In England, Fashion, it is true, shifts like the weather cock, with every breeze, but in France, it keeps one continual whirl like the fliers of a jack. (The Fashionable Magazine, August 1786) The increase of prosperity while this era produced a wider store than ever before for luxury goods, together with fine clothes and shoes. The fashion-conscious kept up with the most recent styles straight through observation, letters, and by means of the favorite press. From the beginning of the century journals had carried descriptions of new styles of dress, but frequently with a satirical or moralising edge. From the 1780s, however, a taste for simplicity began to prevail in Britain, a movement given additional impetus by the reaction to collective and political events in France. More practical styles of footwear, such as boots, became increasingly favorite as if to meet an increasingly energetic society's need for less formal costume.

Despite Anglo-French hostilities, the British often looked to Paris as a source of inspiration. Rococo styles were never adopted in Britain with the same enthusiasm as they were in France, but they did make some impact, particularly while the 1750s and 1760s. Many lamented the 'frivolous', 'ridiculous' and sometimes 'indecent' fashions which they claimed were corrupting English dress. Such criticisms do not seem to have prevented women from adopting the precariously high and sensuously curving 'French' or 'Pompadour' heels. Named after Madame de Pompadour, an lawful mistress of Louis Xv, they were narrow-waisted with a very small, tilted base. A heel of such dramatic height, positioned directly under the instep, would have made the foot look wee - but attractiveness had its price. Perhaps the poet Francis Fawkes was exaggerating when he described women 'tottering' on their heels, but they may well have hindered the wearer from walking firmly in an exertion to alleviate the agony suffered by her toes. Not all heels would have been so uncomfortable, and a huge range of shapes continued to prevail, some as broad as a tea-cup's brim, some as narrow as the china circle the cup stands upon' (The London Chronicle, 1762). Although shoes of brocaded silk and wool remained popular, more unusual materials were occasionally used, such as ornate straw-work and richly decorated leather.

Fashion Shoes

In 1767 Lady Mary Coke bought six pairs of painted leather shoes from a shop in Brussels. The compose on the toe, with its vertical lines, scalloped edges and flowering plant intimately resembles the patterns on the Brussels lace lappet. High-heeled mules, commonly known as 'slippers', became increasingly favorite for indoor wear. In 1772, a commentator in The London Magazine marveled at how well women danced and how firmly they walked in this type of shoe.

Shoe Revolution: 1750-1795

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