Button Up!
Long around and long adored, it just refuses to go out of style. It's already haute couture and now even the high street has put it firmly back on the fashion map. The classic Mary Jane shoe is the style statement that is here to stay.
Bar shoes became known as Mary Janes after the Brown Shoe Company of Missouri began marketing the shoes naming it after the popular cartoon character Buster Brown and his sister Mary Jane in 1904. While Mary Janes have remained popular young girls' footwear, adult women began to wear them in the 1960's and there's no looking back since then.
So, what classifies as a Mary Jane? It will have at least one strap, if not more. It will always, always have closed tip, but the heel size depends on the comfort of the wearer.
Although, Mary Janes are mostly considered women's shoe today, surprisingly, Buster Brown wasn't the only man in history to have worn the shoe. Many
English kings chose to wear them for their head-to-toe portraits and young boys wore Mary Janes as part of their school uniforms. Most notably, John F Kennedy Jr. wore them at his father's funeral.
It wasn't until 1930's that Mary Jane began to be perceived as shoe for girls. Shirley Temple wore a white version of Mary Jane and tapped around the stage singing "Never liked a copycat" in the 1934 film "Baby take a bow". Courtney Love, Alice in Wonderland, Alexa Chung, brought to vogue the Mary Jane. Since then it has been favored by major fashion players like Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton among others.
Nineties saw the resurgence of Mary Jane popularity as multiple subcultures adopted the shoe and gave it their own design.
Miu Miu showed off the new ultra-chic heel and pastel shade Mary Jane on the ramp. Dolce & Gabbana adorned the heel with Swarovski crystals and pearl. And after Armani gave it a chic brocade look, there was no stopping Mary Jane.
The modern day Mary Jane can be paired with
corporate outfits, sophisticated evening short dresses or even street smart electric style to get the ooh-wow effect.
Beverlyheels gives you plenty options to choose from, that adheres to your style standards, and ensure heads turning as you glide down the street in your own pair of Mary Jane.
