Museum of London visit 25.04.11

Having heard that the museum of London had a large fashion section, I took a trip up to see it. However, the aspect of the museum which I found most interesting was the shoes. They have a wide range of shoes and shoe making tools from pretty much every era in history! As it is the museum of LONDON, everything has been found in the city when making way for foundations of buildings.

Roman Leather soles and tools...

  

this is a replica

These following are all medieval...

 And now straight to the1920's, a couple of Flapper dresses and a pair of dancing shoes...

I find it amazing how the leather has lasted so long, if it is genuine, like they say it is, and also how the construction of shoes has remained the same over thousands of years. I have been advised by a designer that I have been talking to, to look around me, at the things  I see every day, and to question how they have been made. The shoe is something which I have applied this question too, more so in my sketchbook than on my blog, and I have come to the conclusion that its construction has barely changed. From the medieval shoes I have looked at, to the modern day Guiseppe Zannotti, Emma Hope and Diego Doleini designs, the only aspect that has altered, has been the construction of a heel, which even dates back to the last millennium, originally worn in fields and streets where the ground was very wet. Like the shoes below from Venice.

The shoes we wear now however, are much nicer, and probably much more comfortable...