Guest Author - Norma Shephard

Ray Ellsworth’s coffee table book entitled, Platform Shoes; a Big Step in Fashion, presents a magnificent and at times startling look at one of footwear fashion’s curiosities — the platform shoe. The book delivers exactly what the cover suggests, a colorful collection of high-stepping platform shoes, with estimated market values.

Ellsworth’s book gives very little history on the evolution of the platform, but allows these remarkable shoes to speak for themselves in skillfully photographed full color images. Platform shoes; A big Step in Fashion, showcases over 300 pair of men’s and women’s platform shoes, each from the personal collection of author Ray Ellsworth, who was able to gather the pieces over a twenty-five year period while pursuing a career as a shop owner and thrift dealer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The book is divided into chapters, separating the vintage shoes into groups representing various shoe styles including lace-ups, boots, clogs, slip-ons, sling backs, T-straps, and ankle straps. There is even a segment devoted to novelty pieces.

The author’s passion for collecting the footwear began in 1982 with a pair of women’s bow-trimmed, red leather pump-style platforms with appliqués of black and silver flowers. The heels of these shoes look to be a good 5 inches high, but it is difficult to tell, as the author has not included measurements in his photo captions.

An astonishing variety of fabrications and workmanship is represented from snakeskin, to vinyl, denim to rubber and cork, carved wood to gold and silver lamé, Many possess exotic trims such as genuine leopard fur, sequins and faux-jewels, glitter, embroidery and elaborate hand painting, while others are embellished with braided raffia or punch cut leather polka dots. My favorite is a captivating, black and white ankle-strap example decorated at the toe with a pair of fabric cupcakes. These preside over a number of “googly” eyes, which surround the generous wedge heels.

Shoe collectors will recognize labels such as El Padrino, Lerness for West Flagler, Mr. Man, Brute’s Di Orsini, Flagg Bros., Town and Country, Edouard Jerrold, Rosita of Canada, and Martinelli to name but a few.

Most of the shoes presented in this soft-cover book by Schiffer Publishing are in very good to excellent condition, with a few charming examples that have obviously been much loved and much worn.

For those of us old enough and brave enough to remember teetering on platform heels in the 1970s, Ray Ellsworth’s “Platform Shoes; a Big Step in Fashion” is a delightful trip down fashion’s memory lane. For those who missed the experience, I commend the book anyway. You won’t be sorry. To see this book, follow the link: