Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-09-05
BUYING FOOTWEAR.
There Is Much More in a Good Fit
than in Style.
Points In Shoes which vain Women
Persistcntly I2norc-Princess Lou
ise's Foot-Covering and Ellen
Tcrry's Boots.


tChicagO Tribune.1
Il tell you what 1t is Mr. Reporter, women
are feSpcn IDLE for all or nearly all the i'll
shtpeu ieet eXtant! They don't know how
To nave shoe fitted themselves and they
won lrt shoc-dealer fit it for them In
snort, woman buying shoes will not lie
reasoned WITH Americans, like the French.
now always had Il reputation for short feet
MOI small feet, mind YOU but short feet.
with full ankle, broad tons, aid archinp In.
sup Naturally enough they have been de.
Sirons OF maintaining this reputation, and
they still cling to the belief that small shoes
make small feet smaller Whether fine
shoes arc for herself, her grown dougbto,
any of their children. or even tbe
tate IN arms, she insists that they mist fit
Ill length and width. The result is her o,vn
iett are deformed with bunionS, protrudinp
JOINTS ana such swelling from distorted toes
anu IMPROVING nails as makes her existence
III u walking boot-a perfect penance. Poor
oaoy' VINO grows and crows by the day has
shoe the exact length of his little foot But
.he loou not only works down but grows
uo"h also; there is no room for the lenpthen-
ing toes, SO the joints are pushed M and there
ID lateral expansion instead of pushing
Gown. The Consequence is the foot becomes
oroa.', the toes are cramped, the heel flat
tened ankle thickened, and the natural
beauty of that organ lost"
Inc clerk 'darted off to wait on the wife Of
prominent lawyer, and as h. passed to get
box OF shoes called the reporter over TO
look on.
ohe was tall woman, beautifully dressed
ana the delicate lace in her sleeves had n sup
gestlon OF sweet clover that was both pleas
ant and refreshing to the senses She wore
par OF beautiful black silk stockngs-a
.oioi 10 "hlch all women with large feet are
nciihed' ana when she asked for &C the
brow OF the clerk lnvountariy wrinklel
III you will allow me to suggest think n
ci2-b VIII he much better for your style of
loot. You see your foot is quite full. and il
will take long sole to counterbalance the
width
That is your idea but it will please me
very much if you will give me the size 7
mentioned
Il beg your pardon, Mrs See; intended
no otfense, assure you, and have lust the
boot you wish"
me gentleman, for such he was in every
sense, TOOK out a pair of 4-C's smoothed the
erase out of the silky hose shook a lot of
Inc powder i'll the kld-lined boot and getting
down at her side on one knee prepared for
tlssel, for such it proved to be The shoe
Went on slowly, the clerk was red. the
woman stamped her food we'll to get it down.
anu before attempting to button it he
kheaded the leather into the foot until it was
as creaSeless as snug jersey on fat girl.
Just let me stretch it a little" he said as
he pulled it or with much of the same
difficulty experienced in getting it on. The
boot was stretched, the buttons were moved
some out and some in, and handing the clerk
s'"o she ordered the soes to be blackened
and sent home before supper
That is just the case | was citing" the
owner said as she left the store That woman
should have properly "a boot. Her foot
would look better and the boot last lust twice
as long But she rides a great deal, and as
her feet are more or less exposed getting in
and out OF the carriage She prefers to make
Them appear as small as possible But she
pays dearly for her vanity. Her feet are one
mass OF Commissions and bunions, and | am
told she hires a chiropodist to treat he; by
the year.
About our male trade there is very little
TO contend with. man comes in paws any
where from 81 to 50 tor a pair of shoes and
wants it distinctly understood that if the
goods are not what they are represented to
be that will be the last of his patronage The
fit is left to our Judgment, and when such is
the case we give him an easy width and a
length just three sizes larger than the
measure of the stocfinged foot
81 have family who have traded with me
Tor thirteen years, and take great pride i'm
the beautiful ieet am shaping, or cultivat-
ing If you will III that house The mother
ana came to an understanding about it, and
as the children have pedals totally unlike
those OF either parents, they concur in giving
me Inc entire credit. The girls are the old
est-one ii and the other l3-and as insist
on their wearing No shoes, which is three
inches longer than the foot, you NAV imagine
there Is some disposition toward rebellion.
Both, however, take Il treble A, which is
the narrowest last made; but want the foot
to have plenty of room, and Us soon as the
growth stops | will retrench on the length.
w ere this plan more generally adopted there
would be smaller number OF msshapen feet
than there are"
he same authority tells us that spring
heels are now being made in sizes as large as
NO ., anu girls are kept III them until they
are 10. The good senSe of this seems to be
Endorsed by physicians, who claim that in all
the running and rompng done by children
there is great danger OF turning the ankle
the school shoes for misses and youths are
not broad enough to be safe or sure.
All the garden shoes, and those for tennis,
archers, rifle shooting, and similar ont door
sports, for women, are made without heels
The soles are thick and finished with a coat
ing of leather done in horseshoe nail cuttinr
The uppers are black morocco.
1t may be stated that Miss Terry could not
be induced to wear tight boot. Her low
shoes We're 50 ample that she could put them
on and take them off without unlacing tho
strings. When the matter was mentioned
the charming actress said
Bless your heart wouldn't be bothered
with tight boots; why, "A woman is not sure
Of her footing when her feet are in trap,
and grace then is not to be expected"
Princess Louise was seen by the writer on
State street one very vet day two years ago,
and as her dress was shorter than usual ON
account of the weather, the opportunity for
was most favorable The shoes