Figure 1.--Here we have a snapshot of an unidentified, but clearly wealthy family. T phtpgraph looks to ahave been taken in the 1930s. The boy is pictured with his nanny done up rather like a nurse. The British some times use the term nurse maid. The boy looks to be about 4 years old. He wears what looks like a sweater, shiort pants white socks and black strap shoes. They are being worn as play shoes, but look like expensive patent leather shoes. He holds what looks like a great toy soldier.

English children, both boys and girls, wore strap shoes in both the 19th and 20th centuries. Unlike America, high-top shoes did not totally dominate footwear, especially children's footwear. Our image archive on the 19th century is still relaltively limited, but we see children wearing strap shoes and low-cut shoes in general much more commonly than in America. We note Rebecca Solomon's fascinating depiction of an idealized Victorian family (early-1850s). The boy wears ankle-style strap shoes with white three-quarter socks, We know much more about the 20th century. Srap shoes may be most associated with English boys because of A.A. Milne's Christopher Robin (and in recent years Disney). English boys wore strap shoes in the early 19th century, often with skeleton suits. We note both ankle strap shoes and instep strap shoes. Except for very young children, often in dresses, they appear to have declined in popularity. They appear again in the early-20th century, first as dressy shoes with Fauntleroy suits and other formal outfits. There were especially common for weathly children. A good example is Adrian Gerald Foley in 1926. By the 1920s they began to be worn as play shoes, especially during the summer. Some boys wore rather dressy casual outfits. An example is a boy and his sister in 1916. By the 1930s, however, this was changing. We mostly see girls and younger boys were wearing them. The impage here was pribably taken in the 1930s. The major exceptiion was boys from wealthy families. Older boys more commonly wore sandals with the "T" bar center piece that became known as school sandals. Strap shoes for boys were becoming much less common after World War II (1939-45). The last boys we see wearing strap shoes except at formal weddings were Princees Harry and William in the 1980s. Looking at the portrait, is is hard to imagine he would evr do what he did to the Queen and royal family.

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Created: 9:33 AM 4/15/2024
Last updated: 9:33 AM 4/15/2024