From shoemaker to head of a company

      François Pinet was born in Château la Vallière (Indre and Loire) on July 19, 1817. The son of a shoemaker, he was introduced to the trade by his father. When his father died in 1830, Pinet was thirteen and was placed in the home of a master shoemaker to complete his professional education. He embarked on his Tour de France and in 1836 was declared a professionally accredited journeyman (Compagnon Cordonnier Bottier du Devoir, or Shoemaker-Boot maker Companion of Duty) under the name “Tourangeau la Rose d’Amour.”

      At age sixteen, with a total of twelve francs to his name, young François found work in Tours earning a weekly wage of five francs. Living on this modest salary, he saved to buy his own tools and to acquire his independence by working. He spent three years in Bordeaux, and then moved to Marseille, becoming the head of the Société des Compagnons Cordonniers (Workers’ Association of Shoemaker Companions). In 1844, he went to Paris where he continued his training in large-scale manufacturing. An intelligent observer, Pinet was able to grasp the usefulness of manufacturing’s division of labour and to see how its various components were combined to increase quality production.

      In 1845, he became a traveling sales representative and started learning about business practices. In 1854, he took out a patent for a new heel manufacturing method that produced lighter and more solid heels than those composed of superimposed layers. In 1855, he opened a shoe factory to produce women’s styles at 23 rue du Petit Lion Saint Sauvent. When the company grew, it moved to a larger spot (number 40) on the same street. Pinet married in 1858. His wife brought the qualities of heart, charm, grace, and vivacious spirit to the marriage. Quickly focusing her intelligence and sound education on the company, she became an enlightened collaborator.

      François Pinet waited until 1863 to build new workshops and offices at 44 rue Paradis Poissonnière. The premises were constructed according to his own plans and under his management. In this new model establishment, functional for the era, workers felt appreciated and respected. Pinet employed 120 people in his workshops and 700 men and women who worked from home. The creations of François Pinet attracted a wealthy clientele in France and abroad. In Pinet’s large shoe store on the boulevard de la Madeleine, elegant ladies rushed to buy ankle boots, escarpins, and derbies that encased the foot in the softest of leathers. Pinet’s shoes came in shimming fabrics and in radiant colours, and were hand-embroidered and hand-painted. As a proprietor, Pinet also established in 1864 the first employers’ association of federated shoe manufacturers and became its leader.

      Pinet received many awards for his work, including a superb medal from the 1867 Paris World Fair that would thenceforth be engraved under the soles of his shoes as a sign of his talent. That same year, he invented a machine that could form Louis XV heels in one piece. Composed of a press and a dye, the machine’s technology was awarded a new patent. Technological advancements of this kind marked the transition from craft industry to industrial manufacturing during the period. During the events of 1870–1871 that shook France, and especially Paris, Pinet provided financial assistance to the wounded and established a 20-bed mobile hospital unit at his own expense.

      In 1892, during a traditional St. Crispin’s banquet, he became a member of a new journeyman’s society called the Union Compagnonnique. François Pinet died in 1897. A humble shoemaker from the provinces, he succeeded in dressing the feet of the world’s most elegant women. In the process he made a valuable contribution to spreading haute couture’s international influence. There were other 19th-century developments.

      83. Woman’s shoe. Oxford in white satin, embroidered patterns in silver, tasseled laces. Leather sole, covered reel heel. Executed by Pinet. Paris, around 1897. Guillen Collection, International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      The advent of department stores in 1852 made a wide range of shoes readily available. The return of the heel, after being unsuccessfully revived under Louis-Philippe, become standard and took the demi-bobine or half-roll form. The arch of the foot being thenceforth supported by the shoe’s shank, the heel could be positioned at the back edge of the sole. An aura of mystery surrounded the ankle boot hidden under crinoline. According to the notes and memoirs of Madame Jules Baroche, there came from England a more revealing fashion: “This year court ladies adopted a very English fashion: an ankle-revealing skirt of multi-coloured wool worn with a Louis XIII hat, a mischievous eye, a turned-up nose, and patent-leather ankle boots with heels. This outfit unfortunately requires a slender leg and a delicate foot. Otherwise it is smart, daring, casual, and better suited than any other for a walk in the woods.”

      But prince Napoleon found fault with the trend: “Women betray themselves in the morning with indiscrete skirts and in the evening with indiscrete blouses; what is to become of us?” The Empress wore tasseled boots to the races at Longchamp.

      During this period, the female foot was much written about. Literature of the 19th century abounds with descriptions of feet dressed in mules d’appartement (slippers) and bottines (ankle boots).

      Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), Emile Zola (1840–1902), and Guy de Maupassant (1850–1893) were among the many writers who dwelled on this fashion accessory.

      84. Oxford style man’s shoe by A. Biset in light brown kidskin. Elongated and upturned toe with perforated design. France, around 1890. International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      85. Pump in embroidered calfskin. Paris, 1855. Guillen Collection, International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      In Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) describes more than one hundred pairs of shoes. Marc Constantin wrote the following description in the The Almanac of Fine Manners (1854): “The ankle boot has deposed the shoe and reigns victorious; nothing is prettier than a supple laced boot clasping the foot, which it makes look even smaller! It has a slimming effect on the lower leg and creates an elegant step.”

      For evenings or for a ball, women wore extremely sophisticated escarpins of tapestry or silk, which often matched their gowns. Gustave Flaubert refers to them in Madame Bovary: “Her beautiful outfit will be stored in the closet with pious respect, right down to her satin shoes whose soles were yellowed from the slippery wax on the floor.” These styles were based on the open shoes with heels of the Louis XV and Louis XVI periods.

      The mule d’appartement (slipper) in silk or velvet was another standard shoe. Men wore black boots or ankle boots. Children wore ankle boots that were smaller versions of the adult models.

      From 1870 to 1900, shoes competed with ankle boots for in-town wear. The low-cut pump continued to be worn for evening. Round toes became pointed. Shapes were slowly changing, but the very recent revolution in dress caused by Paul Poiret, would have the foot in modern shoes thenceforth available for all to see.

      86. Children’s shoes. Around 1800. Weissenfels Museum, with the authorization of Irmgard Sedler.

      87. Block of buttonhooks for boots and bottines, Saltran Collection, International Shoe Museum, Romans.

      88. Painted

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