17th Century design influences

Shoes like those seen in the 17^th century must have given rise to the shoe fetishes we see in America today. With such variety ranging from bad weather shoes, outdoors shoes and riding boots, or shoes just for fashionable dress wealthy people of the 17^th century could easily build a large collection. One of the more interesting pieces of footwear was the shoe rosette. The shoe rosette was an adornment on the top of men’s shoes made out of fabric to imitate a rose. These were of course worn for fashionable dress only and sort of a sign of conspicuous leisure and consumption. What is more interesting is that the rosette was worn by men of the 17^th century where today women wear a similar shoe rosette decoration.

            The version of the shoe rosette today is mostly placed on sandals or the occasional slipper. The version used here was designed by Giuseppe Zanotti and is much more subtle than its 17^th century predecessor. The sandal itself is made of leather as the soles of the earlier were. Skinny black patten straps hold the sandal to the foot with a small buckle around the ankle. The rosette is made of turquoise-blue satin and is more accurate in terms of size. These sandals are worn in much the same respect and are also a sign of consumption and leisure, though not as conspicuous, as they retail for $550. The designer also included an example of what the sandals may be worn with. He suggests a maxi dress and clutch and can be worn for leisure day or night. Though today’s version of the shoe rosette is much more subtle and in my opinion gender appropriate, the similarities are more than obvious.

Bigger is better, smaller is economicer?

Apparently since the economy has been falling off so has the average size of houses. In 2007 during the real estate and housing boom, homes averaged 2,100 square feet as compared to now where the average is right around 1,700 square feet. Clearly the cost and economic situation of our country account for the biggest reasons for change, but are there other reason? People now more than ever seem to want things to run efficiently and to not waste. Having a larger home is obviously harder to clean and creates more waste than smaller homes. So having a smaller home would reduce the waste and time spent maintaining. During these times the zeitgeist feels much different than it did just three or four years ago. People are much more conservative in their money spending and seem to be more self aware. The need for simple things and simple designs has replaced the saturation of luxuries that filled the stores and advertisements during the economic boom. Smaller simpler houses are just another design response to what is happening currently in society. At a time when the government seems to be at a loss to help the people or themselves, people move toward becoming self-sufficient and easily sustained home is one step closer.