Tags
18th century lifestyle, 18th century shoe buckles, 18th century shoes, Antique embroidery, antique paste jewelry, Ebay Finds, Georgian shoe buckles
French Casaquin c. 1790
Meg Andrews here
I started collecting 18th century shoe buckles last year…
Many from the Georgian time period 1714-1811. Anyone who has
read my blog for a while has probably noticed I love 18th century
ladie’s shoes…
c. 1772
Until the end of the 18th century, women’s shoes were made
of lovely silk and embroidered fabric. Perhaps that’s why I find
them so charming…and expensive…and fragile…
and why I focused instead on collecting their sturdy silver buckles
I focused on silver with paste stones…
In the 18th century, paste was by no means an inferior
product and both men and woman loved how they
added a little sparkle to the dance floor….
highlighting their perfect mincing footsteps…
Some buckles lose their prongs along the way…
the top and bottom buckles
have the similar shaped mechanism that I prefer…
It was customary at the time for silver buckles to
not be marked, but they were all tested chemically
by the sellers who vouched for their composition..
Of course I was most drawn to flowers and bows.
The only matched pair I have,
this set came backed by damask
and the seller included loose stones
so that I could restore them…
Probably my favorite…
It has a nice heft to it, a good mix of paste sizes and shapes
and I like the open design. A pin was added to the back to
turn this into a broach and I added the scrap of 18th
century fabric. It’s not the whole shoe but it’ll do….
Pastes were set into foil, which intensified the shine
They also often added a black dot to the bottom of the paste to give more
dimension to it and duplicate the look of diamonds…
Matched pairs with no missing stones command high prices,
but I’m content with my little ramshackle fleet…
The buckle with baguette shaped pastes is another favorite. I’m working on a storage
and display case, but I like collecting antique objects that can be picked up and examined.
It just gives another dimension to history to touch the every day objects that people
lived amongst, relied on, were proud of.
Photo from Marie Antoinette Style by Adrien Goetz
*
A great photo timeline of antique shoes here
A collection of my posts that feature antique shoes here
Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 18th century buckle collection here
Romance novelist Candice Hern’s gorgeous collection here
Wow, what a fascinating post! I adore the shoes, they are fabulous.
Leeann x
lovely as always. a real treat. thanks so much.
Hi Trish!
You have a wonderful collection! This was an interesting as well as pretty post…I enjoyed reading about the history of these fabulous little treasures. I have probably 6 or so of my own…and will try to round them up, display them together and give them a little more respect! Yours look so special here!
Take care, Laura
You always leve me fascinated by your post !!! You always have the best pieces , and I love your explanations. I would die to come over to your house and to look at your collection
What an unusual and delightful subject! I just loved it, What other cool stuff do have in that Little ol closet of yours???? Always a pleasure! Maryanne xo
I want you to know how much you have helped me and a group of young performers. I am doing the costumes for “Beauty and the Beast” for my youth theatre group, and as always I like to research the period of the play and teach the kids what the authentic style was, versus what they have always been exposed to. Your posts are absolutely stunning, and the most informative resource I have. I am sewing 100 costumes and they all are being informed by your photos. The kids are swooning when I bring in the lovely costumes to try on.Thank you from Youth @ Performing Arts in Oro Valley, Arizona. Joyce
Thank you so much for telling me this Joyce. It’s amazing what an obsessive personality and Google (or Bing) can accomplish! You are amazing…100 costumes!
I love the details and your descriptions. thanks again,
Joan
Thank you Joan…glad you dropped by!
Ramshackle fleet ~ my foot! What a fascinating collection you are assembling. Is it true that the shoes of this time were not crafted for left or right feet, but interchangeable? I was touring a museum in the Hudson Valley with period dressed docents and upon admiring one’s shoes was told how very uncomfortable they were for this reason. The buckles are indeed gorgeous and so is your photo styling. With your talent, I have no doubt you could fashion a wonderful display that could still be interactive. ~jermaine~
Hi Jermaine! Yes…I believe they started making shoes with left and right after 1820. Merci!
I love the way you learn a little bit about other peoples worlds by reading good blogs. Your world is a thing of beauty!
Isn’t it amazing what sneaks into our lives and steals our hearts? And, by the way, what goes on to influence others? Loved the comment about Joyce and how your blog has enhanced her costume design. Makes me smile!
Hi HBD…well, Joyce’s comment made my day, of course! It does intrigue me what things touch us and why. Reincarnation? Was I emptying the chamber pots and always wishing I could try on those pretty sparkly shoes? Of course I would have probably fared better during the revolution.
They are all so beautiful…a lovely collection!
annie
Hi Annie…thank you. I love your paperweight collection…and your shop here!
Oh Trish, what an exquisite display of what I think are the most beautiful vestiges of French fashion. And thank you for coming by to see my dedication to some wonderful friends and their beautiful artistic and cultural heritage!
Merci, Anita
Jag älskar älskar älskar din fantastiska blog, OR…. I love love love love your amazing blog!
Agneta, the swedish one
oh thank you for once again such an inspiring post! what a lovely collection you have!…I can just imagine the excitement when you find yet another buckle…lucky girl! Colette-Afrique du Sud
What gorgeous collection you are building! your photos and styling are so appealing…
congratulations for the awards, and I heartily agree on Serendipity Rising, one of my favorites too…I’ll check out the rest of your list
a bientot
Kit
Bonjour Hej Hello,
Love the buckles – and your blog too. Congratulations on your award. Well deserved.
xCharlotta