Embellished felt shoes

Sarara Brazil

Sarara Brazil

Registered Guest
I found these at an estate with Edwardian, Victorian, 1920's-40's clothing. I am unsure if these are 1920's or 40's. They are a wool and have glass, steel cut beads and leather soles/felt inserts. I know beaded and embellished shoes were popular in the 1920's. I would love feedback as shoes are not my strongest area! There is a thin tag in the side of the shoe reads Maganela.
Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • DSCN4029.jpg
    DSCN4029.jpg
    84.2 KB · Views: 330
  • DSCN4030.jpg
    DSCN4030.jpg
    91.5 KB · Views: 327
  • DSCN4036.jpg
    DSCN4036.jpg
    80.3 KB · Views: 283
  • DSCN4034.jpg
    DSCN4034.jpg
    18.3 KB · Views: 301
  • DSCN4032.jpg
    DSCN4032.jpg
    74.7 KB · Views: 306
The view I find most helpful when seeing images of shoes is the one side on, showing the heel and silhouette clearly. It's great to see all the embellishments, but it's the shape that can be most helpful with dating shoes.

That said, I haven't seen shoes like this in either the '20s or the '40s - I wonder if they're older, but a better view will help a great deal.

The label inside that says "Maganela" is unusual - perhaps it was the wearer's name rather than a brand?
 
Good thinking on the name, I was wondering that it seems like a person's name. I also was thinking nah they couldn't be Edwardian could they? It crossed my mind that the way they are narrow rounded at the toe looked Edwardian or late Edwardian.... Then, I thought 20's because of the embellishments but the style was off to me- 40's because of the tag but again design is not right:) Thanks I think you might be headed in the right direction with them being older. What other view are you thinking I can't quite figure another out? They are just flats so the side is hard to photograph.
 
Try putting them flat on a table (as if someone was wearing them) and take the photo side on - that way you get a clear outline of the heel and the toe and everything.

Shoes were embellished at most times, for evening occasions. I'm unwilling to put a date on them currently, I can't tell but can you do something please? Check if the "jewels" are glass or plastic? I clink them against my teeth, they have a distinctive feel. Sometimes shoes are embellished at a later date, I've done it myself many times so the embellishments themselves do not necessarily authenticate a date.
 
Not Hungarian, their costume is red boots for ladies & men. (My grandfather is Hungarian)
The Czech are famous for their glass and I have purchased some leaf shaped glass beads just like the ones on your shoes a couple of years ago.
 
Because they are soled felt dancer's slippers it crossed my mind that they might be wartime Capezio for Claire McCardell - however, none were ever beaded by Capezio, so I thought they might have been customized for a theatrical performance but the addition of the professionally woven label suggested they were commercially made for resale, which is why I thought they had to be European post war.

The link Lynne found solves the mystery, however, some of the information is faulty. There were never any jewelled slippers shown with Claire McCardell's clothes - they were all plain felt, cotton or leather by Capezio, and Maginel never received a Coty award - that was Capezio. It sounds like Maginel bought the finished shoes from Capezio and then decorated them at home, as a cottage industry. I found Maginel's obit from 1966 and it said her shoes were sold through America House, which was a consignment craft store in New York open between 1940 and 1971. They sold hand thrown pottery, hooked rugs, hand carved salad servers... that kind of thing...
 
Thanks so much for each of your input, you all had great info perspectives given this hard puzzle and just pics. I myself ran between 20's-40's or Edwardian. This was hard, but I am so glad Lynne found that link. I would have probably listed these and sold them for way under value if I had not recheck with all of you. The family was wealthy but again these were a real puzzle with what appears to be Czech embellishment etc. I was getting ready to try a side view pic but see its solved! I will look into more info and try to assess what is correct as Jonathan pointed out:) I think these may be earlier like the 30's when she first started and its says she was inspired "to take up needlework after seeing a peasant costume that belonged to her sister-in-law, Olgivanna Wright....Around 1940, changes in the world of fashion along with restrictions imposed by the current worldwide conflict combined to propel another of Maginel’s creative efforts to widespread popularity. Prior to that time she had often crafted fleece-lined felt slippers, which she blanket-stitched together and trimmed with beads, sequins, and bits of yarn as gifts for women friends and relatives"

So if this part of the bio is right they are earlier pre 1940. So within the original range I thought but wow that is interesting. I think these may have been the ones for friends and relatives done by her. We will see as I do more research. Thank goodness LYNNE pointed me in the perfect direction!
 
Great sleuthing, Lynne!

Jonathan, your knowledge and insight never ceases to amaze!

So if this part of the bio is right they are earlier pre 1940.
Click to expand...

If your slippers were pre 1940 they would be, as the article says "blanket-stitched". Yours are not blanket-stitched, but manufactured.
 
Don't get too excited - the toe shape suggests a mid-50s date, and I think the story is more interesting than the shoes themselves. I would be keener on them if they were the plain ballet slippers Capezio made for Claire McCardell.
 
I think they are really pretty in person. The beads are stitched on but the other parts as you said seem manufactured. Good catch. I guess we can stick with 40's-50's, I'm not sure I agree on the 1950's totally but they could be. I will look into them some more to see if I can get a little more info on date and some more details. I like the ballet slippers Capezio made for Claire McCardell as well, but this was a good learning experience as I have never run across a pair! I think we both maybe right late 40's early 50's if this part of the article applies it would explain alot, the shoe itself does seem like a simple felt Capezio flat:

During this period Maginel was kept busy creating custom versions of the Capezio flat shoes and others which the company introduced around the same time. Through a friend who worked for the Capezio firm, she was able to acquire quantities of their basic models to which she initially applied custom decorations similar to those she had used on her handmade slippers. Later she added faux jewels and a variety of metallic braids as well as a small tag bearing her new professional name, Maganela. Instead of leather, however, Maginel’s custom Capezio shoes were made of colored felt, the choice of material dictated by wartime shortages of hides due to increased military demands for leather.
 
Jonathan said:
... some of the information is faulty. There were never any jewelled slippers shown with Claire McCardell's clothes - they were all plain felt, cotton or leather by Capezio, and Maginel never received a Coty award - that was Capezio.
Click to expand...

Jonathan, you are correct, of course, about the 1952 Coty award, but I think the article is saying the same thing you are saying. It says, not very clearly (with my emphasis):

"In 1939 (Capezio) introduced what it called the “ballet shoe,” their basic ballet slipper with a more substantial sole and low heel suitable for the street rather than the dance floor. The soft and extremely comfortable leather shoes won immediate public acceptance, were featured with sportswear and casual outfits in Claire McCardell’s 1941 fashion collection, merited their own Vogue magazine cover in 1949, and in 1952 received the fashion industry’s prestigious Coty Award.

What they wrote was confusing, but they seem to be describing Capezio's leather ballet shoe and not Maginel's jeweled shoe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top