I found these great dress shoes at a thrift store and I bought them to find out more about them. The company is Coes & Young Co, Boston. Leather shoes, bow on the toe. They appear to be men’s shoes or pretty large women’s shoes. I’ve searched for shoes from this company (found the history of the company, dates back to 1908 and appears to still be in business) but I can’t seem to find any online. I’d love to date these, thanks in advance for your help! ETA photos
If you would kindly post photos of the shoes directly to this thread, I’m sure someone will be able to help.
They are men's tuxedo pumps - probably 1950s. They were worn with tuxedos from the 1910s to the 1960s before going out of fashion, although I recall they had a bit of a revival in the 1990s.
Coes and Young went out of business in the early 197os. https://www.instagram.com/p/B3CJ3GEnJEl/ I just posted on instagram about this. Those pumps are meant to be worn only white tie and tails. They never really went away, but when President Reagan wore them at his inaugural ball, there was a flurry of fashion queries. Yokels were puzzled by his shoes.
Apparently they are still being made: https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/tuxedo-black-tie-guide/classic/black-patent-oxfords-pumps/
