It's been forever and a day that we've been working on these two mid-19th century shoes, but finally I have "Renoir" button boots, and "Tissot" slippers for you!
Both styles are accurate for the late 1850s to the 1880s. Both are developed directly from originals in my collection, and we've spent oodles of time shaping the heels, toes, and silhouettes of these two lovelies, to produce the prettiest little Victorian shoes we could.
Renoir
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| "Renoir" side-buttoning boots, late 1850s - 1880s |
The original for "Renoir" was actually a cotton side-buttoning boot in an ivory color with white buttons. We decided to go with dyeable leather for practicality, but used the original boot's pattern and heel to work from in developing a wearable, comfortable version.
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| The original "Renoir" boots in my collection |
Like
Tavistock, the Renoir boots are button-only, and require a
buttonhook to easily close. Like originals from this period, they have square toes lacking toe boxes/counters, which creates that unique mid-Vic shape.
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| A pair of leather button boots, 1860-1880, eBay (original auction is no longer listed) |
The Renoirs do *not* have an elastic gusset on the inside, and with a 6" shank, will fit above the ankle but below the calf muscle. The buttons are individually attached, so you can easily move them to fit your ankles perfectly.
Tissot
These little slippers are highly customizable with dyes and myriad
shoe clip designs. The original shoes were a paper-thin kid leather with rosettes on the vamp.
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| The Met, kid slippers with rosettes, 1860 - 79 |
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| The kid slipper in my collection - this one dates to the 1870s |
We've re-created the style in a wonderfully dyeable cotton designed to mimic kid (this was done in the period as well). The lining and sole are leather, the toe square, and the heel that iconic mid-19th-century "opera" heel molded from the original shoe.
Availability
The pre-order for *both* of these styles will start Monday, April 7th, 2014.
As always, we have to meet a minimum to make these two happen, so please consider pre-ordering, and helping to spread the word to other ladies who may be interested.
