Today my friend Sybille and her friend Emmy and I went to the new exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem MA. The show is brand new, it just opened a few days ago. If you are anywhere near Salem MA during the next couple of months, I strongly recommend this terrific show if you are a shoe lover!
The teaser for the Shoe show is in the lobby, a huge “shoemobile”.
The shoes range in age from the 17th century (or possibly older) through the 21st century. There are both women’s and men’s shoes. Many of the shoes are haute couture shoes, many of the historic shoes are handmade (see the Indian wedding sandals below that raise the bride up so she can be easily seen), and quite a few appear to be one-of-a-kind shoes.
The curator’s commentary throughout the show is shared in plaques on the walls, and it definitely adds to the experience. She talks about the role that shoes play in our lives that goes way beyond function, how they define who we are as well as what our status is.
In addition, there is some commentary on how shoes are made, and the “lasts” for some very famous people including Princess Diana are on display. The exhibit ends with some photos and objects on how shoes are displayed and stored, including a shoe closet that is to die for!
I truly hope you’ll be able to go to see this fascinating show in person. But I’d like to share a few more photos to whet your appetite or for those of you who are too far away to attend.
There are literally hundreds of pairs of shoes in this exhibit. You must see them for yourself!
Is this the type of exhibit you would enjoy? What are your favorite pair of your own shoes? Tell me about them in the comments!
Loved the photos. Really want to see the exhibit. Need to figure out who would want to take the long drive with me. Happy Thanksgiving!
Liz, if you are able to make the drive either on your own or with a friend, I would be thrilled if you would spend the night at my house! I would love to see you. And I know I’d be up for going to the exhibit again too. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Well… those are interesting! hahahah I’ve always had really small feet, so buying cute shoes was never in the cards for me. I’m not a heels girl, either. If I could, I’d wear flip flops and sandals years-round!
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They didn’t have any actual flip flops, but they had plenty of ballet flats and slippers, espadrilles and sandals, not only ones that we might wear but historic ones and those from other countries and cultures. It was pretty fascinating
This is absolutely fantastic! I would have loved to have seen this exhibit! I had to study Renaissance clothing and shoes to historically unpack a painting that I wrote about for my M.A. Thesis, and really enjoyed looking at all of the 15th and 16th Century Italian shoes worn by noblewomen and courtesans!
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I think you would love this exhibit, Helen. It was both fun and educational. I should have paid more attention to the dates on the Italian shoes as there were quite a few of them as well as shoes worn by members of the French court. Your MA thesis sounds fascinating! Who was the artist?
This really sounds, and looks, like a wonderful exhibit! Vittore Carpaccio was the subject of my MA thesis. Fascinating Venetian painter!
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Aha! When I went to Venice for the first time in the 1980s with my friend Mary Kay, we foolishly didn’t book rooms in advance. We were young and novice travelers. When we got to Venice, we didn’t know that the Biennale was going on and there were no rooms in the city at all. At the Tourist Bureau in the train station, we joined a long line of other roomless travelers. Mary Kay and I were paired up with Chris Schlessinger, daughter of Arthur Schlessinger, who was an art historian or an art history grad student (time dims my memory) who was traveling with her girlfriend to Venice to see the Carpaccios! We spent a fascinating night with them at a seaside resort favored by German tourists in Jesolo. Quite memorable.
This looks like a great place to go. I went to a shoe museum once in Toronto and it was fascinating. These pictures are so cool.
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I had so many more photos, but I was concerned that PEM would object if they found my post. I was blown away by the gorgeousness of so many of the shoes, and the historic shoes were amazing. Boy, did people have tiny narrow feet! Speaking of feet, Marcia, are you still in the cast or were they able to take it off? I can’t remember which day was your appointment – before or after Thanksgiving?
I don’t see the doctor until Dec. 5th. I can’t wait to get this thing off and hopefully I will. It will be nice to be independent again.
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Oh heck, sorry that you’ve got another 10 days dragging the cast around. Hopefully, it will come soon enough. I hope you can be a guest this Thanksgiving, and have a chance to get out of the house and socialize.
What a fun day with your friends! I would love to see that exhibit!
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It really was a great day. We went out for tea at the cutest tea shop afterwards. The exhibit was fabulous. I hope it’s a traveling show so more people can get to see it
Haha some of the designs are truly out of this world!
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You’re right, Babi! Some of the shoes were unbelievable. There were quite a few shoes from India including the bride’s sandals in the photo.
Yes, I see myself drooling over those shoes! Wish there’s something like that here in HI
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The Shoe exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum may be traveling to other museums but probably not as far as HI. You would have loved this shoe show! Happy Thanksgiving!
This looks like such an interesting exhibit! I’ve been to the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, but it was just a fast visit and didn’t get to see all I would have liked.
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Oh, Bata would be an interesting visit! This is a show developed by the museum that will run for 2 months. Not sure if it will travel to another museum. They did a show on hats a few years ago and that was a winner too!
I remember Naomi Campbell falling on the runway, wearing those shoes. This looks like an incredible exhibit.
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That’s amazing, Erika! There were curators notes on many of the shoes, and there was a photo of Naomi and a description but I wasn’t able to get close enough to read it. Now that you told me about her escapade on the runway, I wonder if that’s what the photo and captions were about?
OMG this is so cool! I want to go!
The Shoes exhibit at PEM was so much fun. You would love it!
This looks AWESOME!!
What an amazing exhibit of shoes…the fashion and history!! 🙂
Ursula
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It was so much fun to see all those great shoes, Ursula! A fun day