Item SH 910568 Shoes - Bata, Lace-up, Multicoloured Leather, late 1980s

Summary

Alternative Names: sand shoes, sneakers

Child's leather sand shoes, in green, white, red and yellow. Made by Bata, Australia, probably in the late 1980s. Worn by Alice McCabe, daughter of the donor, Honor Godfrey, when the family lived in Highett Street, Richmond, Melbourne.

Alice was born in London in 1984. Most of her shoes were purchased from shop, Betsy Pryam in Burke Road, and were relatively expensive at $50-$60 per pair. The donor was recommended to this supplier by a friend, since she was a stranger to Melbourne and Australia. She was conscious of the shoes being 'Australian' - they were not particularly what she would have chosen had they been living in England. The shoes were chosen both for their convenience and to match the colour of Alice's clothes. The donor decided to collect all of Alice's shoes over a period of several years.

Physical Description

Child's leather sand shoes with uppers made of different coloured patches: blue, yellow, pink, turquoise and white. White cotton laces are threaded through three pairs of eyelet holes. White stitching throughout. White synthetic soles and innersoles.