Evening shoes - 1970? And what is that on the sole?

Midge

Midge

Super Moderator
Staff member
Saturday must be my lucky day! Same story as the other weeks... went to do the grocery shopping and stopped off at Caritas first. I had spotted a pair of delicious-looking vintage evening shoes in their window on Friday night when walking home.

And yes, I bought the shoes. They're unworn, what ever there is that is not a 100% perfect is probably from storage, or people trying them on. They were a bargain, they fit and I'm quite happy (not least because I also bought a pair of high 1970s quality all-leather Italian boots - unworn as well :)).

gaborshoes2.jpg


gaborshoes1.jpg


Silver leather, by Gabor, a good quality German shoe brand. They're still around - I have had modern ones too, though their styles are usually pretty timeless and not particularly "young". These look a lot more exciting than anything I see from Gabor in shops these days :hysterical:.
The label is "Gabor Party" which must have been their young/party line. My dating guess was somwhere 1968-1970. Am I about right with that?

There is one thing about them that I do not know what it is at all... There are little metal inserts in the soles at the front. What were they for? I've never seen this before, or heard of it...
gaborshoes3.jpg


gaborshoes4.jpg

Soles are rubber and marked 4 /12, Made in Austria, Elastomère - which must be the rubber material I guess.

Karin
 
Ah, that is an interesting thought about protecting the tip of the sole!

I had first thought about dating them earlier too, but after looking at my books and some old mail-order catalogs, arrived at 1970 or a bit earlier... :wacko: I find shoe dating sometimes so confusing!

Karin
 
The toe is a bit broad for 66 - I would have gone with 67/68, not later as the heel is too thin for 69. The little metal thing is called a seg - its to prevent wear of the sole at the tip of the toe.
 
Thanks Jonathan! Interesting idea that seg. So you could dance the night away and not have to take the shoes to the to have the soles done the next day :). I used to have a shoe repair guy who wanted to do the sole on every pair of (modern) shoes I brought him just to have the heel tips done, telling me that these soles would be walked through in no time - even when they were still new and good. I think he just wanted to make some extra money... I never walked a shoe's sole through, and I do have some really inexpensive shoes here... I bet he wouldn't like these shoes with the seg :hysterical: (and I don't go there anymore - I have found a much better shoe repair shop!).

Karin
 
I knew Jonathan would know! So it is called a seg, I've never heard that term before...but I do remember as a child, my mom used to get a small metal piece put on the tips of the toes of my shoes and heels...I really liked them
because then my shoes would sound like tap dancing shoes!
 
@Mary Jane - I can imagine, I would have loved that too :).
Just got off the phone with my mom. She has stacks of old Burda magazines from the early 60s to the mid-70s. She says there are lots of Gabor ads in there... I will have look through them the next time I visit my parents. I might just be lucky and find an ad with them!

Karin
 
Lovely shoes, the segs show that they have been worn by somebody who wanted to preserve the condition.

To find the advert I would try contacting Gabor first of all, I've swapped several e-mails with Clarks Archives who are very good at finding ads and details for me, always friendly and helpful. Moorlands also came up trumps. Gabor may do the same.
 
Great find! I have two pair of fairly recent Gabor shoes - purchased in SF 5-6 years ago new. Mine are sling backs - have rubber soles as well, and stacked heals and are marked Gabor Fashion. Larger than yours - a 6 1/2 made in Austria. They are pretty timeless looking and very comforable.
 
Karin, those are great!
Did you see Marc Jacobs's latest runway show, the one with the big hats? Well, these buckles make me think of some of the ones on the cool footwear. Yours are an elegant, vintage version of the inspiration, to my eye.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/slideshow/F2012RTW-MJACOBS/?iphoto=0

You can best see the shoes in the runway video.

Mindblower, this collection. His best yet, I think.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top