A Fairy Tale shoe

Do you know what shoe it is?

Surely every woman likes to feel like a princess, even if you usually don’t use dresses or skirts. And a way to do just that, in my opinion, is by choosing the right pair of shoes. A pair of shoes can completely change your look or, better yet, your life! Just look at the story of one of the most famous fictional characters of all time, Cinderella.

With over 10 different versions around the world, Cinderella’s story is a classic, which without a doubt is best known due to the animated film edited by Walt Disney in 1950, based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. It isn’t, though, the first story of Cinderella and won’t be the last.

The story of the young girl, raised and abused by her stepmother, stays almost the same throughout every version. However, in the oldest version that is known, which is part of a children’s book in the year of 850, the young girl keeps a magical carp secretly in a pond, until it’s found by her terrible stepmother and cooked and served for dinner. Something similar happens in the Scottish version, but instead of a fish, the magical element is a goat. Luckily, the same fate occurs. In both stories, the young girl makes a wish to the animal’s remains and, by magic, her wish comes true: going to the ball with the best outfit.

In these versions, like the one by the Neapolitan writer Giambattista Basile, the stepsisters try to usurp Cinderella’s place, even though in these stories that isn’t what is called, by even cutting their feet to be able to wear the shoes, which aren’t made of glass, but of leather.

However, America’s biggest film producer, Disney, preferred Perrault’s version to give life to Cinderella, surely because it’s the best version for children, glittery, hopeful, with a happy ending and, of course, with glass slippers.

The glass slipper created by that wacky and adorable Fairy Godmother is a cinema’s and fairy tale’s icon, and it’s rare to find anyone that hasn’t heard of it. Thanks to this little shoe, which is different from the rest that the Fairy Godmother gives Cinderella since it doesn’t disappear at midnight, the Grand Duke is able to find Cinderella so that she can be reunited with her true love, the Prince, to the astonishment of her stepsisters.

For the second time, Cinderella’s tale appeared on the big screen, this time at the hand of director Kenneth Branagh, in March 2015. This version, with real-life characters, had the help of the wonderful work by designer Sandy Powell to make the clothes and the glass slippers. Collaborating with Swarovski, Sandy Powell created a pair of 15 cm high heeled slippers, completely made of glass. Their polished finish has more than 200 sides that reflect the light, thus giving them a look that resembles an aurora borealis. The exquisite result of the work of 8 people is this:

They’re wonderful, but let’s be realistic. Glass slippers are only for fairy tales, because what we want are shoes that allows us to dance with the prince all night long, and doesn’t fall off if we have to run to catch the bus; shoes without an expiration date, that catch everyone’s eye and that look amazing with any look… Exactly like the shoes that you’ll find at EscapeShoes!