On pointy-toed shoes

(Left) Advertisement from Vogue Australia, Summer 1960. (Right) Advertisement from Vogue Australia Spring/Summer 1959.

Most people hate ads in fashion magazines. It always amuses me to listen to them complain because they have to leaf through 30 pages of ads before they get to any editorial. Yet they are as much a source of fashion inspiration as the editorial spreads (and often illustrate more affordable content).

Of course, many of the said ads are ugly, but I would like to draw your attention to these whimsical shoe advertisements of the 1960s (it’s good to see Sandler is still going strong). They show so much life and spirit – much more so than their photographed counterparts. It’s such a shame you don’t see more illustration in (mainstream) fashion magazines today.

I love the elongated shapes, the exaggerated pointy toes; so evocative of the era.

(Both pages) Advertisements from Vogue Australia, Summer 1960.

These artists – whoever they were – were certainly inspired by Andy Warhol’s famous shoe illustrations of the same era. Perhaps they are not quite as fantastical, but they are enjoyable nevertheless. I love the elongated shapes, the exaggerated pointy toes; so evocative of the era. They make me want to pick up a brush and ink and start drawing right away.

Drawings by Andy Warhol.