Vincent van Gogh - The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles (1889)

Evening Boots

1885-1890

Probably French

While the slipper and the strapped shoe were the most common choice for evening wear in the last third of the 19th century, boots did occasionally continue to appear. As with shoes, the basic evening boot was satin, either plain or featuring an embroidered vamp, usually in floral or foliate designs. Surviving examples of evening boots of the late 19th and early 20th centuries suggest, however, that those daring to wear something already outside of the ordinary often opted as well for unconventionally bold and unusual materials and trimmings. This pair of boots typifies that phenomenon: anachronistic side-lacing, novel and atypically exuberant fret and scroll motifs, and embroidery covering the entire boot, including the heel.

The MET (Accession Number: 2009.300.1477a–d)

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Some are dancing, some are giant, some sing, and others rain down: vintage frogs and toads.

1880

Look at this lady and this inconsiderate foolish fellow

Sketches by Queen Victoria, 1885-88.

Tintype of what appears to be a light-hearted spot of stabbing between friends, circa 1880

The Rose of all Roses, 1889

Willhelm Menzler

Thomas Eakins Cat in Eakins's Yard, ca. 1880-1890. Platinum print | src Smithsonian museums

Henri Joseph Harpignies - Vue de la Place de la Concorde (1887)

Boots

1880s

Italian

The MET (Accession Number: C.I.42.24.4)

I am now determined to find a way to use "ice cream freezer" as an insult again.

(source: The Troy Messenger, July 13, 1882.)

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My collection of vintage rabbits is coming along hoppingly.

1881