Sandals

Unknown

1945–55 · leather · Costume Institute

As the precedence of American sportswear increased in the 1940s, the market for suitable accessories such as sport shoes and sandals saw corresponding growth. Changing morals (specifically regarding the decency or indecency of bare feet) and increasing celebration of leisure also bode well for strappy, flesh-baring footwear. The 1940s and 1950s was thus fertile time for the sandal, and numerous playful and creative designs were produced. This whimsical model coordinates the snake theme in both motif and materials. Although the maker of these shoes is not known, the inventive styling suggests that they could have been a product of their donor, premier American high-style shoe manufacturer Herman Delman.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1945–55

Medium

leather

Culture

probably American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Herman Delman, 1955