Elvire,

                                 from  my George Barbier series. This pair of shoes is based on his costume design for Elvire in Maurice Rostand's play La Vie amoureuse de Casanova (1918).  The mode of these shoes is very Rococo, a style of art and ornament associated with the excesses of French High Society and Louis XV reign.  During this time trimmings on clothes and shoes were elaborate and costly using all manner of lace, ribbon and flowers. The shoes have the Louis heel, spayed at the base and waisted and have large bows on the toes and a high tongue. Beads of platinum edge the gently curving lines of braid and the shoes are decorated with impressed patterns of leaves and flowers which were themes from this era.  These shoes are designed to be hung with ribbon within a frame on the wall.