Shoes is the theme over at Sepia Saturday this week so I thought I would illustrate it with a family shoe-tree. And at the heart of any such tree are your two immediate genetic precursors, your father and your mother. Or in the case of a family shoe-tree, your fathers' shoes and your mothers' shoes. So we will start with my father and this splendid pair of two-tone brogues which personify the 1930s like a chorus from Bert Ambrose and his Orchestra. I can't imagine my father wearing shoes like this : that staid disciple of cultural conformity could surely never have been a dedicated follower of fashion. But we have photographic evidence and therefore I will have to amend my preconceptions.
The boot is on the other foot (so to speak) when I come to my mothers' place in the family shoe-tree. Feast your eyes on those tight-laced boots; the very personification of Edwardian severity. But those booted feet belong to a girl who, just a few short years after this photograph was taken, would be wearing a flapper dress and a cloche hat.
I originally intended to follow these two photographs with the full images they were cropped from so that you would see the wider picture. But I don't think I will. Let us leave everything else to the imagination. Shoes are so often an afterthought; an appendage of little consequence. Let this be their day in the spotlight, their brief moment of fame, their walk in the sun.
Walk on over to the Sepia Saturday Blog to see what others are making of this week's theme - SHOES.
Oh, yes he WAS(a dedicated follower of fashion)!
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you've left it up to our imagination.
Our parents were very different people before we came along, weren't they?
Kat's first two sentences pretty much said what I'd planned to say! Love that song, and love that you didn't show the people attached to the shoes, this time!
ReplyDeleteI thought from other photos of your father that he was quite the fashion plate. Your mother was probably very happy to get out of those high laced shoes.
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea of showing just the shoes.
ReplyDeleteThis is so creative! I can imagine what follows soon afterward, a pair of baby shoes for each kiddo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post.
Happy Sepia Saturday, Alan.
Kathy M.
Very creative Alan. This was a hard theme to follow I think, but you chose an unusual angle - in both senses- that really focussed on the subject. Who could blame your Mum for wanting to kick off those boots in favour of dancing shoes?
ReplyDeleteYour father appears to be on a beach deckchair so perhaps this explains his informality. Brogues are better than today's trainers every time.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, great post, and I did not think of cropping my photo. The man's shoes are so elegant and the lady's so drab; but like you said just watch the fashion a bit later when the flappers came on the scene. That was great fashion!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots for the theme. I do believe what they say about fashion- it comes back around. I think I've seen some teenagers wearing those boots. (I'm also thinking about my mom's saddle oxfords- do they ever go out of style?)
ReplyDeleteI like the focus on the shoes. Your father not only had fancy shoes, but he also seems to have carefully selected the socks. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteThat's an original idea. Shoes can show so much about a person can't they. Mind you I would not have thought, from their shoes, that your mum and dad would have met and fallen in love! :D They are almost as opposite as can be.
ReplyDeleteI love 1920s shoes.
And most shoes are for fashion or good looks. What about comfort?
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, Alan -- love those sportin' two-tones!
ReplyDelete...and lucky for you that they met, fell in love and had such a wonderful family....and I especially like their taste in footwear!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIs that top photo of a pair of original Nike Bruin Vintage trainers?
ReplyDeleteI'll bet your mom would have loved to have you crop those torturous looking boots right off of her feet!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Loved it.
Nancy
Your father's socks look interesting, too. I'll bet they were colorful.
ReplyDeleteA very clever pair. I'm sure that shoes like these were cared for and given regular polish to shine.
ReplyDeleteLove the brogues- I've just started jiving and they're very similar to shoes I've seen the 'serious' dancers wearing. I'd love a pair of my own in red and black when I'm good enough!
ReplyDeleteOn my dresser I have my Scottish grandmother's hairbrush, comb, mirror, and button hook. Each day I used the brush and comb and occasionally look at myself in the very old distorted mirror. Alas I don't think I'll ever find a use for the button hook.
ReplyDeleteYou have me certainly curious to see the rest of these shots.
That transition to the flapper era was dramatic, wasn't it? I like your father's two-tone brogues. Men don't have a lot of options to strut a bit, style-wise. These shoes do the trick.
ReplyDeleteNow you have me thinking about shoes, my parents and my own. It's an interesting topic and offers the imagination quite a variety of possible directions one could go in with this. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteFunny how fashions come around and around. Your mother's boots would not be out of place on the street-treading feet of today and, as many ladies would once gain wear boots like your mother's, how about you setting a trend for the gentlemen? Can you not see yourself striding out in a pair of two-tone brogues?
ReplyDeleteWhat a teaser you are!!
ReplyDeleteI would have liked seeing the full pictures...
Oh well!!
:D~
HUGZ
The air of mystery:-) I can imagine your father's trousers from the wide bottoms showing above stylish foot apparel. What a relief for your mother to kick over the traces in her flapper shoes.
ReplyDeleteI too like that you cropped the photos to highlight the shoes. Great idea! If I had thought to do that, you'd see what a great job my dad did at polishing shoes. He always polished his shoes and my sister's and mine at the same time. Even when he got older, his shoes were shined.
ReplyDelete