|
Within easy walking distance of the ROM, the Bata Shoe Museum , at 327 Bloor St W and St George (Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-8pm, Sun noon-5pm; $6) was built for Sonja Bata, of the Bata shoe manufacturing family, to house the extraordinary assortment of footwear she has spent a lifetime collecting. A leaflet issued at reception steers visitors around the museum, starting with an introductory section entitled "All About Shoes" on Level B1, which presents an overview on the evolution of footwear. Among the more interesting exhibits in this section are pointed shoes from medieval Europe, where different social classes were allowed different lengths of toe, and Chinese silk shoes used for binding women's feet. A small adjoining section is devoted to specialist footwear, including French chestnut-crushing clogs from the nineteenth century, inlaid Ottoman platforms, designed to keep aristocratic feet well away from the mud, and a pair of US army boots from the Vietnam War with the sole shaped to imitate the sandal prints of the Vietcong. Moving on, Level G holds a glass cabinet of celebrity footwear. The exhibits are regularly rotated, but look out for Buddy Holly's loafers, David Bowie's signed trainers, Elvis's blue-and-white patent-leather loafers, Princess Diana's red court shoes and Elton John's ridiculous platforms. Levels 2 and 3 are used for temporary exhibitions - some of which are very good indeed - and there's also a small section explaining the museum's role in restoring and repairing old footwear
Your Tip for Bata Shoe Museum
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Bata Shoe Museum - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Bata Shoe Museum - visit the main Bata Shoe Museum forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Bata Shoe Museum webguide section below! Thanks.
|
