Pair of shoes

This pair of women's shoes have linen canvas uppers. They are embroidered with flowers in coloured wools in cross stitch and tent stitch. This was a period when fashionable shoes often echoed the pattern of the dress with which they were worn. The shoes have pointed toes and a short, waisted heel that is made of wood and covered with leather. The latchets (straps that fastened across the instep) were originally fastened with buckles. Buckles were separate items and owners often transferred them from one pair of shoes to another. This is why so many pairs of shoes have survived without buckles, as in this case.