At long last, my first, non-Renaissance project for the HSF! I was very torn over what fairy tale I wanted to do, and some of my ideas are definitely going to be pursued at a later date. But for now I needed a relatively small project. I already have plans to make a 1912 gown later this year, based on a design I drew in college for a play called "Ring Round the Moon." The story has a bit of a Cinderella rags-to-riches plot, and Cinderella needs her special shoes. I grew up reading my mother's old copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales, in which Cinderella visits the ball three times. The first time she wears white, the second time silver, and the third time gold. So I decided I would make some Gilded Age gold shoes for my Cinderella inspired gown.
I found some nicely shaped beige pumps on ebay with lovely Louis heels, which I painted gold with acrylic paints and sealed with Future Clear Floor Wax. (Oh, and first I gave them a couple coats of yellow leather dye, to give it a nice bright base color.) Then I painted some lace I acquired at Joann fabric (having removed the plastic sequins). I dithered over how much to use and where to put it, but in the end I decided less was more. I added a pearlescent cabochon and some gold beads to the toe to bring it all together. I used my leather punch to add holes along the top of the shoe, so I could lace it up like the inspiration shoe I found.
Example of gold Edwardian shoes
The Challenge: Fairy Tale
Fabric: Beige leather shoes, lace trim
Pattern: None
Year: 1910's
Notions: Gold trim, pearl cabochon, gold beads, assorted paint
How historically accurate is it? Although the shoe is modern, I think I've achieved a period look.
Hours to complete: 4-6
First worn: Not yet
Total cost: $20ish
The unaltered shoe
Yellow leather dye
The first coat of paint came out quite sheer
That's more like it.
The laces I bought. I only ended up using the top one.
Mariko was being needy and got in the way of my picture.
The finished shoes
The finished shoes on me
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