Belgian Shoes are a variety of handstitched loafer, manufactured in
Izegem, Belgium, a historic centre of the nation's shoe industry. The shoes are known for their small bow near the top of the
.
History
The shoes were designed by Henri Bendel, the nephew of
Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel, Inc. (pronounced BEN-del), established in 1895, was a women's department store based in New York City which in its later history sold women's handbags, jewelry, luxury fashion accessories, home fragrances and gifts. Its New York Ci ...
, the founder of the eponymous
New York boutique. When the Bendel family sold the family's department store in 1955, Bendel established the Belgian Shoes boutique at 60 East 56th Street, Manhattan,
before moving to the current address at 110 East 55th Street in 2001.
Clients
Belgian Shoes have been traditionally considered a status symbol among the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
and
Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...
social set, but have in the past several years become more widely worn. As early as the 1960s the shoe was considered notable as signifying a resistance to prevailing fashion trends,
and there have been few significant changes to the range since then.
Notable wearers of the shoe include
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi (born October 14, 1961) is an American fashion designer, television presenter and chief designer of the Isaac Mizrahi brand for Xcel Brands. Based in New York City, he is best known for his eponymous fashion lines. Mizrahi was prev ...
and
Bernie Madoff
Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDA ...
.
Awards
For his efforts in reviving the Belgian shoe industry through the design and sale of the shoe, the Belgian government awarded Bendel the
Knight of the Order of Leopold the First in 1964, and
Knight Commander of the Order of Leopold the Second in 1970.
References
{{Reflist
Shoes
Belgian fashion