A trunk of Pietro Yantorny shoes..shoe lovers equivalant of a pirate's treasure chest!
I was cruising the internet the other night and wandered into the Met Muesum. www.metmuseum.org. Of course being me, I somehow ended up in the "shoe department". All I can say is WOW. If you like shoes and costume history, it is a great site. I went to the Costume area and typed in shoes and ...(insert Sponge Bob narrators voice here) 2 hours later... I noticed the shoes that were really catching my eye were the work of a shoemaker (actually shoe artist would be more fitting) named Pietro Yantorny. I looked him up and he was born in Italy in 1874 to Russian parents. He was illiterate but apprenticed and learned the shoemakers art. He moved to Paris and set up shop, placing a sign in the window "Most Expensive Shoemaker in the World". Pretty gutsy but self- fulfilling! The uppercrust clientele poured in. Depending on the intricacy, he could command up to $5370 per pair for his shoes which in the first quarter of the 1900's was an enormous ammount of money. He expected his new clients to buy at least 10 pairs of his shoes, plus handcarved mahogany shoe trees, plus stockings and of course, a shoe trunk. If you look at his shoes you can see he was influenced by the past as well as the couture fashion of his day. I love the perfect curves they have! One of his best clients was NY socialite Rita De Acosta Lydig. I am guessing quiet a few of the Met's shoes are hers. There are also yummy Dior and more shoes at the Met which I may pic later. This first pair is green velvet w/ lace overlay.
Cream silk with lace...
Rose red brocade with paste buckles..
Black silkwith sequins...
Black and gold brocade with velvet bows and paste buckles..
A silver metallic embroidered Moraccan style slipper ...
These look like embossed leather but I think they are embroiddered silk...
Annnd one of my fav pairs, a pink and rose 2 tone velvet with lace and paste buckles..*sigh* I will be dreaming of shoes for a week!
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