Step 9 of 10

Shoes Fit For A Bride

Related Images

  • Fig. 1. Pair of embroidered slipper faces, Late 19th or early 20th century, Indonesia. From the collection of the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Accession number: 2015-02098. [roots](https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1323143)
  • Fig. 2. Drawn design of slipper faces on canvas, 20th century, Singapore and Penang. From the collection of the Peranakan Museum in Singapore. Accession number: 2017-00468. [roots](https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1334395)
  • Fig. 3. Pair of embroidered slipper faces from the Straits Settlements, Early 20th century. From the collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum. Accession number: 2005-01407. [roots](https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1114761)

Embroidered clothing and footwear was an important part of Peranakan culture, as it was in China. An essential item of the Peranakan dress was a pair of kasut manek, or beaded slippers Ho Wing Meng. Straits Chinese Beadwork and Embroidery: a Collector’s Guide(Singapore: Times Book International, 1987), 63-64.. The decorative part of the shoe would be embroidered by Peranakan women, or nyonya , themselves (see fig. 1) using their own designs or pre-made templates on canvas (see fig. 2). These embroidered slipper faces, when finished, would then be sent to a Chinese cobbler to be made into shoes. This process resembled the way Chinese women created their own designs for the platform shoes and lotus shoes mentioned earlier.

The Peranakan wedding ceremony is predominantly based on Chinese wedding practices, and is widely known for its colorful nature and elaborate customs. As the quality of her work reflected her skill, nyonya brides-to-be were expected to decorate their own shoes, as well as those of their future husbands, in preparation for the wedding. Often the young nyonya had to create multiple designs for the often days-long wedding ceremony. Instead of beadwork, the designs of wedding shoes would often be embroidered with silk threads, gold and silver threads, sequins and even appliquéd silver ornaments (see fig. 1) Ho Wing Meng. Straits Chinese Beadwork and Embroidery: a Collector’s Guide(Singapore: Times Book International, 1987), 119-120..

Although we can’t be sure that our slippers are indeed wedding shoes, it would explain why they have been treasured and kept safe all these years. Perhaps some collector recognized this value and added the pair to their collection. Perhaps one of the Peranakan students, many of whom moved to the Netherlands during the first half of the 20th century, brought the shoes with them as a reminder of home. They must have been important to someone to come all this way.