“I think that’s 1949 for ‘your shoes look like they were made for a hooker’…”

Gainsborough Shoes designed by Jack Rimler at Ian Drummond Vintage Etsy Shop
Gainsborough Shoes designed by Jack Rimler at Ian Drummond Vintage Etsy Shop

We’re fans of pretty footwear as much as anyone, but some “float our boat” more than others. Gainsborough shoes, as described in a post by Jonathan Walford of the Fashion History Museum (Ian is on the Advisory Board) are in a league of their own, and were designed to be. Jonathan kindly references a link from a reader, where he  found that

Jack Rimler was the creator and designer of Gainsborough shoes. The shop apparently had a leopard decorated salon, and his shoes started at around $37.50 – not inexpensive. The writer asked Rimler if he thought his shoes were in good taste – to which Rimler said he considered himself one of the few who had dared to give a ‘new look’ to shoe fashions and that many of today’s better shoe salons were lacking fashion foresight. In his opinion, his shoes were as much a part of the high fashion scene as Christian Dior. “I do not create for the housewife, the rural country club woman nor the average woman who boasts only one pair of dress shoes.” The article then takes a bizarre turn regarding the morals of the women who wear his shoes – I think that’s 1949 for ‘your shoes look like they were made for a hooker’ which Rimler refuses to discuss. The writer of the article concludes that although his shoes may not be in the best of taste, that they are beautifully made of the finest materials.

Ian Drummond Collection Gainsborough Shoes Detail Ian Drummond Collection Gainsborough Shoes signature Ian Drummond Collection Gainsborough Shoes Toe Detail 1 Ian Drummond Collection Gainsborough Shoes topa nd side view

And so it’s nice to have these in our hands even for just a little while, as they’re listed in our Etsy shop – and we’ve just found a few more pretty pairs that are soon to be decommissioned from movie wardrobe rental stock to join them there.

P1120986P1130090P1130111