You’re absolutely right, James. I can’t imagine the amount of work involved in the illustration on the first page, and I’ve been in the ad biz for far too many years!
I’ve always found baby dolls disturbing, these ones rate A+ in the nightmare fuel category. If I ever had girls and they wanted baby dolls, I would get them GI Joes or Barbie and tell them to deal with it.
I love 1930s shoes and fashions! These shoes actually look quite comfortable – heels not too high, made of leather, not likely to fall off at any minute. Compare to the stiletto horrors some women wear today – these shoes were made for walking!
“I got Goodyear Welts, hon. Geez, those things hurt!”
he’s currently serving 2 to 5 years, and she got the house.
no, seriously… imitation rubber shoe sole units by Goodyear, aka Goodyear Welts. sewn on in those days, not gooped on with glue that make your feet itch.
ummm, on second thought… he gets probation, she gets the house
swellnana52 :“Let’s dance!Put on your red shoes and dance the blues!Let’s sway,sway through the crowd to an empty space.Under the moonlight,the serious moonlight.”
I liked that song, but it raises the question: have you ever been in silly moonlight? Silly fog, sure. Silly sunshowers, natch. Silly thundersnow, well that’s a given. Silly moonlight? Does not compute.
Some of those women’s shoes look like men’s shoes with heels. The lettering and illustration work is indeed impressive in 1934. Being in the illustration biz myself I can imagine the late night, hair pulling hours involved. I have a reprint 1902 Sears catalog (from 1969). The illustration work in that catalog is unbelievable in it’s intricacy and everything, absolutely everything had to be drawn by hand.
swellnana52 :“Let’s dance!Put on your red shoes and dance the blues!Let’s sway,sway through the crowd to an empty space.Under the moonlight,the serious moonlight.”
I liked that song, but it raises the question: have you ever been in silly moonlight? Silly fog, sure. Silly sunshowers, natch. Silly thundersnow, well that’s a given. Silly moonlight? Does not compute.
Well, not silly moonlight, but definitely un-serious moonlight.
A few years ago I was called upon to do a skit as a Little Old Lady, so I went to the costume shop to get kitted up. I got a wig, a dress, and the sensible shoes, which looked exactly like some of the selections on those pages. I stepped into those shoes and it was as if they had been made for my feet. I have never before or since worn such comfortable shoes. When I took the rented items back to the costume shop, I begged to buy the shoes, but they refused to sell. “These are hard to come by,” they told me. No wonder–they were made to last, and no one who has them wants to give them up!
My mother still has her babydolls from the mid 1930’s (she was born in 1930). They’re just as disturbing in real life as in the ad. They’re in great shape though, that era’s stuff was generally built to last. I bet the bunny faces wouldn’t come off the slippers with dynamite.
@DryOwlTacos
yeah, I was once dressed in vintage 30s clothes for a scene in a film (I am not an actor or extra I just know how to operate the carousel being used in the film). The simple shoes they gave me were very comfortable and I could not figure out why.
@DryOwlTacos
Well looks don’t tell the tale then. I guess that is why, in the decades beyond, little old ladies still LIKED their “sensible” shoes when everyone else was wearing the latest style…
These shoes are WONDERFUL. Every few years, when some faux version comes back into style in the chic shoe shops, I go a little nuts. They look great to me — like first-generation umbrella-wielding, factory-boss-whacking POWER and they feel good on. Remember, these were made in the era when walking around was the main reason for having shoes.
Buster Brown’s – I had those as a kid. (And the company still seems to be around.) And if I recall correctly, there were the little white baby shoes that required a military diligence (on mom’s part) to keep clean.
The trick with the long laced boot isn’t the lacing, that pretty much stays in place between taking your foot out and putting your foot in (a few pulls one the laces every fourth ‘ring’ gets all snug).* The trick is keeping your sock in place as you put the boot on – there is nothing like a misaligned sock to give you major pain very quickly.*
Funny – after I mentioned stilettos in my earlier post, I saw three girls stomping unsteadily down to the subway wearing them! They could hardly walk and to tell the truth they looked the opposite of “empowered” or whatever young women today think they are. Their great-grandmothers could have worn the shoes in the 1934 Sears catalog and walked confidently (and comfortably) wherever they wanted!
On sensible shoes: I am an attorney and I have to wear black dress shoes. (I restrict my suits to navy blue or dark gray – mostly dark gray – cannot go wrong with that.) I just use the black leather (not patent leather) oxford style that I use with my USCGAux uniform. Leather uppers, rubber soles, and very comfortable. And dual-use!
ecb: And not only walked comfortably, but have been able to put a shoe where they wanted it to go. Put it on anatomy, put it on the ground sprinting – where-ever.
@ecb
You don’t know horror until you’ve seen Irritable Bear in his/her stilettos…and black leather peek-a-boo bra AND carrying a whip I had to pay extra for that.
And now for something completely different…Do you suppose that because Sears sold the Walt and Skeezix Game, this means Walt and Skeezix made a game of, well, ya know,…IT??
I once had a pair of penny loafers. I had them for about twenty years (since tenth grade) and had them resoled about five times before the uppers gave out. I wish I could remember the brand, because they were super-comfortable.
“The fashion-idea in the upper right-hand corner never caught on, did it.”
I beg to differ with our Congenial Host on this one; I just purchased a pair of ankle boots remarkably similar to those shoes on Ms Crawford’s page, and how could they not be my favourite shoes ever? Eyelets! Hooks! Perforations! Never mind that Leather Soles spoiled the party atmosphere…
And I am so grateful that I wasn’t walking the earth in 1934, or I would have been doing so unshod — hard to fit my non-fleshy size 12 feet into any of these beauties
@Russell
You actually have a pair of shoes with one black/ the other brown, creme?!?
I thought that only happened to me when I was in a hurry or dressed in the dark.
Just thinking how I miss the old fashioned stationery stores, the smell of them. Great to browse through – plus they always had some random “gift” type items in them.
You actually have a pair of shoes with one black/ the other brown, creme?!?
Doesn’t everyone?!
In the 80s, I would complement my ensemble with mismatched earrings — on the left, a Chicago Cubs logo, on the right, interchangeable numbers representing Ryne Sandberg’s current slugging percentage. Earned me mega tips behind the bar in 1984…
November 20th, 2009
Posted in 
“Metal Toy Pistol Pencil Sharpener”
193x – a cool pencil sharpener
2009 – an automatic expulsion for bringing a “weapon” to school from the zero tolerance/zero common sense idiots.
I can’t get the phrase “fleshy feet” out of my brain now. It hurts. So much.
As if the children of the ’30s didn’t have things rough as it was, they only get a single page of toys?
I can’t imagine how long the laces would have to be for those riding boots.
turning japanese was englands slang term for wanking it or as we call it spanking the monkey
You’re absolutely right, James. I can’t imagine the amount of work involved in the illustration on the first page, and I’ve been in the ad biz for far too many years!
I’ve always found baby dolls disturbing, these ones rate A+ in the nightmare fuel category. If I ever had girls and they wanted baby dolls, I would get them GI Joes or Barbie and tell them to deal with it.
@Mr_Lilacs
Long enough to hang yourself, especially if you have fleshy feets.
The best of the shoes resemble my daughter’s dance shoes. The worst look like torture.
I love 1930s shoes and fashions! These shoes actually look quite comfortable – heels not too high, made of leather, not likely to fall off at any minute. Compare to the stiletto horrors some women wear today – these shoes were made for walking!
“Let’s dance!Put on your red shoes and dance the blues!Let’s sway,sway through the crowd to an empty space.Under the moonlight,the serious moonlight.”
“why, darling, what are these horrible marks?”
“I got Goodyear Welts, hon. Geez, those things hurt!”
he’s currently serving 2 to 5 years, and she got the house.
no, seriously… imitation rubber shoe sole units by Goodyear, aka Goodyear Welts. sewn on in those days, not gooped on with glue that make your feet itch.
ummm, on second thought… he gets probation, she gets the house
I liked that song, but it raises the question: have you ever been in silly moonlight? Silly fog, sure. Silly sunshowers, natch. Silly thundersnow, well that’s a given. Silly moonlight? Does not compute.
Wow! I would love to have a pair of the pull on riding boots! Tan, please.
Some of those women’s shoes look like men’s shoes with heels. The lettering and illustration work is indeed impressive in 1934. Being in the illustration biz myself I can imagine the late night, hair pulling hours involved. I have a reprint 1902 Sears catalog (from 1969). The illustration work in that catalog is unbelievable in it’s intricacy and everything, absolutely everything had to be drawn by hand.
My, the Bleat is looking handsome. I almost don’t know where I am.
Someone had to draw this page.
And someone had to scan it!
Those riding boots look like the USMC’s WWII era M-1938 Dismounted Legging. My Dad complained about that fine piece of Marine Corps equipment.
Is now a bad time to suggest that The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes?
Well, not silly moonlight, but definitely un-serious moonlight.
A few years ago I was called upon to do a skit as a Little Old Lady, so I went to the costume shop to get kitted up. I got a wig, a dress, and the sensible shoes, which looked exactly like some of the selections on those pages. I stepped into those shoes and it was as if they had been made for my feet. I have never before or since worn such comfortable shoes. When I took the rented items back to the costume shop, I begged to buy the shoes, but they refused to sell. “These are hard to come by,” they told me. No wonder–they were made to last, and no one who has them wants to give them up!
My mother still has her babydolls from the mid 1930’s (she was born in 1930). They’re just as disturbing in real life as in the ad. They’re in great shape though, that era’s stuff was generally built to last. I bet the bunny faces wouldn’t come off the slippers with dynamite.
Booted and Spurred – and ready to kick some ASS !
“cause I’m an outdoor kind of woman . . .
@DryOwlTacos
yeah, I was once dressed in vintage 30s clothes for a scene in a film (I am not an actor or extra I just know how to operate the carousel being used in the film). The simple shoes they gave me were very comfortable and I could not figure out why.
@Dave in California
This was before the “Big Wish Book”!
@DryOwlTacos
Well looks don’t tell the tale then. I guess that is why, in the decades beyond, little old ladies still LIKED their “sensible” shoes when everyone else was wearing the latest style…
These shoes are WONDERFUL. Every few years, when some faux version comes back into style in the chic shoe shops, I go a little nuts. They look great to me — like first-generation umbrella-wielding, factory-boss-whacking POWER and they feel good on. Remember, these were made in the era when walking around was the main reason for having shoes.
Just like every other aspect of American life in the 1930’s, President Roosevelt also told you what kind of shoes to buy.
The shoes look very comfortable to me.
“I’m not sure they’d use the term “Goodyear Welts” for footwear today.”
At the risk of stepping on the Manolo’s shoes (heh!), they’re still very much using the term “Goodyear Welt” today.
As to what the heck that means, click here.
Buster Brown’s – I had those as a kid. (And the company still seems to be around.) And if I recall correctly, there were the little white baby shoes that required a military diligence (on mom’s part) to keep clean.
And there were the Fleet-Air shoes.
The trick with the long laced boot isn’t the lacing, that pretty much stays in place between taking your foot out and putting your foot in (a few pulls one the laces every fourth ‘ring’ gets all snug).* The trick is keeping your sock in place as you put the boot on – there is nothing like a misaligned sock to give you major pain very quickly.*
*experience with military boots
Funny – after I mentioned stilettos in my earlier post, I saw three girls stomping unsteadily down to the subway wearing them! They could hardly walk and to tell the truth they looked the opposite of “empowered” or whatever young women today think they are. Their great-grandmothers could have worn the shoes in the 1934 Sears catalog and walked confidently (and comfortably) wherever they wanted!
On sensible shoes: I am an attorney and I have to wear black dress shoes. (I restrict my suits to navy blue or dark gray – mostly dark gray – cannot go wrong with that.) I just use the black leather (not patent leather) oxford style that I use with my USCGAux uniform. Leather uppers, rubber soles, and very comfortable. And dual-use!
Bates is the brand name.
ecb: And not only walked comfortably, but have been able to put a shoe where they wanted it to go. Put it on anatomy, put it on the ground sprinting – where-ever.
@ecb
I had to pay extra for that.
You don’t know horror until you’ve seen Irritable Bear in his/her stilettos…and black leather peek-a-boo bra AND carrying a whip
And now for something completely different…Do you suppose that because Sears sold the Walt and Skeezix Game, this means Walt and Skeezix made a game of, well, ya know,…IT??
I once had a pair of penny loafers. I had them for about twenty years (since tenth grade) and had them resoled about five times before the uppers gave out. I wish I could remember the brand, because they were super-comfortable.
“The fashion-idea in the upper right-hand corner never caught on, did it.”
I beg to differ with our Congenial Host on this one; I just purchased a pair of ankle boots remarkably similar to those shoes on Ms Crawford’s page, and how could they not be my favourite shoes ever? Eyelets! Hooks! Perforations! Never mind that Leather Soles spoiled the party atmosphere…
And I am so grateful that I wasn’t walking the earth in 1934, or I would have been doing so unshod — hard to fit my non-fleshy size 12 feet into any of these beauties
@Russell
You actually have a pair of shoes with one black/ the other brown, creme?!?
I thought that only happened to me when I was in a hurry or dressed in the dark.
Just thinking how I miss the old fashioned stationery stores, the smell of them. Great to browse through – plus they always had some random “gift” type items in them.
You actually have a pair of shoes with one black/ the other brown, creme?!?
Doesn’t everyone?!
In the 80s, I would complement my ensemble with mismatched earrings — on the left, a Chicago Cubs logo, on the right, interchangeable numbers representing Ryne Sandberg’s current slugging percentage. Earned me mega tips behind the bar in 1984…