Evening pumps

Francis O'Neill

1920 · leather, metal · Costume Institute

While mass-produced shoes have filled the footwear needs of most of the population for over a century, custom made shoes have continued to be an option for those wanting - and able to afford - special attention to their own preferences in design, materials, and fit. This pair of custom pumps features classic lines, a heel with an elegant and refined shape, and gold braid on the vamp adding a lively touch. While the graphic ornamentation suggests a date of about 1920, the construction techniques and conservative design could be found at any time from 1900 to the 1930s. This upper pattern, with the quarters continuing as a narrow collar around the throat, was called the "regent pump", a basic slipper cut which was used quite commonly (in various variations called "full regent", "split regent", and "three-quarter regent", according to the placement and number of seams in the quarters) from the 1910s to the 1950s.

Artist

Francis O'Neill

Date

1920

Medium

leather, metal

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Frederick H. Prince, Jr., 1967