Evening star., 1921-01-23

latter is an average price for smart
p shoes made to order
Possibly such prices were equaled in
the days when medieval shoes were cut
Of precious fabrics and sewn with pre-
cious Jewels. There was a time when
s'fnen spent much of their income on the
gorgeousness of their clothes, and among
the most significant items were shoes.
After that epoch the covering for the
feet became matter of comfort and
protection for the majority. When the
GEMinority, eager for adventure. in quest
-aoOf the curious. wanted to create di-
1lsthey adopted the Greek sandal. During
;>bthe rest Of the time they let the shoe
maker perfect the line and construction
Of the shoe and were content with black
,raEith satin slippers for the evening.
That was before the great war.
Ail - +
a., After the war was finished France
modelled much of her costumery on
:4shncient Egypt, frivolous Babylon and
fantastic Persia. Doing this. it was
-t.to be expected that ancient sandals,
1korgeously fashioned. would make
-oftheir appearance. They did. Amer
aHca smiled as at the childlike trick
."oof a people who loved colorful bau-
bles. Then America adopted the
.,cAnything z, we have ever worn as the
x.1Gowns of Cleopatra from the tailored
81 suits OF Main street.
aa;t For six months women In this coun-
'aotry have successfully diverted atten-
'istion to their feet. They put jewels,
s.,feathers. fur and cut steel on top
Of metallic brocade. brilliant satin.
shthin velvet. The shapes they accept
ed were peculiar to this era. There
WAS the sandal of the orient, tilted
baforward on the heel Of the Bourbons.
There were the straps Of Egypt. al
Tied to the heels OF Spain. No one
country and no one epoch was con-
sistently represented. All shapes gave
abundant reason to believe that the
twomen Of this generation continue
to insist upon high heels. II not small
waists.
sss It is a curious thing that each ma
y .tion considers its own past folly as
inexplicable when 1t appears later
the French wore pointed shoes that
were copied from the tenth century.
America wore at that time round
Then each reversed itself in it's chosen
fashion: each smiled derisively at the
other.
At this moment smart shoes are
alike on both continents. By some
accident two opposing fashions have
become one for a short arc of time.
The majority Of American shoes re-
main pointed. All French shoes are
lrBut there is a segment of fashiona-
Bile women In America who adopt the
French shoe intellectually.
The sight OF 1t still causes men and
women to turn and look. 1t is not yet
conside cred commonplace. The Ameri-
=. can shoemakers have accepted the
straps, the high heel and the some
what short vamp, but the majority of
them continue to follow the dimen-
sions of a toothpick in the last Of the
shoe
-, 1t IL hard for the observer to say
(which shape is the uglier the un-
modified French or the unmodified
American. No shape has yet reached
- a graceful compromise. The Ameri-
tScans look as though their feet had
gone through a sausage grinder and
come out shapeless. The French look
as though their feet had been chop
ped OF with a broadax. then tilted
up at tho back to keep them from
touching the ground. Hideous de-
formitiez. both Of them.
Al the spring approaches it IL evi.
dent that the shoemakers. like the
dressmakers. are throwing all fash
4ons on the market in an effort to
please all tastes.
That we will wear fantastic shoes Is
certain. That Palm Beach will in
augurate a fashion for varied and
fanciful shoes on the beaches and the
dance floors is quite evident. We
are done with solemn feet for a space
We arc out for adventure.
There are critics Of high fashion and
the frivolities Of wealth who insist
that these shoes are merely the trap.
pings OF social Indulgence and ex-
Z ~ ~..=-