Peter Fox Shoes Special Order Program, Sizes 4 to 12

Be assured of getting your size!   We have brought back some old favorites and sizes 4 to 12 are available in most styles. Deposits are being accepted now through July 15, 2014
See Link below for ordering information
http://www.peterfox.com/specialorderprogram.aspx

Women's Size 11 and 11 1/2 Shoes

Do you wear a women's size 11 or 11 1/2 or know somebody that does? It's a difficult size to find and a lot of shoe manufacturers only go to size 10. We have many in stock, especially in our silk dyeable collection.
Our Facebook page has links to many of the styles available. Click on the link below:
Peter Fox Facebook Page

Gilded New York....a visit to the Museum of the City of New York

On a recent visit to the Museum of the City of New York we visited one of their exhibitions "Gilded New York". It explores the culture of the city at the end of the 19th century, an era marked by success and lavish lifestyles.  The exhibition features jewelry, costumes and decorative objects set in a beautiful display. We even found some shoes!
From their website:

Explore the visual culture of elite New York in the late-19th and early- 20th centuries.

Inaugurating the Museum’s Tiffany & Co. Foundation Gallery, Gilded New York explores the city’s visual culture at the end of the 19th century, when its elite class flaunted their money as never before. In New York, this era was marked by the sudden rise of industrial and corporate wealth, amassed by such titans as Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould, who expressed their high status through extravagant fashions, architecture, and interior design. The exhibition presents a lavish display of some 100 works, including costumes, jewelry, portraits, and decorative objects, all created between the mid-1870s and the early 20th century. The dazzling works in the exhibition will illuminate an era when members of the new American aristocracy often displayed their wealth in storied balls in Fifth Avenue mansions and hotels. It was a time when New York became the nation’s corporate headquarters and a popular Ladies’ Mile of luxury retail establishments and cultural institutions helped launch the city to global prominence.

Fancy dress costume by Maison Worth representing “Electric Light,” 1883 • Worn by Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II to the Vanderbilt Ball

Matching satin and sequin slippers and silk stockings to go with her gown

Link to visit the Museum website http://www.mcny.org/content/gilded-new-york

Victorian Lace-Up Boots

We were going through our archives and found this lovely photo from a past New York Times Magazine editorial.  Featuring our Black "Victoria" granny style boots.

Victoria Boot

Peter Fox Shoes On Sale

BIG SUMMER SALE!!!
We will be retiring some long standing styles from our collection. Last chance to order some of your favorites....at a big discount!
Sales are in both Bridal/Dyeable and Leather collections.
Remember...you don't have to be a bride to purchase dyeable shoes.  They can also be dyed to any color for evening shoes or just to a fun color.  Did you ever want to own a pair of red silk shoes?  Now is the perfect time!
10% to 70% off in Bridal and Leather styles!
www.peterfox.com

Red Silk Shoes

Spectator shoes

Oxford shoes

Shoes with Red Bows and Beads

Shoe History

We came across this amazing pair of shoes while browsing the Bata Shoe Museum site.

Among the exotica that made its way to Venice were the highkabkabs worn by Turkish women in bathhouses. Kabkabs are thought to have inspired the chopine. These wooden kabkabs are beautifully decorated with inlaid mother of pearl. Reaching the height of twenty-six centimetres, these kabkabs are less than half the height of the tallest chopine.

Kabkabs
Turkish, 19th century

One Of Our Favorite Shoe Books

One of our favorite shoe books is....

 "Shoes, A Celebration of Pumps, Sandals, Slippers & More" by Linda O'Keeffe.

Printed in 1996 by Workman Publishing; this book is filled with wonderful shoe photos from historical to modern.  It also contains many interesting facts, quotes and stories.  It even has two photos of Peter Fox Shoes, shown in the pages below.  A must have for shoe lovers, designers and fashion history fans.

Front cover

back cover

Custom Order Your Shoe Size

May 2012 Update:  This Special Order Programme has closed.  New selections coming soon.
We are excited to introduce a new program where you can custom order your size in advance!  No more running out of sizes.... more styles, size ranges and colors added.
Now you can order from size 4 to 12....sizes not always available before.
Click on the link below to connect to our page.

Vintage Peter Fox Shoes

We came across this advertisement from the mid-1980's...love the colors!

1980's Flashback...Bridal styles of the 80's

We were looking through some of our older magazine editorials the other day and it struck us at how different wedding styles are now than they were in the 80's.
When Peter Fox started doing shoes in 1982 it was the Reagan Era, Dynasty was a top TV show and women were power dressing.  Excess was in and shoulders were large.  This also applied to wedding styles, dresses had so many "over the top" details.  Big shoulders, "Leg of mutton" sleeves, lots of lace and big wreath-like headpieces. Brides wore white stockings often in lace patterns and shoes were much heavier and heels were lower. The most famous bride of the decade, Princess Diana, epitomized this style with her huge ruffled dress and long train.

Here are a few pictures from our archives, the first three feature earlier Peter Fox Shoes, the rest are just fun to look at.

                                    

Princess Diana

                                   

The iconic Billy Idol White Wedding Album cover

   

Luke and Laura from General Hospital, One of the most
watched TV Weddings

Swimming Shoes

 Recently we were lucky enough to visit the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.  Their current
  exhibit is wonderfully titled "The Roaring Twenties: Heels, Hemlines and High Spirits"

It featured beautiful flapper dresses, bejeweled heels and interesting stories from that era.
One interesting style of shoe that really stood out was this "Swimming Shoe"

Swimming shoes, made by Philips
English, late 1920s 
The 1920s saw increasing numbers of women participating and excelling at sports. The sporting accomplishments of women, such as Suzanne Lenglen’s stunning tennis game and Gertrude Ederle’s record breaking swim across the English Channel were celebrated and inspired many women to take up a sport. Each sport required its own specialized footwear including swimming. This pair of red rubber, “silver wing” bathing shoes would have been worn by a swimmer in pursuit of both fashion and fun at the end of the 20s. 
Collection of the Bata Shoe Museum
Photo credit: 2011 Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada.

Our own photo

What a stylish way to go swimming.... they even have wings!  This style would not look out of place in current times as a street shoe, wings and all.

The Roaring twenties exhibit is on until June 2012, I'll post more pictures soon.
http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/exhibitions/roaring20s/index.shtml

Vintage Peter Fox Shoes

These fanciful shoes are circa 1995 and were inspired by stained glass windows.  They are made of Italian silk and feature a 1940's style heel.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year!

What is a Mary-Jane Shoe?

We hear the term “Mary-Jane shoe” often…but what is it exactly and where did the name come from?

According to Wikipedia:

“Mary Jane is an American term (formerly trademarked) for a kind of strap shoe or sandal that typically has low heels, broad and rounded closed toes, and a single-buckle strap across the instep and/or around the ankle. They are traditionally made of black patent leather, although some current incarnations can be in a wide array of colors and leathers.

Mary Jane was a character created by Richard Outcault for his comic strip, Buster Brown, which was first published in 1902. She was the sister of the title character, Buster Brown.

In 1904, Outcault traveled to the St. Louis World's Fair and sold licenses to up to 200 companies to use the Buster Brown characters to advertise their products. Among them was the Brown Shoe Company, who later hired actors to tour the country, performing as the Buster Brown characters in theaters and stores. This strategy helped the Brown Shoe Company become the most prominently associated brand with the Buster Brown characters. The style of shoe both Buster Brown and Mary Jane wore came to be known by her name, Mary Jane.”

At Peter Fox Shoes we design many of our shoes with Mary-Jane straps. Besides providing comfort and security, this style is an attractive method of solving a lot of fit issues.  For example, if a woman has a wider foot with narrower heel, it will keep the foot from lifting out of the shoe. If a woman has a low arch, it will keep the shoes from gaping in the middle of the foot.

Mary-Jane’s are also wonderful for Brides.  They provide security for outdoor weddings where the ground can often be uneven.  They are also perfect for dancing since you don’t have to worry about your shoes coming off. (Especially if trying to navigate a dress with a big train or skirt).

The Mary-Jane style is a classic…we don’t think it will ever go out of style.

A New Way to Wear Dyed Silk Shoes

We really liked the outfit that Actress Kaley Cuoco (From the show "Big Bang Theory") wore to the 2011 Emmy awards.  It was a simple one-shouldered black dress with a "tea length" hem with very high red satin shoes and a matching evening bag.

She looked fresh and modern, yet with a "retro twist" and stood out among the many more traditional evening gowns.  A great way to add a pop of color to a black dress and show a bit of self-expression.  Silk-satin shoes don't have to be thought of only as old fashioned "dyed to match" anymore....have some fun with color and perk up any outfit.

All Peter Fox Silk-satin shoes are dyeable, see link below:

Peter Fox Silk Shoe Collection

Size 11 and 12 Women's Shoes

We have been offering size 11 and 11 1/2 shoes for many years and have now added size 12 to our size range.

A majority of companies only go to size 10, leaving many women with not much choice in their shoe shopping.  We have had numerous customer requests over the years and have worked with our factory in Italy to create size 11 1/2 and 12 “lasts” that will still look proportional. This means that the proportions of a size 7 shoe and a size 12 style will look the same. (Instead of the shoe just being made longer).

Please check our website for size 12’s….we will also be adding sizes in our new re-orders.  Sizes of existing style can also be special ordered. Please contact us on the link below for ordering info.
http://www.peterfox.com/contact-us.aspx

The Beauty of Shoe Clips

We have recently added a line of hand-made shoe clips to our website.  They include wonderful elements such as vintage silk and organza ribbons, Swarovski crystals and glass pearl embellishments.The collection is great for Eveningwear, Brides and Bridesmaids or anyone who wants to add some decoration to a simple shoe.  

Shoe clips are a wonderful way for a Bride to add some individuality or a touch of “something blue” or a bit of glitz to her shoes. They can also add uniformity to bridesmaid’s shoes, especially if they can’t all wear the same style. There are some really sweet pink and blue bows that are perfect for a flower girl. 

Shoe clips can also go from day to night….not everyone has the luxury of owning a lot of different evening or formal shoes. Dress up a pair of simple shoes for a formal event. Or wear your plain office shoes to work, add some fun clips, and you are all set for a night out!  They can even be used on hats or jackets….they are such a fun and inexpensive accessory.  Shoe clips make a wonderful gift for all shoe lovers!

Click on the link below to go to our shoe clip page

Shoe Clips

How To Care For Nubuck Leather

Nubuck is leather that has been sanded or buffed to give a short nap, producing a velvet-like surface. It is resistant to wear, and can be dyed any color. 

Black Nubuck "Sabrina"

Nubuck is similar to suede, which is made from the inner side of a hide, whereas nubuck is created from the outer side of a hide, giving it more strength and thickness along with a fine grain. It is usually more expensive than suede, and is dyed to cover up the sanding and stamping process.  While very soft and durable, it does scratch easily.

Follow these steps to insure your nubuck shoes stay beautiful:

1)    A bit of preventive maintenance goes a long way.  Spray your shoes with a protective spray made especially for nubuck and suede.  This process should be repeated regularly.

2)    If your shoes get wet, let them sit and dry thoroughly.  The nubuck might seem a bit hard, but the nap can be brushed with a special nubuck brush to soften the leather and remove any surface dirt.

3)    If you get marks on lighter colors, a nubuck “stone” or “eraser can be used to gently rub the marks.  This is a great product and can be purchased at most shoe repair shops.

4)    Nubuck can be cleaned. Special cleaners are available, but if you don’t feel comfortable cleaning them yourself; a good sho repair shop can make your shoes look like new.

Nubuck is a beautiful, soft but strong leather…...a bit of care will ensure

years of wear!

1970's Vintage Peter Fox Platforms

‎1970's flashback......
Peter Fox, Stained Glass Effect Platform Boots (c. 1973), [Museum of Vancouver, Vancouver BC May 14-Sep 26]

What is a D'orsay Shoe?

Many shoes are described as d’orsay pumps, but what does that expression mean and where did the name come from?

It generally refers to a pump style shoe in which the vamp is cut away on the sides, showing the arch and the side of the foot. The heels can be high or low, but usually it has a closed heel-back and toe.  Some shoe manufacturers will even include a hidden elastic inside the heel back which will help the shoe stay on the foot, especially for women with narrow heels. 

 

It is widely thought that this shoe style is named after the French noble artist, painter and sculptor  Count D’orsay in the 19^th century. He  was known for his charm and style in both fashion and art.  At this time both men and women wore pump style shoes that often didn’t fit and gaped on the sides. Being a style-setter and all around fashion dandy, he had the idea to cut out the sides of the shoes so that they would fit better.

Today the D’orsay shoe is considered a classic style that is both flattering and elegant. Leaving the arch of the foot exposed and often giving a peek of “toe cleavage”, it is also thought of as a very sexy shoe style, especially in a high heel. This style flatters most feet and elongates the leg for short skirts and eveningwear and even Bridal shoes.