After last week’s Friday Shoe History Corner trip to the Louvre, I thought we’d take a gander at London’s V&A this week.  Their Golden Age of Couture show (focused on Paris and London between 1947 and 1957) is now closed, but the website is still up, so in case you didn’t get to see it in person, here are a few of the Roger Vivier footwear highlights.  Being a French designer, of course, these all fall into the “Paris” half of the show, and some of them have a suitably couture over-the-top decadence about them, while others rely on the simplicity of the shape to make a woman’s foot look divine.

V&A shoes 1

Coral and diamante embroidered satin, late 1950s, for Christian Dior

V&A shoes 2   V&A shoes 2.1

Pink satin embroidered with metallic thread and sequins, ca. 1958, for Christian Dior

V&A shoes 3

Coral and diamante embroidered satin, ca. 1958, for Christian Dior

V&A shoes 4

Remind you of the iconic pilgrim shoes that Shoesense adores?  Indeed.  This version is satin with a diamante buckle, from the late 1950s, for Christian Dior.

V&A shoes 5

Tulle over satin, 1954, for Christian Dior

Any of these would still make a strong statement at a party, and when the no-doubt uber fashionable ladies of the 1950s wore them out, I’ll bet they did the same thing.