Conservation around the Millennium (Hungarian National Museum, 2001)
Pages - 95
WOMEN'S SHOES FROM THE CRYPT OF THE DOMINICAN CHURCH IN VÁC Judit Bakay-Perjés CHARACTERISTICS OF 18TH CENTURY SHOES Shoes more-or-less kept the shapes inherited from the 17th century. One type is the low-cut shoes, which became even lower cut in the course of the century. They are ornamented with bows and frills together or separately. The other type is characterised by a wide vamp with a tongue reaching high on the instep, where two straps cut in one piece with the quarters overlap each other and cover the tongue. The straps were closed with ornamented circular, oval or angular buckles1 or with a broad silk ribbon.2 Shoes were made of coloured silk fabric or leather. The front of the vamp was decorated with embroidery of coloured silk and metal threads3 or with small round spangles. (Picture 1) The high heels of the shoes were made of wood, as earlier, but they were much lower, usually 4-5 cm high. The wooden core was covered with leather or textile. This heel does not properly support the foot because it starts nearly from the middle of the sole, but it lends the shoe an elegant arched shape.4 The heels were round or wedge-shaped. The toes of the shoes were usually pointed, some were straight-cut. A woman in high-heeled shoes looks stronger and weaker at the same time. Such shoes can transform common-looking females into fascinating women, because one cannot walk in these shoes with 1 - Ornament with metal thread trimming on a bent back. High heels force the the vamps of the shoe from coffin no. 111 legs to a vertical position, the leg and the ankles appear to be more slender. This elegantly arched baroque heel, which is also called Louis XV-type heel (1715-1774) was most characteristic of women’s footwear fashion in this century. This shape has been popular ever since.5 High, arched heels do not properly support the foot, one can make only short steps in such a shoe. The soles of the shoes were strongly convex from the beginning of the century, with the toes usually pointed or sometimes straight-cut. The soles were convex not only longitudinally, which helps walking and gives a thrust, but also crosswise. Crosswise convexity makes walking less secure, since only the centre of the sole touches the ground. In shoes of such a shape, however, the feet seem to be smaller and more slender since 95
