometimes, it feels like everything was in black-and-white. Modern computer software can even convert older film to colour.
Recent war photographs were made into color. The result was quite striking, with soldiers dressed in khaki and not a lighter black.
Other than the famous 1940s movie about the red pair of shoes, there is no way to hide that most shoes worn by men and women are black and brown. The rare white was used mostly for tennis courts or golf courses.
The white spats of gangsters in the Thirties were not uncommon, but they were frowned on by the gentry as being too quick for their good taste.
Grannies’ photos are a great reminder of the variety of shoes, particularly for women. It can be hard to forget how limited the options were back in the dark ages.
The best shoes look great in leather, which is why natural leather has not been changed for thousands of year. Invariably, leather has been used to make the earliest footwear discovered by archaeologists in different regions of civilisations.
With proper care, leather boots and shoes can be durable.
A good boot or shoe made of leather is difficult to over polish. You can achieve the “soldiers parade ground” boot with a high-quality shoe polish.
You can identify the suits of bankers that served in the army by their shine if you’re in London between Monday and Friday. The likelihood that the wearer has done army service will be increased by a well-polished cap.
There are so many options for boots and shoes available to women, and it can be a problem if they become too much of an obsession.
All of us know people who can’t pass by a shoe shop without going inside. Shoe shops may have a better chance of surviving than other retail outlets.
Shoes and boots for women are essential parts of a wardrobe. Yet, with so many options available what man needs to say to himself: I have nothing to match that new dress.