Brogues

Hurd Shoe Co.

1935–49 · leather · Costume Institute

This pair of good quality boy's shoes closely resembles an adult model but with simplified details suitable to a smaller scale and less exacting client. Retailers at the time commonly marketed boyswear by proclaiming it 'just like Dad's', especially in the case of suits and dress shoes, which projected the image of boy as little man. The original, unworn condition is due to the fact that these shoes were retained as a manufacturer's sample and were never sold or worn. This makes them particularly desirable, as boyswear is probably worn the hardest and regarded with the least amount of sentimentality compared to any other demographic.

Artist

Hurd Shoe Co.

Date

1935–49

Medium

leather

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 Kenneth S. Hurd, 1959