18th Century Tied Shoes
Last updated: Aug 29, 2025
For the first decade or two or the 18th century, tied shoes are fashionable, but then they give way to buckled shoes. Following this transition, even among the working classes, buckled shoes appear more often than tied shoes for most of the 18th century.
Extant tied shoes
- MAAS H4448-55, woman’s embroidered linen shoes, England, late 17th - early 18th century
- MAAS H4448-52, woman’s silk brocade shoes, England, 1700-1710
- MAAS H4448-1, girl’s leather shoe, England, 1700-1710
- Met 1984.141a, b, woman’s silk brocade shoes, British, 1700-1710
- Met 2009.300.1480a, b, woman’s silk brocade shoes, probably British, 1700-1720
- MAAS H4448-92, woman’s silk brocade shoes, England, c. 1720
- Shoes found in a Massachusetts home, probably from after 1721
- Shoe from the HMS Invincible, 1758
- Museum Weißenfels, child’s brown leather shoes, second half of the 18th century (these remind me of the child’s shoes in The Kitchen)
- Connecticut Historical Society 1950.38.0a,b, infant’s shoes, 1763; “At about ankle height, the shoes are cut with two tabs which are punched for a small buckle (now fastened with a ribbon).”
- Nordiska museet NM.0021163A-B, leather shoes laced with a leather thong, made c. 1780-1800 and worn in Sweden
- A pair of red leather baby shoes dated to 1784; one retains its original lace
- W-32/649/95 from the shipwreck of the General Carleton of Whitby, 1785; “the sides of its two-piece upper having short straps with slits through which a thong or ribbon would have been passed to tie the shoe in place.”
Visibly tied shoes in 18th century artwork and illustrations
These examples show how people tied their shoes in the 18th century, rather than listing all of the sketches and drawings where it isn’t clear whether there is a visible buckle at all.
- The Raree-show by Willem van Mieris, 1718
- A milkmaid in The Distressed Poet by William Hogarth, 1733-1735
- De Misleyden by Cornelis Troost, c. 1739-1750
- A milkmaid in The Enraged Musician by William Hogarth, 1741
- Broken Eggs by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1756
- The Guitarist by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1757
- Indolence, or the Lazy Italian Girl by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1757
- London Cries: Lights for the Cats, Liver for the Dogs by Paul Sandby, c. 1759
- Beggar with staff, holding hat by Louis Philippe Boitard
- Seated man in ragged clothes by Louis Philippe Boitard
- The Kitchen by Willem Joseph Laquy, c. 1760-1771
- Several in the Cries of Danzig, c. 1765, including pages 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 34, 36, 37, etc.
- Kitchen Scene by John Atkinson, 1771
- Girl Bundling Asparagus by John Atkinson, 1771 (or is she wearing pattens?)
- The Abusive Fruitwoman, 1773
- Seaman with his leg tucked behind his head by Gabriel Bray, 1775
- The Fond Parents, 1776 (see also Paternal Love by Étienne Aubry)
- Le petit Garçon, 1780
- Man Smoking a Pipe by Pieter de Mare, 1779
- A woodcutter with a young boy and a dog in wooded landscape by Charles Gill, c. 1781
- Card players in a tavern by Jan Ekels, 1784
- The Lamplighter, 1790
- The Music Lesson by Martin Drolling, 1796
- A Beggar’s Family by Johan Zoffany, before 1797
- The Farewell, or the Harvestman Going Out by William Redmore Bigg
- The Benevolent Heir, or the Tenant Restored to His Family by William Redmore Bigg, c. 1797
- A Country Maid by Henry Walton
Descriptions of people wearing tied shoes
- “I found [Henry Neal’s] old Shoes, which were tied with Packthread” (Proceedings of the Old Bailey, December 6, 1732)
- “a Servant Man named William Finn … he Stole and took with him … long Shoes tied with Strings” (American Weekly Mercury, July 17, 1735)
- “two Servant Men, the one named Thomas Moran … a Pair of new Shoes tied with Strings. The other named William Keaſey … tolorable good Shoes tied with Strings.” (The American Weekly Mercury, August 5, 1742)
- “two Iriſh Servant men; one named Michael Linſey … old Shoes, tied with Thongs.” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, August 23, 1744)
- “a Servant Man, named William Jakins … had on when he went away … an old Pair of Shoes tied with Rope Yarn” (Virginia Gazette, May 16, 1755)
- “a Servant Woman named Mary Goffitt … flat heel’d Shoes tied with Strings.” (Maryland Gazette, April 16, 1761)
- “an Indian Boy, named Tom … had on when he went away … thick Shoes, tied with Strings” (Connecticut Gazette, April 10, 1762)
- “an Iriſh Servant Lad, named John Owens … good Shoes, tied with Strings” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, December 23, 1762)
- “A Negroe Man, named Cæſar … Had on, and took with him … new Shoes, tied with Strings, and ſmall Nails drove round the Heels and Soals.” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, January 13, 1763)
- “[a servant man] named William Price … Had on when he went away … old Shoes tied with Strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, September 13, 1764)
- “a Negro Man about 30 Years of Age, named Mingo … Had on when he went away … a Pair of Shoes about half worn, tied with leather Strings” (The Boston News-Letter, December 20, 1764
- “a Servant Man, named Robert Jones … had on, when he went away … Shoes tied with Strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, June 20, 1765)
- “DESERTED From his Majeſty’s Firſt Regiment of Light Dragoons,” both John Headlong and Edward Wilson wear “Shoes tied with Strings” (The Public Advertiser, October 31, 1765)
- “two Iriſh Servant Men, one named John Buchanan … old Shoes, tied with Thongs” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, April 17, 1766)
- “an Engliſh Servant, named John Thomas … two Pair Shoes, tied with Strings” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, June 12, 1766)
- “two following Servant men, viz. one named Dennis McGee … Shoes, tied with Strings … THe other named John Nealy, or Manealy … new Shoes, tied with Strings” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, October 9, 1766)
- “an Irishman, named John Milighen … had on … a pair of new shoes, tied with thongs” (Pennsylvania Gazette, October 15, 1767)
- “an English servant man named Joseph Green, a labourer … He had on when he went away … country made shoes tied with leather strings” (Virginia Gazette, February 18, 1768)
- “an Irish servant boy … had on, when he went away … a pair of shoes, tied with strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, March 31, 1768)
- “a convict servant man, named Philip Helensord … he carried with him … a pair of Virginia made shoes tied with strings” (Virginia Gazette, April 14, 1768)
- “convicted servant men … Thomas Good, by trade a miller … country made shoes with strings” (Virginia Gazette, June 16, 1768
- “a convict servant man named JOHN ROBISON … had on … shoes tied with leather strings” (Virginia Gazette, June 23, 1768)
- “another servant man, a native of Ireland, named THOMAS DOIL … had on … a new pair of calfskin shoes with straps, but were tied with thongs” (Pennsylvania Gazette, August 18, 1768)
- “an Engliſh ſervant man, named William Smithes … ſtrong ſhoes, tied with thongs.” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, June 1, 1769)
- “an indented Servant Man, named ALEXANDER SCOTT, born in Scotland … Engliſh Shoes tied with Strings.” (Maryland Gazette, September 28, 1769)
- “an Iriſh Servant Man, named James Harley … a Pair of new Shoes, tied with Thongs” (The Pennsylvania Gazette, September 13, 1770)
- “a Scotch servant lad named William Adam … had on when he went away … shoes, with one buckle, and one string.” (Virginia Gazette, September 27, 1770)
- “a certain EDWARD McCOLGAN … Had on, when he went away … new shoes, one buckled with a broad brass buckle, the other tied with a leather string” (Pennsylvania Gazette, March 7, 1771)
- “an Irish servant man, named RICHARD GALLAGHER … Had on, when he went away … half soled shoes, tied with thongs or strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, March 21, 1771)
- “an indentured servant, who calls himself by the name of Royce Davis … wore … a pair of shoes, with the straps turned in, tied with strings” (Connecticut Courant, April 23, 1771)
- “a convict servant man named SAMUEL BAILEY, by trade a house joiner … he was cloathed when he went away, in … country made shoes tied” (Virginia Gazette, August 1, 1771)
- “an indented servant lad, named JAMES CARNEY … had on, when he went away … a pair of half-souled shoes, with a piece on one of the heel quarters, and tied with thongs” (Pennsylvania Gazette, October 17, 1771)
- “an indented Servant Man, named Thomas Conner, born in Limmerick, in Ireland … an old Pair of Shoes tied with Leather Strings” (Maryland Gazette, October 24, 1771)
- “an Iriſh Servant Man, named RICHARD HANDLEY … Shoes tied with Strings” (Maryland Gazette [ran away from Manington, New Jersey], November 21, 1771)
- “an Irishman, lately from Ireland … [who] calls himself in his pass Patrick Machaley … had on, when he went away … old brogues, tied with strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, January 16, 1772)
- “[an Apprentice named] JOHN WALLER, about fifteen Years of Age … had on, when he went away … Shoes tied with Strings” (Virginia Gazette, March 19, 1772)
- “an English Convict Servant Man named JOHN BOOKER … His Clothes consisted of … Country Shoes tied with Strings, the Heels and Soles thick nailed” (Virginia Gazette, April 23, 1772; also Maryland Gazette, April 30, 1772)
- “JOHN OSBORN, a Convict imported in the Brickdale … had on … a Pair of Shoes tied with Strings” (Virginia Gazette, October 1, 1772)
- “an indented servant man, named HANCE ANDREW CHRISTIAN BREMER … had on when he went away … shoes tied with strings, one of them cut on top with an axe about an inch” (Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, February 21, 1774)
- “James Leighton, born in Cambridgeshire … had on … good shoes, tied with strings … Negro man named Will … had on … good shoes, tied with strings” (Virginia Gazette, November 23, 1775)
- “a Negro named NEWPORT … had on when he went away … an old pair of Shoes tied with Strings” (Connecticut Gazette, May 16, 1776)
- “a SERVANT GIRL, named Elizabeth Addis, alias Levy, born in Ireland, but has lived ſome time in England … new black grained flat heeled ſhoes, tied with buckſkin thongs” (The Pennsylvania Journal, November 8, 1780)
- “a German Servant MAN, named CONRAD HEIDI … had on when he went away … shoes tied with strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, January 7, 1795)
- “an indented Servant LAD, named JOHN CONNELL … had on, when he went off … a pair of heavy shoes tied with strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, July 8, 1795)
- “indented German Servants … John Henry Matthias … had on … shoes with ribbons … Henry Daniel Matthias … had on … shoes tied with ribbons, very long quartered” (Pennsylvania Gazette, April 6, 1796)
- “the following indented servants, viz. John Flaugh … had on, when he went away … a new pair of shoes, tied with thongs” (Pennsylvania Gazette, September 7, 1796
- “a mulatto man, named BOB … had on … neats leather shoes tied with buckskin strings” (Pennsylvania Gazette, September 21, 1796)
