Flapper Shoes

I’ve been on the lookout for a pair of affordable flapper shoes since 2003. Much like the reindeer sweater, this item has been filed away in my brain under ‘Things I Want That I Hope to Find Someday.’

A few weeks ago I checked out Flapper Era Fashions from the library, and began actively lusting after jazz age shoes again after browsing through all the vintage shoe ads from the 1920s.

I tried to push away my thoughts about prancing around in a pair of flapper kicks, though, because any contemporary shoes I’ve seen in the past few years that fit the bill have been insanely out of my budget.

So imagine my delight when I stumbled across these shoes last weekend on a clearance rack:

There was one pair left in size 8. I almost didn’t try them on because I tend to wear a size 8.5-9 . Then I thought about the recent conversation I had with my friend Noel about how it’s strange that a decade ago, we both wore size 9-9.5, and now we find that we can fit into smaller shoes.

Our reasoning wasn’t that our feet were getting smaller, but rather, that shoe companies were sizing shoes differently, to make women feel better about their large feet. I have no idea if there is any truth to our theory or not, but recalling that conversation made me decide to at least try the flapper shoes on in the store.

Low and behold, I was both amazed and pleased as punch that the shoes fit perfectly! It was a match made in shoe heaven, and I gleefully brought home the pair of sexy size eights.