Help with 'Caribbean Court' shoes by Lotus

HI,

Well looks like you all are on it, but I will say I agree with late 50's,early 60's. The toe box appears rather narrow and as a "big foot"myself who can never find vintage to fit me, I notice that narrow toe every time in a great deal of vintage shoes. Also, that heel treatment. No plastic there as you find in 80's shoes. The label looks quite 50's or 60s style also. I have to add that the vamp is high and 1980's peep toes were all about toe cleavage, haha! Can you tell I am somewhat of a shoe gal?

I will stick my neck out and say they are not 80's in my opinion.

Julia

 

Oh, Ruth, I didn't mean to imply that you meant me--LOL! I was just expressing my happiness to see some verification of my opinions, since others had posted that the typeface looked newer to them! One of the reasons I thought the shoes were older rather than newer was because of the "mid-century modern" typeface, which would put them in the 50s or thereabouts. I knew you knew I didn't mean "modern" as in contemporary.

You and I were on the same page here, most definitely; I'm glad you found these ads!

Off topic slightly, but we were in the New Jersey Wildwoods recently for vacation, and they have a marvelous "doo-wop" hotel district. Some of the hotels have their names on their large signs in similar typefaces--so that was yet another clue for me, although I would have still thought the face was older and not newer had I not seen those. But being fresh in my mind, it popped up when I saw this thread!

 

Lotus is in my book - they were created in 1919 from the amalgamation of three companies and remained in business until 1998. They were an average quality label - they supplied fashion footwear to mainstream shops and department stores - along the same lines as Bata or Qualicraft, and probably didn't have a designer on staff, but rather copied the best selling high fashion styles in moderated versions for the following season. Your shoes look 1956ish, just before the pointed toe style comes in but after the stiletto has been introduced. Peep toes generally fall out of fashion by 1956 but as these are more mundane styles and not cutting edge fashion, they might date as late as 1958.

 

Jonathan to the definitive rescue!

 

Jonathan, I'm pretty sure the advert I have for a pair of caribbean courts is 1957 so that would tie up nicely!

 

there you go!