Figure 1.--Here we see an American boy in the 19th century wearing strap shoes with a Fauntleroy suit. All we know for sure about this boy was that he was photographed in Belott, Wisconsin. We are not sure how to date it. The simple photo mount without a logo suggests the 1870s to us. The Fauntleroy suit itself seems more like the 1880s. We are not yet sure about the bows on the shoes. |
Strap shoes for children appeared early in 19th century. I have first noted them worn by boys with skeleton suits. I am not sure who developed this style of shoe or just why it was considered suitable for children. The style itself has ancient origins and a shoe with a open front and crossbar was widely worn in the Middle Ages by both men and women, it was not at the time, however, considered a child's style. The strap shoe does not appear to have had gender conotations. It does appear to have social class conotations. Given the rough outdoor conditions, this was not a shoe that would be worn by a child to tromp around outdoors. Only children living in a nice home and that were conveyed to special occasions outside the home would wear them. It was a dress shoe, children did not wear them for play. Hightop shoes were the most coomon shoe in the late 19th century. We do see many boys wearing these shoes for formal portraits. An example of the instep-strap style is A. Balfour, a Canadian boy in 1893. An example of a ankle-strap style is another Canadian boy. Unfortunately many available images are undated. We note many strap shoes came with bows. We are not yet sure how to date these bows.
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