Telegram-herald., 1890-07-14


3 L0E and sturdy
And there are others who declare with
Just as much calmness and convection
that the commonsense shoe has placed
its heel on the neck Of all other styles;
that the corset is going the way Of the
hoopekirt. and thaAt combination suit
and the divided skirt having combined
their forces are entering upon an undi-
vided field Of feminine favor.
You can take whichever one of these
views you prefer, or you can hold each
one on alternate weeks. The newspaper
reader is pretty sure 20 sec one or the
other triumphantly advanced about that
/ often. But there is one safe rule OF cre-
dence for all articles OF this character.
| IL they contain merely assertion, with
no facts gathered together 10 back the
assertion, they prove but one thing-that
/ the writer wears the kind Of clothing
whose rapid progress or whose firm hold
on feminine affection she champions.
For myself, / have been particularly
amused and sometimes mystiied by the
| frequency and contradictory character
/ Of these articles on the subject of shoes.
| IL one week read an article which con-
vinced me that the feminine world was
| teetering around on heels Of the highest
and Frenchiest description, and that
| nothing less than the stake could induce
! 1t 10 lay them aside, the next week l
would be forced to believe just as firmly
| that the French heels were q thing of the
| past and that femininity wGs humping
| about In shoes whose solcs and heels
I were of almost equal thickness. So one
/ day before the summer exodus began l
started out to do a little census taking
and get ut the truth of the matter. l
wanted to find out just what kind Of
shoes women really are wearing.
IL was a Saturday afternoon, when the
fashionable part of Broadway was
crowded with well dressed women, and
brisk breeze whisked its way down the
street and aided my Investigations.
From Broadway passed up Fifth ave-
nue. through the region of the city's most
exclusive wealth and fashion From
| Fourteenth street up to Sixtieth count
ed and classified all the feminine heels.
They fell easily into three distinct classes
after the manner OF the accompanying
| illustratiOns-very low, medium and
very high. And out of every hundred heels
there were on an average about ten very
high ones, thirty very low and sixty me-
dium. The figures are roughly stated.
but they are very near the percentage
developed by the count
Except on upper Fifth avenue, where
the possessors Of the heels belonged to
that class whose attire is always reckon
ed as the very glass Of fashion, the me-
dunn heel was the favorite. But there
the lowest and sturdiest of heels and the
broadest and thicl1est Of soles were the
rule. For dozen blocks on this upper
Fifth avenue oaly two pairs of French
heels were seen and they were both on
the feet cf nurse maids.
The medium heel passed through quite
variety OF form, sometimes being 30
low and 30 upright OF bearing as to ap-
proach very near the common sense
tvpe, and sometimes being 40 tall and so
slanted that it neared the other extreme.
1t was noticeable. though, that ma
iority Of these heels showed the former
tendency. Still another fact my love OF
candor compels me to chronicle, and that
Is that about half the women who wore
high heels 1mped and half the remain
der, though they walked firmly, wore
panied and preoccupied looks upon their
faces.
After that tour Of investigation de-
cided that French heels, for street wear
at least, are waning. The increased
number Of low heeled and broad soled
shoes that appears in nearly 81 the shops