Salvatore Ferragamo, A Gorgeous, Large Chocolate Brown, Shoulder Bag
View Similar Items
Salvatore Ferragamo, A Gorgeous, Large Chocolate Brown, Shoulder Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 11.03 in (28 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:By Appointment Only, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: B6531stDibs: LU710222870
Salvatore Ferragamo
A perfectionist who as a child crafted a pair of white shoes for his sister’s first holy communion because his parents couldn’t afford new footwear, Salvatore Ferragamo was ambitious from his earliest days. The young Italian shoemaker established in the years that followed what would one day become a fashion empire — the highly profitable multinational family-owned and -operated luxury brand today counts more than 600 stores in 96 countries around the world, and vintage Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, belts, handbags and other clothing and accessories are objects of desire for fashion lovers everywhere.
Salvatore Ferragamo sought an education in the art of shoemaking when he was eleven — he apprenticed with a local shoemaker and spent a short time in nearby Naples learning what he could at a shoe factory. He opened his first shop with a handful of workers the following year, and in 1914 — when he was still a teenager — Ferragamo emigrated to America, just as his siblings had before him, seeking new opportunities for work and to learn in the footwear trade.
After securing a job at the Plant Shoe Factory in Boston, Massachusetts, Ferragamo was uninspired by machine-made footwear. He moved across the country to Santa Barbara, California. Owing to a connection he made with a then-actor cousin, Ferragamo found work with the American Film Manufacturing Company. He made women’s shoes and provided durable cowboy boots for a film crew’s costuming department. Ferragamo’s reputation in the world of Hollywood cinema soon broadened, and he established a storefront in Mission Canyon where he made shoes by hand for the likes of actresses Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo and Dolores del Río.
By the 1920s, film directors commissioned Ferragamo to produce shoes for a range of movies — the list of films eventually included The Ten Commandments, The Covered Wagon and The Thief of Baghdad. When he felt comfortable enough with the English language, Ferragamo also enrolled in anatomy courses at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in order to better understand motion and the demands that we place on our footwear.
By the late 1920s, Ferragamo sought to expand production of his shoes and returned to Italy. He hired scores of apprentices to work in a factory in Florence, where Ferragamo carefully melded the principles of handcraftsmanship with all that he learned about America’s shoe factories. He filed patents — hundreds over the years — on the steel shank arch and many other unique aspects of his shoe design, and when economic and political influences during the 1930s forced Ferragamo to substitute pressed cork for steel to support the arch, the wedge heel was born. Other creative materials he integrated into his forward-looking creations were hemp, felt, nylon fishing line, fish skin and cellophane twisted with silk.
In the late 1940s, the brand’s first storefront opened in Manhattan, and today Salvatore Ferragamo is known worldwide and is synonymous with a wealth of iconic footwear such as Viva ballet flats, Vara Bow pumps, Gancini loafers and lots more. Ferragamo’s son, Ferruccio, was appointed CEO in 1984. Under his leadership, Ferruccio diversified and expanded the fashion business further, getting into sunglasses, fragrance, watches and made-to-measure men’s shoes. Ferruccio was succeeded by his brother, Leonardo Ferragamo, and British designer Maximilian Davis is now creative director of the brand.
Find vintage Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- Vintage bag hand-embroidered light green and leather from the 1950, USALocated in Stuttgart, DEA hand embroidered bag all around. Colorful roses with buds and leaves on a light green background. Inside lined light leather with a zipper compa...Category
1940s American Shoulder Bags
$477 Sale Price25% Off - Chanel Black Leather Shoulder Tote BagBy ChanelLocated in Paris, FRChanel black patent leather shoulder tote bag featuring a perforated logo pattern, shoulder chain handles, silver tone hardware, an inside detachable pocket by a detachable hook. Ci...Category
Early 2000s French Tote Bags
On Hold$3,163 - 1994-1995 Chanel Black Chocolate Leather Shopping Tote BagBy ChanelLocated in Paris, FRChanel by Karl Lagerfeld black chocolate shopping tote bag featuring an iconic motif embossed to the front, gold-tone hardware with top zip closure, the iconic signature gold-tone m...Category
1990s French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Marc Jacobs Beige Python Leather HandbagBy Marc JacobsLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAnother of Marc Jacobs beautiful handbag designs, this Beige Python leather beauty. The inside is lined in maroon and the bag features gold hardware ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Shoulder Bags
- Hermès Pearl Grey Clemence Leather Massai PM ToteBy HermèsLocated in London, GBThis Hermès Massai PM offers your luxury looks an air of effortless sophistication with its understated slouchy frame and neutral hue. Composed of a P...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- CHANEL Black Lambskin Leather Gold Large Shopper Carryall Shoulder Tote BagBy ChanelLocated in Chicago, ILPre-Owned Vintage Condition From 1997 Collection Lambskin Leather Gold Tone Hardware Leather Lining Measures 12.25" W x 9.75" H x 2.5" D Shoulder Strap Drop 10" Includes Dust Bag 10...Category
Late 20th Century Tote Bags