Who Were They?

The Sepia Saturday prompt this week is shoes. I love shoes – every shape, style and fashion of them. From 3″ platforms to plain Keds and everywhere in between, shoes have long been a love of mine. For my pocket book’s sake, I have forced myself to give up the shoe shopping, besides the fact that I can’t wear high heels any longer due to a couple foot injuries – non shoe related, btw.

Shoes have always been an influence on fashion and vice versa. Whether they were the 4″ platform shoes women in Elizabethan England wore to avoid the refuse in the streets or the dainty little skimmers popular with Jane Austin, when a shoe style became popular, fashion adapted. When hemlines changed, shoes adapted. Today, in addition to a couple photos of cute kids, prepare yourself for a brief history lesson on high button boots.

A beautiful girl posing in Detroit for her First Communion or Confirmation portrait. She is wearing a floral garland in her hair along with a veil, has a lovely white lace dress that stops just below her knees and she is holding something in her left hand, maybe a prayer book? Below the dress we see her black stockings and black high button boots. High button boots became a fashion in the 1870s when hemlines were fashionable at the ankle, rather than dusting the top of the shoe. Previous to the high button boot was the ankle bootie favored by Queen Victoria, and in America they were called “The Balmoral” or “Bal” style. They laced up and gave no support to the ankle. But, when the dress hemline inched up a bit, more of the ankle was exposed. Heaven help us, we can’t have that! So, industrious shoe designers came up with a taller shaft of the boot, fastened with buttons rather than laces.

A young man in his first short pants and double breasted coat holds a prayer book close to his side and sports a boutonniere on his lapel, all on top of his high button boots. High button boots were the dominant boot style for men and women through the end of the century. In the 1880s, James Morley began production of high button boots with a new sewing machine attachment that more securely stitched the buttons. The making of one pair of boots from start to finish could be accomplished in 15 minutes. Boots featured between 12-20 buttons depending on individual style and taste, and either a scalloped design around the button hole or a simple and plain lap. As the style continued into the 1890s, actresses and dashing women favored the high button boot for it’s fashionable method of hiding the ankle while hinting at the leg. The iconic Gibson Girl is shown wearing high button boots in the Edwardian style after 1900.

Because so many tiny buttons were on the boots, the button hook was invented. At first, they were a luxury item, but as they became more common they were viewed as a regular dressing accessory, much like a hairbrush and mirror. Button boots were considered more secure than laced boots because they didn’t come unlaced or loosen with wear through the day. Certainly there were many other styles of boots available for men and women, but just a quick browse through an antique ladies’ magazine will reveal that the high button boot was considered the most fashionable, the most modest, and the most necessary type of boot for ladies to wear. Men were encouraged to own a pair of laced shoes for bad weather, a pair of Oxfords for the summer and a pair of button up boots for all other occasions.

After the turn of the century, the high button boot lingered until World War 1. In 1914, rationing of leather and other goods necessary pushed the boots to the side and frugality took hold. The rise of hemlines and the flapper fashion demanded new shoe styles and the Mary Jane and T-strap styles took hold. In America, President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933 announced that high button shoes would no longer be indexed on the Bureau of Labor Statistics charts. While they had waned for many years, the high button boot was officially “over” after a good 30+ year run of dominating shoe fashions.

These days, you can custom order high button boots if you are interested. They run a little on the pricey side, but I can tell you, custom boots will fit you and only you forever.

Step on over to Sepia Saturday for more great posts about shoes!

Photographers featured are Emhuff in Detroit, Michigan and Hebbel in Baltimore, Maryland.