Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1917-01-29
Why Shoe Prices A re igh

be due To the war But this time the anna
tcur economists are in the wrong. Shoes
have gone up because Of the aStute bust
mes stability of 4 Les Angeles shocdcalcr.
The story, and ii is vouchcd for by the
veracious Kansas City Star, reads like
the old saving about For want of a nail
the kingdom was lost" The high
cost Of shoes, ii we are - believe what
The Star says, was sprung. like the great
oak, from the acorn of n business mems
desire for increased trade. Here i how
it was done.
a local shoe dealer-a man who deals
exclusively IN womcn's shoes and the
higher priced womcn's shoes-diyulgc-
the secret.
'Women's shoes began to Jump about
two years ago, he said, land Il little be-
fore this jump was noted YOU may have
observed that the women were beginning
20 wear high-top shoes-Shoes with tops
higher than they ever had been before
and III color~ that presented 4 rainbow
Medley when you got enough Of them on
the street al the same time.
Naturally, the dealers now cry that
the shortage in leather has sent up shoe
prices, and. while that j. true in a sense,
the war has had very little to do with the
leather shortage. Responsibility really
rests with an crterpri~ing retail Shoe deal
er out in Los Angeles. Follow me close
~:
81 think ii was three summers ago that
this particular Los Angeles shoe dealer.
owner of the largest and Smartest shoe
store IN the town conceived the idea that
something extraordinary would have IN be
done il he were to sell shoes to women
who were touring in California from the
East. There had always been high-toppcd
shoes for women and always shoes in
many %color~, but they were the kind OF
shoes Tor boots that one usually saw
on the Stage. They looked good on the
chorus girls and the prma donnas, see!
well. this - Angeles man sent an
agent East and he bought up mn Of these
fancy boots that he colld fund. I'm the
course Of a short time there was received
by the Los Aneele- dealer y Job lot 4
womcn'~ fancy shoes that looked like thu
dream IF an opium-eatcr."
No specialist in f~utnri>t art. We are
told. could evolve Y greater variety NJ cob
orr than these which tinted the wares he
received. There were rhampagnes. worries.
Havana browns. mouse and pearl grays.
chamois. smoke gray~. pink-, and reds
and. u Ii whispered. 10 lack of the
strange. exotic tones w romantically call
al elephant~ hrenth. pnr-of rose. pig
con milk. negro hcad. ard q thousand 9th
~ inde~crhahlc shade purloincd from the
arabian Nights. Then. adds the mar
rator:
'The dealer makes q great window dis
play w these fancy boots and the v,acI
tourists il Los Angelic look upon hem.
then gasp for breath. then wonder what
has happened in the Ea~t-or Ia Paris
and ~traightway start to buy.
Tin the course nj y few months the
tourists from California. returning East.
began Ia %~tartlc the women who had re-
MANNED homo aud were wearing Tho rom
mon old blacks and ian~. The ~ta-at
homes started a rush on the home shoe
stores. tEc home She. stores started ".
rush IN tho manufacturers and. ~ u con
sequence. the leather market was upset
and the manufacturers were kept busy
night and dav making new patterns in 4
dozen different cnlor~- and totally ANA
ware Al the time Ivy "a the identify ~ TIE
man who had started the excitement.
Manufacturers. ~ course, don't lct
golden opportunities skid down the iobog
gan. Thcv shot VI prices ana wrmcu'~
boot, of Tho more than ordinary pattern
now range in price from $3.50 to So =
pair. The women would have them and
the manufacturers decided that the wnm-
en- must pay for their fun. Not meaning.
Won understand, that these high priced
boots are not made ~ expensive material
nor that they are not actually worth far
mnrr than the fancy boot Of an earlier
day. But that i the story. The Los An
rrlr~ man din III. III II hadn't been for
that Los Anaclc- fellow. ! dare say the
women would till Sc wearing blacks and
tanS. leaving The richer AMI more c~olorlu'
boots ~ the musical comedies. which. in
my candid oninion. owe = lercc measure
az their decline to the competition which
N now offered ~ fcHmlc pedestrians on
orr most frequcntcd hiehwayS.r
"What price shoe viii The average won
m buy who oatcr- y3ur -hop?" the deal
cr was asked.