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It’s unlikely the woman of the 1940s conjures notions of modernity. But her shoes, however—especially her summertime barely there gladiator sandals or her clunky-heeled espadrille—now those feel every bit now! She would go to the beach in a suit that covered up most of her midriff but on her feet was a pair of minimal leather sandals with as few straps as possible: a shoe the modern shopper might mistake for a Jil Sander design. And unlike the saying, these actually were your grandmother’s shoes.
The aesthetic was the result of a scrappiness employed by the footwear industry during the war and raw material rations. Salvatore Ferragamo is credited with the popularity of the platform shoe, which he first fashioned out of cork in 1938 in a colorful design dedicated to Judy Garland after her song “Over the Rainbow.” But per wartime shortages, the Italian shoemaker was often dabbling in alternative cobbler materials (not leather). Espadrilles made of raffia, wedges made of carved wood, and satin ballet slippers all became popular because — at least in the US and in the earlier part of the decade — these were styles women could buy without the use of a ration coupon.
In a 1943 story published in Vogue, the editors identify five shoes that can be purchased without restrictions. At the time, women were allotted three coupons for leather shoes. One of the styles, a summery espadrille, is described as “a rope-soled fabric play shoe...Made entirely without leather, these plus a few other play shoes, can afford to be non-rationed.” And those shoes that did use leather, did so sparingly.
After the war and rationing ended, the taste for these basically barefoot shoe styles remained. Below we revisit some of our favorite sandal moments of the 1940s, plus how to get the look.
The Metallic
The Gladiator
The Perforated Leather
The Bedazzled
The Thong
The Espadrille
The Barely There
The Sandal/Flat Hybrid
