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Lady Medieval Renaissance
Shoes and Boots
During the end of the Middle Ages, and prior to the Black Plague of the 1300s, ladies medieval shoes were not very fashionable and did not vary much in style. They consisted mainly of “turnshoes” which were a type of shoe made of soft leather, sewn together inside out, and then turned right-side-out when finished.
Shoes for the aristocratic women were generally hidden under long gowns, making their concern more for function than fashion. Women of nobility wore shoes with both pointed and bar-shaped toes while peasant women generally wore round-toed shoes and boots.
Peasant working women generally wore leather ankle boots to protect their feet from heavy labor and the muck in the streets, while the aristocrats wore pattens over their shoes when traveling outside to protect them from the muck.
Pattens were carved, thick wooden-soled mules or clogs, with platform soles sometimes as high as two feet off the ground. These high-soled shoes offered foot protection when having to wade through the thick layers of muck in the streets.
After the plague, at the end of the 14th century, ladies of noble standing wore shoes that varied in style across Europe and generally were dictated into law (Sumptuary Laws) by the reigning king of each country, however, they were nowhere near as flamboyant as men’s shoes, again because they were hidden under long gowns.
Can you imagine having a monarch tell you what you can and cannot wear on your feet?
In Venice, Italy both noblemen and women wore platform mule shoe covers called chopine and many of them, especially those made for the men were quite elaborate.
Women’s Medieval Renaissance Flat Shoes
Table of Contents
Here at Deluxe Adult Costumes, I have selected a wide variety of modern-day shoes that best represent the footwear worn by the women of the Medieval and Renaissance periods in history.
Naturally, during the Middle Ages, rubber soles had not yet been invented. However, in our modern times, the rubber soles on these Medieval style women’s shoes will make the shoes last longer in all types of weather. They will work as an asset during the summer at Renaissance Fairs with comfort and protection if walking on muddy fairgrounds!
This Medieval style of slip-on shoes are made in China. If you are an Amazon Prime Member some of the colors and sizes are affiliated with Amazon Prime. These shoes are available in 15 additional colors to match any color of a Medieval-Renaissance woman’s costume you choose to wear.
Women’s Birkenstock London Leather Buckle Flat Shoes
Birkenstock shoes were first made in 1774 in Germany and have always had a rustic Medieval appeal to them. They resemble peasant shoes worn in the 14th and 15th-centuries. They are great shoes to wear with a Renaissance peasant costume. This style can be worn by both women and men.
Women’s Medieval Lace-Up Summer Shoes
Leather lace-up shoes inspired by the fashions of the Middle Ages but with a modern flaire. They can be worn to a Renaissance Faire, a Pirate Fest, to a concert or out clubbing. I love these sandals with a peasant skirt, an off shoulder peasant top, and a waist cincher or corset for a Renaissance serving wench outfit.
As early as the Iron Age in the 8th-century, this style of shoe has been documented from Rome all across Europe to the British Isles and north into Iceland and Denmark. Some styles are similar to the ghillie shoes of Scotland, while others are closer to Roman lace-up leather sandals. They have been found to have been worn by both sexes.
Shoes such as this were excavated from Vindolanda. Vindolanda was a Roman fortified military camp in northern England just south of Hadrian’s Wall. The archeological excavations found it was under Roman occupation from around 100 BC (Julius Ceaser) and later from 85AD to 370 AD. The open lace shoes were thought to be Roman marching boots as the soles were fortified with hobnails.
Recently, in Iceland, archeologists excavated a similar 1,500 year old pair from the dig site and amazingly, the oldest shoe ever found was 5,500 years old that looks surprisingly similar. It was excavated in Armenia.
Women’s Faux Leather Open Toe Calf-High Roman Sandal Flats
Both of the PU leather styles featured above are available in a variety of color choices. The lace-up style is more authentic looking for a Iron Age or Medieval shoe.
Women’s Lace-Up Camel Tan Micro Suede
Ghillie Flat Shoes
The term ghillie began in Medieval Scotland and meant gamekeeper. The gamekeeper’s job was to keep poachers off of his Laird’s (Lord’s) or Highland Chief’s property and to find the game for his Laird to hunt.
Ghillie brogues were not originally dance shoes but were specifically created for the Laird’s gamekeeper. The shoes were designed without a tongue and with holes to allow them to drain and dry quickly after becoming wet from wading through the bogs. The long crisscross laces are tied at mid-calf to prevent the shoes from coming off when being pulled out of the muck in the muddy bogs.
Authentic ghillies would have laced a bit higher on the leg than the strings with the modern pairs featured above and below. These are not authentic pairs and they are inexpensive, but they will suffice for a women’s Medieval costume. They will not, however, last through too many wearings and they will not hold up in a long day of walking or performing at a Ren Faire or at a reenactment event.
Nine West makes a much higher quality of genuine leather ghillie flats. Their design is inspired by the Medieval Scottish ghillie and the design has returned as a trendy summer shoe perfect to wear at any summer resort, or under the skirt of a Renaissance costume. These are shoes that won’t fall apart after just a few wearings.
I like wearing ghillie shoes with either Scot or Irish costumes. Even though they are now made either for Irish or Highland dancing and as trendy summer shoes, they make wonderful costume accessories. If you are a DIYer and enjoy working with leather, ghillie shoes are relatively simple to make. You can get a pattern for them by clicking this link here.
Women’s Renaissance Mary Jane Style Shoes
Mary Jane style shoes are shoes with a bar strap over the arch of the foot. They first became popular during the mid-1500s known as the Elizabethan Era. They are still a popular design style today. They sometimes have one bar strap, sometimes two or three, and they are also known to have T-straps. They can be flat shoes, heeled shoes, or platform shoes. In addition, they can be a solid color, leather embossed with a design, embroidered, or printed with a pattern. Another shoe so versatile that every costumer should have at least one pair in her repertoire of costume shoes.
Velvet Mary Jane Flats are a “must have”, especially for women who love to frequent Renaissance events. They are the perfect accessory to wear with velvet royal Renaissance gowns and hooded velvet cloaks.
Black velvet Mary Janes can be worn with a Wendy costume from Peter Pan. A black or red pair can be worn with a Red Riding Hood costume.
Wear black velvet Mary Janes with an Alice in Wonderland costume, while black, red or gold marry janes can be worn by the Queen of Hearts. Blue suede Mary Jane shoes can be worn with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee costumes. The costume ideas for these shoes are endless as your imagination.
Women’s Classic Faux Suede Mary Jane Flats
The faux suede mary jane shoes featured below are cosplay costume flats. They are not made to withstand the abuse of regular streetwear shoes. They are made for feet more on the narrow side as they are made in China for Chinese women bone structures. My feet are always a size 6 (9″ in length) but my foot width is wide at 4″ across. I ordered a 6.5 to give me a wee bit more room. They work fine for me.
I recommend spraying the suede with a water repellant or suede conditioner to further protect them from the elements
Fairy costumes do well with a pair of Mary Janes to match the color of the fairy outfit. The Blue Fairy or a watersprite can wear royal blue Mary Janes while an elf, pixie, or woodsprite can wear green mary jane shoes.
Mary Jane style faux suede or velvet shoes are such a versatile and comfortable design choice you may want to have them in several different colors. They are the easy way to solve the shoe dilemma when wondering, “What shoes do I wear with my costume?”
The faux suede Mary Jane shoes featured above are also available in a dusty rose Blush and a bright Pink.
Women’s Renaissance Mary Jane Style
Leather Paloma Flat
Featured on the left is a black tooled leather design for a Renaissance-style Mary Jane Paloma flat by Alegria Shoes. It is beautifully accented with a baroque silver-toned and black stone side buckle button which conceals a modern velcro closure strap. The beautiful Gothic embossing will add that special detailing to any lady’s Renaissance dress.
Featured on the right is an excellent choice to wear with any of the dresses designed for Claire of the Outlander series. The shoes are black leather embossed with a woven linen pattern and beautifully accented with a silver-tone Claddagh on the modern velcro closure strap.
With 60 different patterns and colors, Alegria has many choices suitable to wear with any lady Renaissance costume while adding comfort to your feet. These shoes are not only fabulous for costume wear, but are super comfy and extremely well-made for everyday street wear.
Stacked-heel Mary Jane style shoes were a popular shoe style during the Renaissance with both women and men. The women wore the plainer classic stacked-heeled bar strap styles hidden under their gowns, while the Mary Janes worn by men were very extravagant with higher heels. Men loved fabric rosettes, large flamboyant pompoms, big floppy ribbon bows, and lots of jewels as accents on their shoes.
The poulaine style pointed-toe shoes are the shoes with the ridiculously long toe tips. The term poulaine translates to “Shoes in the Polish Fashion”. Poulaines were also called crakows or crackowes for Kraków, the then capital of Poland. The name didn’t refer to the shoe itself but to the elongated tip of the shoe. And as with everything in the Middle Ages, the longer the tip the wealthier the man.
Men began wearing them as a fashion style in the middle 14th-century. They wore them so long that in order to be able to walk, it is believed they had to hold them up with either silk laces, gilded chains, or silver chains attached to their shins. Even the lower-class men wore them much longer than the women. They were probably phallic symbols for the men. In 1465 Englishmen were banned from wearing them longer than 2-inches.
Women’s poulaine shoes weren’t really poulaines at all. They had pointy-toes, but they were not elongated until late in the 14-century and then only slightly. Below are modern pointed-toe boots and shoes in the style of shoes worn by women in Medieval and Renaissance eras.
A shoe such as this pointed toe shoe would have been worn during the Medieval era by a noblewoman as peasants wore round toe shoes. Unfortunately, this is not the best quality shoe. It is a costume shoe perfect for stage productions or events inside.
If you need the shoes to walk around an outside all-day event, such as a Ren Faire, it would have to be reinforced. If it is just needed for a few hours for a cosplay event or a Halloween party then it will be fine. This shoe is a small size.
Aristocrat Woman’s Fancy Royal Court Lace & Satin Ribbon Mary Jane Low Heel Pumps
When in attendance at The French Royal Court, (or any royal court for that matter) a lady must have a beautiful pair of high-fashion shoes to wear under her exquisitely designed ball gown. This pair of champagne pumps covered in white lace are the perfect pair.
The perfect shoe to wear to a ball at court under a beautiful royal gown! Marie Antonette would love to wear these shoes in the French court at Versailles. They are also available in a pretty lime green and bright sunshine yellow. If you are a creative DIYer, you may want to embellish the shoes with lace, beads, and embroidered pieces.
Just about any style modern pointed-toe shoe will work under the long skirt of a lady’s costume dress. Below are several examples of pointed-toe shoe styles you may want to consider.
Buying a different pair of shoes for every costume in my collection was getting so expensive I decided it was more cost-effective for me to have fewer higher quality shoes which I can wear many times with different character costumes. These lace-up ankle shoes are sure to become one of your costume basics too. They are so versatile they can be worn with many different period costumes and they come in different styles and colors.
Women’s Handmade Medieval Green Faux Leather Lace-Up Flat Ankle Boots
Hand sewn of PU leather, this green ankle shoe is a very adaptable shoe that can be worn with many different costumes. Since shoe styles for women did not change throughout early history as rapidly as men’s shoes, it is possible to wear the same shoe for multiple period costumes. Wear them with a peasant or a noble costume from the Dark Ages, Medieval Era, Middle Ages, or Renaissance Era. Wear them with a 10th-century Viking, Maid Marian, 12th-century archeress, huntswoman, fortune teller, or gypsy costume. Wear them under the skirts of a serving wench, a lady-in-waiting gown, or over tights for a wood nymph, sprite or fairy costume, with these leather lace-up shoes you can’t go wrong.
Replicated after leather boots from the Medieval to Renaissance timelines, these faux leather lace-up ankle boots are exactly what you need to complete a perfect Medieval or Renaissance costume. The manufacturers recommend measuring the length of your foot from big toe to heel. Refer to the vendor’s size chart to find your correct size and order one size larger. For example, I wear a size 6. The length of my foot measures 9″. Normally that would be a size 36. In this case, I would order a size 37. I hope that helps you figure out your correct size.
These boots are a rugged Medieval style of lace-up boot. Even though they are vegan leather, they are great-looking authentic-style boots! Vegans will love that they are man-made and not animal hides even though they will not last as long or wear as well as genuine animal leather. Anyway, I’m loving these boots for an archeress, a huntswoman, a woodswoman, or a Maid Marian costume. I think they are great for fantasy costumes too such as GOT characters, a wood sprite, or an elf.
Women’s Medieval Inspired Black Vegan Leather Lace-Up Boots
There are many different costumes from the Medieval to Renaissance time periods where a lady needs a pair of boots. I have found ankle boots, mid-calf boots, and thigh-high boots to help you finish your fantasy Renaissance costume from the Middle Ages to Middle Earth.
Ankle booties with triangular cross-straps and big buckles were very popular with working peasant women during the 13th-century Medieval period. The high platform soles functioned to protect the feet from the sewage in the streets.
These modern day Caiti booties are very much like the ankle boots worn during those bygone eras, including the cork soles, but are much more comfortable with memory foam inserts. This bootie is available in 11 more embossed patterns and colors giving you a total of 14 variations to choose from.
Ladies Handcrafted Genuine Leather Ankle Booties
These ankle boots are crafted from genuine European leather and are imported from Portugal. They are available in 10 different colors and are sure to match your Renaissance costume needs. They are designed with covered buttons & zipper access for easy on/off.
These boots are ideal for any four season event. I would wear them to accessorize any Renaissance, Reenactment, Victorian, or Christmas costume event. Even though they look the part, they have side zippers so that they are not historically accurate. However, under a long skirt they will look fabulous.
I am featuring 6 of the available colors above. The leather vintage ankle booties are also available in Ocean navy blue, Ochre yellow, Purple, and Denim blue.
I hope you were able to find a pair of shoes or boots, to wear to your upcoming Renaissance costume event from among the footwear I have chosen to feature here.
Keep in mind there are only three really important things to remember when searching for the perfect footwear to wear with your Medieval Renaissance costumes….
Have Fun, Keep It Frosty, and Enjoy the Hunt!
Before you leave, be sure to check out all of the wonderful Ladies Renaissance Dresses
located on the Archives Page.
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Lady Medieval Renaissance
