Lady's clog
Category
Leatherwork
Date
1720
Materials
Silk brocade, kid and leather
Order this imageCollection
Killerton, Devon
NT 1361998.3
Caption
During the 18th century, fashionable women wore shoes made of colourful, expensive silk to convey their wealth and status. Silk shoes were designed to be worn indoors and were shown off while sitting or dancing, when they became visible below the hem of full-length gowns. Although shoes could be matched to dresses, silk fabric was so highly prized that it could be recycled decades after a pattern was first woven, and therefore fully co-ordinated accessories were unusual. These opulent shoes made in the 1720s are a striking combination of floral purple silk brocade finished with a green silk binding, and are lined inside with white kid and red silk. They survive with rare examples of matching protective clogs (overshoes) that raise each shoe off the ground onto a robust leather sole, held in place with a heel socket and crossed latchets that would originally have had ties. Ordinarily worn with a buckle, each shoe is identical, with no left or right, and has a pointed, upcurved toe in a style known as needlepoint. The stars impressed on the soles are a maker’s mark. Emma Slocombe
Summary
One of a pair of lady's clogs. Purple brocade lady's shoes with green binding and matching clogs. Clog, matching clog with same toe. Straps lined with white kid, ties missing, leather covered heel socket. 1720 (circa)
References
Jane Ashleford, The Art of Dress. Clothes and Society 1500-1914, The National Trust, 1996, pp.132-133. Antrobus and Slocombe 2025: Helen Antrobus and Emma Slocombe, 100 Things to Wear: Fashion from the collections of the National Trust, National Trust 2025, pp. 56-57.