Life, 1909-10-14 · page 23 of 36
Life — October 14, 1909 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire**—it's a straightforward advertisement for Martin & Martin shoes, a retailer with locations in New York and Chicago. The page presents a fashion industry argument: true "fashion" belongs to the wealthy elite whose choices set trends; the masses then copy these choices and make them "popular." Martin & Martin positions itself as an authority by claiming insider access to what fashionable people are actually wearing before it becomes mainstream. The four shoe photographs illustrate their "preferred models for Autumn and Winter"—boots that supposedly reflect elite taste-makers' current selections. The advertisement emphasizes two services: ready-to-wear shoes ($7+) for immediate purchase, and made-to-order custom boots ($8+) where they maintain customers' individual patterns for repeat orders across seasons. The social messaging reflects early 20th-century class consciousness: fashion legitimacy derives from the wealthy few, not mass consumption. The ad reassures customers that buying from Martin & Martin connects them to that exclusive authority.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Authority in Shoe Fashions Fashion does not consist in “what everybody is wear- On the contrary, fashion is the particular mode approved and worn by the few whose position gives fashionable warrant ing.” to their choice of apparel. “Styles’’ without number are created by designers and artisans for the coming of each season. Most of them die a natural and early death. The few remaining as the accepted choice of fashion’s dictators are soon copied for the trade of the many —they become “popular”—but they no longerare fashionable. “Fashion” is always many months in advance of “popularity.” Our Position in the Shoe Trade is Unique he fact that we are custom bootmakers, as well as retailers hoes ready-to-wear, enables us to embody in our designs ar shoes the individual ideas of style and comfort of many particular shoe buyers. Our many years of experience with a restricted and fashion- able clientele enables us to forecast with reasonable accuracy the fashions of a season to come. But it is the selections by our clientele from cur selections which finally determine the season’s modes. Our position gives us the opportunity of making the earliest possible announce- ment of those styles which, out of the many offered at the beginning of each season, have won the preference of fashionable shoe buyers. We are now showing the preferred models for Autumn and Winter, four examples of which illustrate this announcement. A Special Feature of Our Service When we have succeeded once in meeting perfectly your indi- vidual requirements as to style and comfort in shoes, your patterns become standard with us, are carried thereafter in the various colors and leathers suitable to the season and occasion of wear- ing, and can be furnished to you regularly, season after season, either by mail or in person. This unique feature of our service is of perennial satisfaction to many purchasers who do not like to conform their feet to each new pair of shoes purchased—who, in short, want the comfort of an individual last, with the advantages of ready-to-wear service. We invite your critical inspection of our lines Ready-to-Wear $7 upward and promise you the interested and intelligent atten- tion of experienced shoe-men. Martin & Martin Shoes for Men and Women Made-to-Order $8 upward No.1 East 35th St. New York 183 Michigan Ave. Chicago comicbooks.com