Pair of shoes

Ladies could have worn richly trimmed or embroidered shoes such as these with several different garments. Indoor shoes for women were usually made of patterned silk although it was very rare for them to match the fabric of the gown worn with them. The criss-cross and parallel lines of embroidery look like the designs on quilted petticoats that women wore with the fashionable open-fronted gowns. Broad bands of silver-gilt braid became popular in the 1730s and 1740s. These shoes would have been fastened with a buckle. The toe curves upwards rather like the prow of a ship.