Pair of womens boots by Beth Levine
Object No. 97/185/1
Beth Levine (nee Katz, 1914-2006) was America's most important shoe designer from the 1940s until the 1970s. She was the daughter of a Jewish Lithuanian immgrant farmer on Long Island. Levine began her career as a shoe model with a tiny size 4B foot. She rapidly rose to designer and was employed by many high end New York shoe manufacturers. When she met her husband, Herbert, in 1946, she took his name professionally because shoe design was a male dominated industry. Beth Levine was responsible for many inventive designs such as backless and topless shoes, stretch vinyl boots without zippers and introduced the stiletto heel to America. Her clients included Jackie Kennedy, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, Nancy Sinatra (These Boots were made for Walking), Barbra Streisand, Marilyn Munroe and Joan Crawford. In 1967 and 1973 Levine won the prestigious Coty American Fashion Critics' Award. Her company manufactured her designs until 1975 but she continued to work with prestigious New York designers long after. She died of lung cancer at the age of 91. This pair of boots inventively combines stockings and boots into one. Beth's Bootery was a special retail section set up in Saks Fifth Avenue store. (Information supplied by Helene Verin)
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Summary
Object Statement
Boots (pair), womens, synthetic / plastic, designed by Beth Levine, made by Herbert Levine, New York, United States of America, c. 1970
Physical Description
Boots, pair, womens, synthetic/plastic, designed by Beth Levine, labelled Herbert Levine, New York, c.1970. A pair of womens thigh high boots, of glued construction, with rounded toe and low [louis] heel. Uppers consist of knitted white synthetic knee high stockings woven with a repeated pattern of squares. Supporting stocking around foot are soft clear plastic uppers, cast in one piece with air holes. Heel clear perspex. Unlined. Sock of pale pink leather (-1) Left shoe (-2) Right shoe
DIMENSIONS
Height
575 mm
Width
80 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
These boots are representative of fashion from the 1960s, a period when fashion design was particularly innovative. The boots are by New York shoe designer Beth Levine whose designs are noteworthy for their one-of-a-kind inventiveness and use of unconventional materials. Beth Levine's innovations in shoe design continue the work of designers working earlier in the 20th century such as Perugia, Ferragamo, and Vivier. The boots are representative of Beth Levine's most influential design. Levine first designed a stretch boot in 1967 and won the prestigious Coty Award. The design was followed by a pantyhose boot and then an all-in-one design with pants and boots connected. The boots on offer are one of the versions created under the Herbert Levine label. Both stockings and boots were popular accessories in the 1960s when the mini skirt became fashionable. The stocking boot is an interesting and inventive design that complements the museum's collection of stockings and fashionable boots from the 19th century. Beth Levine and her salesman husband, Herbert, who she married in 1944, were leaders in shoe design throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Levine won a Nieman Marcus Award in 1954 and the Coty American Fashion Critics' Award in 1967 and 1973 for her contribution to the shoe trade. Levine retired in 1976. The boots were made in America for Beth Levine and marked 'HERBERT LEVINE'.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Purchased 1997
Acquisition Date
3 July 1997
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