Description:
Pair of women's indoor shoes, with a prominent upper and narrow sole. The shoes are constructed with slit vamps, and secure through silk ties laced through two pairs of holes on either side of the slits; two features that aid in a secure fit to the wearer's foot. The square toe and absence of any heel characterize many women's fashionble shoes from the 1820s-1840s. Much of the upper is visible, contributing to the dainty visual effect of the shoes with an almost non-existant sole. The sole is in fact present as a narrow, shaped thin one that would have provided a degree of flexibility for movement of the foot. This is enhanced by the uppers, made of thin tan moroccan leather; so thin that the twill weave lining inside creates a similar pattern on the leather, visible from the outside. Despite its flimsiness, leather was a more practical and sturdier choice than similar silk examples of the period. The shoes are not labeled, and may have been made either here in New England (outside Boston), or possibly imported from England.

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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2015.31

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