Figure 1.--Here we see American childrenwearing strap shoes for play, we thinkn in the 1910s. Notice, however, that the children are rather dressed vup, even for play.

Strap shoes were worn by children, both boys and girls, in the 19th and early-20th century. They were not seen as a style with a particular use in mind, although they tended to be worn primarily by children from well-to-do families. Thus it gives the impression of a dress shoe. Here a complication was that people tended to dress formally and the concept of play clothes was just beginning to develop. After World War I, strap shoes increasingly began to be seen as a girl's style. They also became to be seen as more of a dress shoe. Strap shoes were available in both dress and play styles. At first both boys and girls wore the same strap shoes, but gradually usage conventions developed and ceventually thec strap shoe became seen as a girls' dress shoe style. While dress and play strap shoes had the same basic design, there were diffences. The type of leather was one of the most importnt.

Dress Shoes

Strap shoes were worn by children, both boys and girls, in the 19th and early-20th century. They were not seen as a style with a particular use in mind, although they tended to be worn primarily by children from well-to-do families. Thus it gives the impression of a dress shoe. We also note this trend in the early-20th century. We note strap shoes being worn for formal events. A good example is an unidentified brother and dister in their First Communion outfits about 1920. We still see boys wearing strap shoes when dressing up in the 1920s. Both wear strap shoes. Norice the girl wears black strap shoes even with her white dress and stockings. A good example is an Unidentified American family, we think in the late 1920s. This became much less common for boys in the 1930s. Color became a factor. black strap shos became seen as a dress shoe. Even after boys stopped wearing strap shoes, girls continue wearing them as a dress shoe.

Play Shoes

The strap shoes was worn in more informal situations in the early-20th century. We see children wearing them for play as well in the early-20th century as actual play garments developed. Here a good example was the tunic. Strap shoes were normally worn with Buster Brown suits. While not a play suit as such, the Buster Brown suit was often a not a boy's best party suit. Thus boys might have worn it for play, but generally not games or rough outdoor activities. After World War I, strap shoes did not develop as a popular play style, at least not for vboys. Girls might wear them for vplay, but they gradually acquired the image of more of a dress shoe. They declined in popularity for boys and rarely worn for play by American boys after the 1930s. Rather sandals developed as a plasy shoe. We see boys wearing them in the 1910s, but they did not prove very popular for boys. While black strap shoes acquired the image of a dress shoe, the clor variants (brown, blue, and red) became see as more of a play shoe. Even the colored strap shoes eventually became seen as more of a girl's style as well. Social class factors were involved here. Boys from affluent families might wear strap shoes while they were much less common among working-class children.

Created: 9:21 PM 8/23/2010
Last updated: 9:21 PM 8/23/2010