Friday, December 14, 2018

1965 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | THE MODEL TRACERY SQUARE

1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Source: Longview News Journal


SPRING JEWELS!

For your most fashionable occasion, the artistry of Herbert Levine is unequalled, unsurpassed! The exquisite beauty of his creations are matched only by their outstanding confort.

(The model) Tracery Square - a Herbert Levine masterpiece in Bone Tracery Calf with matching rhinestone square buckle. $40

Source: Longview News Journal
April 24, 1966



1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Source: Hot Shoes by Maureen Reilly/Collection of Gail Pocock
Erroneously dated circa 1959

1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Erroneously dated 1950-1959

MORE BUCKLED PUMPS
FROM THE SAME COLLECTION

BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES




1965 | Beth & Herbert Levine | detail
The model Tracery Square
Erroneously dated 1950-1959

Friday, December 7, 2018

1968 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | OUTER SPACE

1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle | January 19, 1968


TAKE A WHIRL THRU OUTER SPACE … DESIGNED BY HERBERT LEVINE

A free wheeling pump to put you in orbit and send you soaring southward! Luminescent champagne patent with its own transparent globe of the universe to steer by … comes in black beau de sole also. $42 the pair.

Herbert Levine at Packard Rellin
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle - Milwaukee | January 19, 1968



1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle | January 19, 1968

1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: YourNameHere

1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: YourNameHere

BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES
I N D E X



1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump | Detail
Source: YourNameHere

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

1973 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | CIRCLES OF SUEDE

1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal | Detail
Source: Abilene Reporter News



CIRCLES OF SUEDE HIGHLIGHT A MARVELOUS SLING PUMP BY HERBERT LEVINE.

An open toe sling pump with a new fashion twist. Done in beige suede with blue, mauve and beige suede circles on clear vinyl. $50

Herbert Levine ad
Abilene Reporter News | October 21, 1973


1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal



1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal

1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal
Source: Abilene Reporter News


BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
I N D E X 


FOOTNOTE: "CIRCLES OF" BEFORE HERBERT LEVINE
1951 | Delman
Carnival Dot Kid Sandal
Source: Chicago Tribune - December 27, 1951

1968 | Vaccari | Bologna
Circles Of Leather

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

NICOLAS GRECO | PARIS (BY WAY OF SICILY) | PART 4/4

1932 | Nicolas Greco
Evening sandal made in crêpe de chine. Light and dark blue, with golden details
Source: Vogue

Year Unknown | Nicolas Greco
Courtesy of Inge Specht-den Boer (Museum Conservator/Curator)

CA.1935 | Nicolas Greco

CA.1935 | Nicolas Greco

1935 | Nicolas Greco
Sandals in natural linen and brown kidskin; to wear with white line stockings
Source: Vogue

1935 | Nicolas Greco
Sandals in natural linen
Source: Vogue

1927 | Nicolas Greco
4 Rue Des Capucines, PARIS

1928 | Nicolas Greco
Paris, Nice, Cannes, Deauville, Biarritz


NICOLAS GRECO
PARIS (BY WAY OF SICILY)
| 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 |


1930 | Nicolas Greco
4 Rue Des Capucines, PARIS

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

1927 | BLANCHE MONTEL FOR ANDRE' PERUGIA & ALPINA


Rose Blanche Jeanne Montel, was born in 1902 in Tours, France.

She started her acting career when only 11 years old. She specialized in melodramas and comedies, appearing in more than forty theatrical works, thirty movies and nine short films. In 1943 she retired from the stage after her second divorce and started a new careeer as impresario for more than forty years. Blanche Montel died in Luzarches, Val d'Oise in 1998.

She was an appreciated actress, a very modern woman and a true sports passionate, who took part and won auto racings and swimming competitions.



1927 | Blanche Montel 
After winning a car race among artist women
Source: Le Sport Universel Illustré


Blanche Montel was also fashion addicted.

The photograph here below shows Mme Montel at a "driving & elegance competition" in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris. The André Perugia shoes she is wearing were featured the same year in Vogue France.



1929 | Blanche Montel | Driving and elegance competition in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris
Shoes by André Perugia
Source: Gettyimages

1929 | André Perugia shoes and matching handbag
Kidskin and Morocco leather 
Source: Vogue France


We can't say exactly when Blanche Montel became a Perugia customer. We know that in the early Twenties, she was a testimonial for the millinery house of Jane Blanchot and dressed by the Maison Béchoff; Béchoff was located in Faubourg Saint-Honoré nr. 9,  literally next door to Perugia's Saint-Honoré nr. 11.

A professional collaboration with André Perugia started in the mid-Twenties. In 1927 she posed for a Perugia advertising campaign and doubled the effect with a campaign for Alpina, the tannery used by Perugia himself.



1927 | Blanche Montel for André Perugia
Source: La Revue de la Femme


Fashion journalists quite often reviewed the costumes of the actresses, quoting the designers, so we know that Blanche Montel was wearing Perugia shoes in comedies such as:

- "Viens avec nous petit" at the Theatre de la Renaissance, season 1926/1927

- "Vient de paraitre" at the Theatre de la Minodiere, season 1929

- "Hector" at Theatre Apollo, season 1932.



1927 | Blanche Montel wearing a boa coat 
Model by Béchoff in collaboration with Alpina Tanneries
Source: Vogue France


The highlight of the collaboration was in 1927, when Mme Montel surprised the public appearing on the stage at the Theatre de la Renaissance with a long coat - designed by Béchoff - entirely made with boa leather by Alpina with matching shoes by Perugia. This outfit made headlines in Paris and appeared in many fashion magazines.

If there is no authoritative account of the origin of the (lizard/snake skin) craze, there are several Paris personages who are modestly willing to be identified as the pioneers of the new idea. There is Blanche Montel, the pretty boulevard actress, who is anxious for fame as the first wearer of a serpent coat and first owner of a lizard-lined automobile.
Syracuse Journal (NY) | July, 28 | 1928


1927 | Blanche Montel outfit for the comedy Viens avec nous petit
Coat in boa leather and hat by Béchoff | Shoes by André Perugia
Source: Comoedia magazine


ANDRE PERUGIA
BOTTIER DE LUXE
D O S S I E R



Friday, November 16, 2018

OTTORINO BOSSI - PEGABO | INDEX


Ottorino Bossi
Source: eBay



OTTORINO BOSSI (1926-1986)
IN MEMORIAM

OTTORINO BOSSI & PEGABO | PART 1
MANOLO BLAHNIK'S FIRST STEPS

OTTORINO BOSSI | PART 2
EVERYTHING BUT SHOEMAKER

OTTORINO BOSSI & PEGABO | PART 3
VIGEVANO

THE ETHNIC BOOTS
BY OTTORINO BOSSI




Ottorino Bossi
Source: eBay

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

1980s | THE ETHNIC BOOTS BY OTTORINO BOSSI

1980s | Ethnic boot by Ottorino Bossi | detail
Source: EBay

"The economy is obviously not that bad. Both Sandilar (in Applegate and in Claire Pearone) and Renaissance in Ann Arbor are carrying an elaborate handmade Italian boot by Ottorino Bossi. The boot, with snake, suede and metallic trim, sells for about $600, and both stores are well stocked. Says Sandilar owner Stan Zerman, who bought the boot in three colors: "It's a fabulous boot. I'm not worried about selling it." Amazing." 
Linnea Lannon | Detroit Free Press, 1982, August 8th


1982 | Ethnic boot by Ottorino Bossi 
Source: Detroit Free Press


OTTORINO BOSSI (1926-1986)
IN MEMORIAM

OTTORINO BOSSI & PEGABO
MANOLO BLAHNIK'S FIRST STEPS

OTTORINO BOSSI
EVERYTHING BUT SHOEMAKER



1980s | Ethnic boots by Ottorino Bossi
Source: eBay (Left), 1stdibs.com (Top center, Right)


Friday, November 9, 2018

> > > U P D A T E S

1961 | Eurail Pass advertising
Source: Esquire magazine


TheHistorialist
>> new page on Instagram <<

ANDRE PERUGIA
D O S S I E R

1955 - 2018 | ANDRE PERUGIA
GENDERLESS

REMEMBERING
FIAMMA FERRAGAMO

DAVID EVINS
I N D E X

19TH CENTURY | GAETANO BIANCHI
SHOEMAKER IN MILAN

HUARACHES?
ASK JOHN FANTE

1935 | BADMINTON SHOE
THE ORIGINAL

1502 | THE KIMO
BY PINTURICCHIO

1963 | THE BREATHABLE SHOE
BY CALZATURIFICIO ALPINO



1957 | Full page shoe editorial
As seen in Esquire magazine (unknown brands)

Friday, November 2, 2018

1929 | LIDEL | WEDDING TIME

Nel 1929 la rivista Lidel dedicò alcune pagine al tema delle nozze, nelle quali raccontò le più moderne tendenze e le scelte più eleganti, dall’abito della sposa e delle invitate al bouquet; dal dettaglio del velo e dell’acconciatura, fino alla scelta di gioielli e accessori. 

In questo servizio la rivista mise all’opera un gruppo fra i suoi migliori illustratori. Parteciparono infatti al progetto Piero Bernardini, Brunetta, alias Bruna Moretti e Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli delle Caminate. Quest’ultimo, allora ventenne, riuscì a comparire nelle stesse pagine sia con lo stile e lo pseudonimo di René Gruau, sia come Borys e anche come San Secondo. 



In 1929 Lidel magazine published a few pages dedicated to the wedding ceremony. They described modern trends and elegant choices, from the bride’s dress to the bouquet, including veil's detail, hairstyle, jewels and tips for the guests.

The magazine assigned the illustrations to a group of its best designers. Part of the project were Piero Bernardini, Brunetta, (AKA Bruna Moretti) and Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli delle Caminate who appeared in the very same pages with different styles and the pseudonyms of René Gruau, Borys and also San Secondo.


1929 | René Gruau
Source: Lidel magazine



Bernardini, Gruau e San Secondo si occuparono di suggerire alle lettrici alcune originali partecipazioni di nozze. Gruau creò anche un paio di illustrazioni del corteo nuziale. Borys illustrò una serie di modelli “creati dalle grandi case parigine per i più recenti ed eleganti matrimoni” (modelli di Martial et Armand, Cecil Daymia, Louise Boulanger) Philippe et Gaston. San Secondo illustrò altri modelli, sempre francesi (di Germaine Lecomte, Lanvin, Louise Boulanger, Lucile Paray, Martial et Armand e Maggy Rouf), dedicati alle invitate. 


Bernardini, Gruau and San Secondo offered the readers drawings for some original wedding invitations. Gruau also created a couple of illustrations of the wedding procession. Borys illustrated a series of models "created by the great Parisian houses for the most recent and elegant weddings". San Secondo showed a series of models, also French, by Germaine Lecomte, Lanvin, Louise Boulanger, Lucile Paray, Martial et Armand e Maggy Rouf, specifically for the guests.



1929 | San Secondo (AKA René Gruau)
Source: Lidel magazine

1929 | René Gruau
Source: Lidel magazine


Brunetta, invece si occupò di illustrare le acconciature della sposa e una serie di dettagli, “che devono essere studiati con particolare cura per raggiungere quell’insieme di grazia composta e armoniosa”. Tra questi “le scarpine di crêpe satin con profili di pelle d’argento”, a loro volta di probabile ispirazione francese, che furono proposte in due versioni, una con cinturino ed un intaglio laterale, l’altra con una piccola fibbia. 

Nell’illustrazione troviamo solo due modelli rigorosamente anonimi, a differenza dei vestiti. Già la loro presenza però è caso raro. Una vistosa differenza rispetto alla fonte di ispirazione - la Francia - dove già da diversi anni una schiera di creatori di calzature aveva iniziato a distinguersi per il proprio stile e la propria tecnica e dove le riviste di moda già presentavano regolarmente servizi dedicati ai modelli di Hellstern, Ducerf Scavini, Edith, Julienne, Greco e, soprattutto, André Perugia.


Brunetta took care of the bride's hairstyles with a series of illustrations and details "which must be studied with particular care to achieve a combination of composed and harmonious grace"; among them "the crepe satin shoes with silver leather profiles", also allegedly of French inspiration, which were drawn in two versions, one with a strap and a side cut, the other with a small buckle.

Only two models are showed and, unlike clothes, strictly anonymous.  Featuring footwear was rare back then, a marked difference compared to their source of inspiration - France - where fashion magazines regularly published articles showcasing models by a group of key shoemakers such as HellsternDucerf Scavini, Edith, Julienne, Greco and, most important, André Perugia.



1929 | Brunetta
Source: Lidel magazine

1929 | Brunetta
Source: Lidel magazine

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

1921 | HELLSTERN IN VOGUE | PART 2


"As can be seen from the following images, the shoes probably never held so much room in the feminine toilet. There are models for every hour of the day, from the light sandals for the morning until the rich evening shoes embroidered with gold and silver."

1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"Model in gray leather with pointed toe, with a vamp originally lined in black and decorated with an oblong black and silver buckle."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"The wide barrette of this grey suede afternoon shoe is adorned with a black lining and a very elegant rosette in grey grosgrain."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"A rounded toe distinguishes this black leather shoe cut in the shape of a sandal and all seams are lined in white kidskin."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"The pointed toe of this grey suede shoe is highlighted by black leather that covers the back and the instep and forms narrow stripes."



1921 | HELLSTERN IN VOGUE
PART 1

A LA RECHERCHE DU
HELLSTERN PERDU



Hellstern & Sons | Insole label
© Romans; Musée international de la Chaussure

Friday, October 26, 2018

1921 | HELLSTERN IN VOGUE | PART 1

1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"The bottom of the skirt goes more and more down on the shoes and a lot of dresses are in very rich fabrics. And yet the shoes far from resume their modest place as before the war, take more fancy and sumptuousness than the dresses."





1921 | HellsternSource: Vogue France

"This elegant sandal-shaped evening shoe has both golden toe and heel. Adorned with golden embroidery in the back, it has the instep trimmed with a golden ornament."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"The fur, which is often used for shoes, enriches this black satin court shoe with a beaver rosette retained by a rhinestones buckle."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"A new oval silver buckle embellished with fringes, adorns the straps of this black satin evening shoe. The heel is also silver."




1921 | Hellstern
Source: Vogue France

"The fashion of the colored heels matching the ornaments of the shoe also influences the home shoes as showed in this model by Hellstern, very successful, in fine red and blue leather."




1921 | HELLSTERN IN VOGUE
PART 2

A LA RECHERCHE DU 




Hellstern & Sons | Insole label
© Romans; Musée international de la Chaussure