Hello All...
I am sure THIS is going to be a FINE DAY....for all of us. :>)
I bought a new pair of SHOES the other day
and they are so different from anything I've ever worn...
and was reminded of all the different styles that
have graced this 8 1/2 size FOOT
over all these years....
(remember...I am extremely OLDEN)
Well, like most babies and young children of the time,
I started out in
BUSTER BROWN SHOES.
They were supposed to be the finest "little people" shoes made and I had the baby walkers and the little Mary Jane shoes...
Being born on the last day of 1937,
I was born into the
GREAT DEPRESSION
******
The Great Depression was a severe world wide economic depression in the decade preceding
WORLD WAR II.
The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s.
It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century.
(I have sooo many stories told to me about this sad time in our history...
memories on hold for another post)
The above is my war ration book, which everyone had
during and after World War II.
Almost everything was rationed...
gasoline, sugar, shoes....etc.
My mother would trade SHOE STAMPS to her sister, my Aunt Bonnie,
in exchange for SUGAR STAMPS.
At that time, Mom had only 1 child to buy shoes for ...
Aunt Bonnie had 2 kids.
Mother would get the extra sugar, make a cake or cookies and take half of it to Aunt Bonnie. :>)
****
OK.....They were supposed to be the finest "little people" shoes made and I had the baby walkers and the little Mary Jane shoes...
Being born on the last day of 1937,
I was born into the
GREAT DEPRESSION
******
The Great Depression was a severe world wide economic depression in the decade preceding
WORLD WAR II.
The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in 1930 and lasted until the late 1930s or middle 1940s.
It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20th century.
(I have sooo many stories told to me about this sad time in our history...
memories on hold for another post)
during and after World War II.
Almost everything was rationed...
gasoline, sugar, shoes....etc.
My mother would trade SHOE STAMPS to her sister, my Aunt Bonnie,
in exchange for SUGAR STAMPS.
At that time, Mom had only 1 child to buy shoes for ...
Aunt Bonnie had 2 kids.
Mother would get the extra sugar, make a cake or cookies and take half of it to Aunt Bonnie. :>)
****
then, I moved into
MUCH MORE SOPHISTICATED SHOES...
OOO, yes...the 50's !!!
The 50's and SADDLE OXFORDS
I must have had this room full of SADDLE OXFORDS...
(BETH...if you are reading this, I just KNOW you wore these, too :>)
in all colors, at one time or another.
O, I only had ONE PAIR AT A TIME...
and mostly I chose
BLACK and WHITE...
SEE....
even back in high school I totally loved
BLACK and WHITE. lol...lol...lol
(BETH...if you are reading this, I just KNOW you wore these, too :>)
This is NOT a picture of ME...
but, oh, it well COULD be.
Cotton, gathered skirts...
Saddle Oxfords, anklets and a comb stuck in one of them...
O HONEY !!
************************
and THEN....
ALONG CAME
the PLEATED TOE BALLERINA.
now, I have to say THIS was probably my most favorite
HIGH SCHOOL SHOE
of all time.
Not a STITCH of SUPPORT anywhere in this shoe...
as FLAT as a FRITTER
but I loved them to the moon and back.
That little pleated, soft leather toe didn't last 'til the water got hot....
but they were CHEAP....and my mom was sooo good to make sure I had a pair WITHOUT A HOLE IN THE TOE.
hahhhaaa....
awesome memories here...
I have pictures of me...
in long cotton skirts and these pleated toe shoes...
when I get them UNPACKED, I'll show ya...!! :)
I have pictures of me...
in long cotton skirts and these pleated toe shoes...
when I get them UNPACKED, I'll show ya...!! :)
**************
Next, we enter into the
PENNY LOAFER...
NOT ONLY THE PENNY LOAFER...
but the penny loafer with
TAPS....
HONKIN', BIG TAPS...
Again, NEITHER set of THESE FEET belong to me
but well they COULD....
Can you imagine how a large high school with tons of GIRLS
wearing loafers with LARGE TAPS on them must have sounded
to our teachers and principal....????
and, of course, with those big taps on our shoes and us feelin' SOOO COOL,
we couldn't just take normal steps..
no siree bob...
we had to SHUFFLE those feet....
just ALMOST breaking into a TAP DANCING ROUTINE, going down the halls.
It didn't take but about a week until we were BANNED from TAPS...!!! LOL
gotta love it...
WOW...
what an awesome and fun time in my life....
***
Moving right along...
THE HIGH HEEL
I will confess, right here and now....
that, at one time in my
LBK....
(life before kids....:),
I had almost 70 pair of shoes in my closet...
me...BAD !!
(what was that Emelda woman's name??)
ALL of us have worn high heels and
SOME LADIES STILL WEAR THEM.
I think they are beautiful and make the legs look like
A MILLION BUCKS.
I couldn't make it from my closet to the bathroom in a pair now. :(
*
and soooo,
this brings me to show you what shoes I just bought....
when STACY and I go to CANTON next Thursday...
"...these shoes were made for walkin'....
and that's just what I'll do.....
Now, I've owned a houseful of TENNIS SHOES...
but never THIS BRIGHT...
...and as if they aren't BRIGHT enuf....
....how 'bout THESE
cutie pie SOX.....
hahhhaaa....oh, I just love them !!
You may can tell that my beautiful STACY helped me pick out my cute shoes and sox.
TODAY, 4/29
is her birthday....
We all love you so so much, Stacy Leigh.
Love, Mom and Dad
You may can tell that my beautiful STACY helped me pick out my cute shoes and sox.
TODAY, 4/29
is her birthday....
Love, Mom and Dad
38 comments:
Good grief, I absolutely LOVED this post! I was a post-war baby, but definitely around for penny loafers with taps on the bottom! How I loved those. And the saddle shoes - not the pointy, softer ones that came later, but the tough round-toe ones which I still think are the cutest things! What fun memories you brought back. And aren't you glad your mother kept that war rations book! What a treasure! I was just thinking today about this generation and wondering if they could even survive if suddenly the grid went down or we had to do something like ration. I mean, can they even survive even a half hour without their ipod?? LOL
Where do I meet you for my ice cream??? My daughter and I will be in Canton on Saturday. We can't wait - it's been years since we've been there. The forecast is 76 degrees and absolutely no chance of rain. Sounds great. That way my ice cream won't melt before I finish it. :)
I loved my penny loafers,,but girl I think my old time favor ones were my "Johnny Rays" from the 50's called tear drops..At one time I had over 300 pairs of shoes until I hurt my back and send them to the Hospice store..Great post girl..I wonder if they even have shoe repair shops anymore..Hugs and smiles Gloria
Oh I wore all the same shoes as you, born in the same time frame. I now wear Sketchers most of the time, then an occassional flat or medium heel. Love your new shoes and socks. Hugs, Marty
I LOVED this post!! Very interesting to me. I just love that you have the war ration book. That comb in the sock cracked me up! We used to have huge combs in our back pockets (in the 80's) and mine kept getting confiscated in P.E. class. :) I kept forgetting we weren't supposed to have anything in our pockets. Your new shoes look fantastic (especially with those socks!) Love them!
Oh the shoes we wear throughout life. Such a fun post!
Happy Birthday to Stacy.
Oh I remember all of those shoes. The ballerinas were popular in my heyday and I had a different colors to match my clothes.
Great post! Thanks for the memories!
Imelda Marcos.
My motto is...."If the shoe fits...buy it!"
And, I have well over 70 pairs of shoes right now. I don't deserve them cuz I always wear the same couple pairs. Just a matter of convience and laziness. Bedroom is upstairs and I am not going to run up for a different pair every day.
OH! OH! My main comment was to tell you to break in the new shoes. BTW - love the bright socks!
What a fun post. It certainly does bring back memories. In my day, we called our high heel shoes spike heels. Have a great week.
Cute shoes! But - they're really not THAT bright. You'll blend right in with those.
Hi Bj, Boy you brought back the memories. You are a little older then me, but I can remember the rationing that my parents talked about and I know where there are some of the stamps used back then. The saddle oxfords, mine was black and white. Thank you for all those memories of the shoes that we wore. Hugs and Prayers from Your Missouri Friend.
I remember saddle oxfords, but mine were black and white. There were no other colors in our stores. I had the other shoes too except for the ballet slippers. "Too much money 'cause they don't last," Mama said.
Thanks for playing.
Happy Blue Monday, BJ.
Happy Birthday to your gorgeous Daughter:) LOVE the shoes and bright socks! I remember so many of those shoes. My Granddaughter wears uniforms to school and can you believe she wears saddle oxfords? Yes she does and looks SO cute in them:) Have a blessed day dear BJ, HUGS!
I just had a random memory about Buster Brown shoes. I loved getting those as a child - there was the Buster Grown Golden Goose that laid a Golden Egg - and you would get an egg full of prizes (or perhaps junk) when you would buy a pair of shoes. Anyone else remember that or did I dream that up?
Good morning bj, http://backyardneighbor.typepad.com/backyard_neighbor/2013/04/the-50th-celebration-party-pink-saturday.html
Your post is so close to my life it made me laugh. I also wear an 8 1/2 shoe. Your post is so darling. You always have the most fun and best posts in blogland. I mean it!!!
Your sneakers and socks 'rock' and I know you will have a wonderful time in Canton. I want to go too!!!
Happy Birthday to your darling granddaughter Stacy.
Love and hugs,
Jeanne
Wow bj, the oddest thing just posted on my comment.
The first part should read...I'm BACK! Our anniversary was wonderful and this morning my feet are back on the ground...finally. Thank you so much for your many anniversary well wishes. this celebration in Dec. on our cruise until this past Saturday. My post is up and it was so hard to decide what to share.
Yikes, this has never happened to me before.
xoxoxo, me again
Happy Birthday to Stacy and wonderful post about delightful events for you with shoes ~ ^_^
This was fun! I certainly miss saddle shoes and especially penny loafers!
I wore saddle shoes in the late 60's as a cheerleader! I loved penny loafers too and had to have bright shiny pennies in them. Have a great day BJ!
So much shoe fun! I loved heels in my day, too, but those days have passed. In high school we all "had to have" Pappagallos.
Happy, happy birthday to your Stacy. I know you girls will have a great adventure.
Oh I remember the saddle shoes only too well. By the time I got a pair, they were going out of style and mine were specially made for flat feet with built up heels and arch supports from the orthopedic clinic. NOT the kind I'd always dreamed of wearing!
I loved high heels, but couldn't wear them now if my life depended on it! Ha!
Happy Birthday to Stacy. This post took me back to my high school days. Black and white oxfords, penny loafers, and after graduation and when I started to work high heels. If I tried to walk in high heels now I'd fall flat on my face. Have a blessed day. Madeline
What a fun post down the memory shoe aisle. As a young girl we don't realize the sacrifices our mothers made to keep us in style. What a wonderful mother you must have had. Thanks for the memories. Have a great week.
Great post. Love that you saved that war time ration book. Wow. I remember wanted penny loafers in the 80's. They were back style with all the PREPPY people :) I saved all my money and went to San Francisco for an expensive pair. :) My mom thought they were great because she had them too when she was my age! Love your new colorful shoes and socks!
Karen
I love those shoes and socks... Good for you! You will walk on sunshine in those.
Great post, BJ! Shoes tell so much about us and our history, don't they? Even though I didn't live during that time period, I love so much about it and appreciate those who did! Thanks for sharing.
Birthday greetings to your daughter.
Thanks for the memory walk.
OMG I thought I was reading about me. I wore exactly the same shoes. LOL
I have a couple years on you. My poor feet from cramming them into those high heal shoes morning noon and night. I probably had as many pair as you did. Now I am in to ortho shoes that are so ugly, guess combat boots would look better.
Have a wonderful time at your flea market.
Happy Birthday to your daughter.
\Mary
Some cute shoes! Beautiful post. I played too. Mine are here and here.
I remember wearing the black and white oxfords. I was wearing them in a photo of my girlfriend and I "pretend" hitchhiking at the school bus one morning which I posted.
The 50's were a great time for teenagers. So romantic..great memories.
No comb in my socks though..and the shoes were polished every single night and buffed to a pretty sheen. Knitted angora cuffs set the shoes off beautifully and a matching angora sweater... ah memories...pale pink...
What a neat post!I remember wearing saddle shoes to Catholic school way back when. Happy Monday!
Great Post,.... Thanks for such great research. It's also my sister and friends birthday today also.
Nancy
What a fun post bj. I remember penny loafers, but not with the taps.
Happy birthday to Stacy.
Hope you find lots of treasures at Canton and love your shoes and socks. Never have gone but would love to sometime.
Hugs,
Audrey Z.@ Timeless Treasures ..
BJ you write posts that are the MOST fun to read!
I wore saddle oxfords to school because they were part of our uniform - the best part! I'll have to do a post on those ugly uniforms.
When I think about rationing I think about how lucky we are and I wonder if we are made of the same strong stuff that made up our parents who struggled through some terrible times.
You are so funny, BJ. Loved the post on the shoes of each era!
BJ,
Thanks so much for stopping by!! Joe reads my comments so I am afraid he will get a big head when he reads your comment about him being a hunk!!!! LOL!!!
Thanks so much for this trip down memory lane!! I remember Buster Brown Shoes!! And I wore Saddle shoes but in the 70's , not 50's. Now if I did not have arthritis and problems with my legs and feet , I would definitely be wearing all those high heeled shoes!!
But I usually wear Clark's and Easy Spirits.... Funny what age does to you, huh??? LOL!!
Hugs.
Deb
BJ,
Loved this post, dear friend!!!
I can remember asking for Saddle Shoes, but MoMa said "No"...and that was that. I did persuade MoMa for Penny loafers...mine were red!!!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!
Fondly,
Pat
I love this post Mom!
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