Designer Focus - Daniel Green

I was sifting through the vintage shoes on eBay the other day and saw these amazingly decadent boudoir slippers that rivaled anything coming from Agent Provocateur or Victoria's Secret. The shape was a retro heeled slipper and they were the perfect accompaniment for the vintage slips that I am loving.



I love the almost cupcake swirly-ness of this rosette.



The Daniel Green brand has a history that goes back to 1881, when he saw factory workers wearing shoes made of leftover scraps of piano felt to keep their feet warm on the cold floors. From those humble beginnings, the company grew. It started with Daniel and his brother creating shoes in a room over their kitchen to selling over 75,000 in their 3rd year of business. Pretty impressive!

In my opinion though, the company must have been in their heyday with the styles from the 40's - 60's, which are most of the ones you see here. The colors were rich and I'm just in love with the ruffles. They almost look like shoes from the French court of Louis the XVI.



Here's a peek at some of the gorgeous pairs I found on eBay. Can't you see someone like Lana Turner or Marilyn Monroe swanning around in these and a negligee?











I got a pair of red ones like the ones just above - with the tulle and button - and a pair with the stain ruffle rosette.

You can even see the decadence in these more house slipper styles. The shape is more conservative but still with sumptuous details and fabric.







The sad thing is that the styles of the Daniel Green shoes have seemed to age as their early clientele has. The company is still around but they are much less sexy than they used to be. Maybe in the 1960's and 1970's it wasn't cool to wear feminine boudoir slippers so they had to adapt to keep going.




But now is the time to reclaim them. And eBay has some great pairs, many of which are pristine. And the cost is cheap. Usually around $15 or so. Maybe if they become big sellers again we'll see a return to the glamorous styles. If anything, you can have a lovely satiny girl-y slipper to pair with your seduction ensemble.