Garbo Greta

Greta Garbo Personally Owned and Used Shoes

 

Black leather women's T-strap shoes, ca. 1920-40s, personally owned and used by Swedish-American movie actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990). The size 9 shoes have basket-woven uppers, partly braided T-straps, plain heel caps, and 1" high hob-nailed heels. Of probable American manufacture, the shoes may have been custom-made as there is no maker's mark. The moderate degree of wear suggests the shoes were one of Garbo's favorites. With isolated surface loss to the uppers and the left shoe's sock, and uneven wear to the right shoe's heel. Otherwise in very good to near fine condition. Each shoe measures 3.5" x 10.25" x 3.25".

 

Greta Garbo once famously remarked: "There's nothing attractive about the suffering face of a girl with ill-fitting shoes." These shoes, at once serviceable and stylish, demonstrate Garbo's pragmatic attitude towards footwear.  The actress often wore flats, loafers, or sneakers instead of high-heeled shoes.

 

Greta Garbo's sartorial style can best be characterized as relaxed classical. The actress had a European aesthetic; she prioritized comfort, practicality, and simplicity over fashion fads that were often short-lived or pain-inducing. She truly endorsed the adage of her favorite fashion designer, the Russian-American émigré Valentina Schlee (1899-1989): "fit the century, not the year." In this way, Garbo's fashions always appeared timeless.

 

At 5'7" tall and 125 lbs., Garbo maintained her lean and athletic figure through Pilates, yoga, and regular exercise. The dirty blonde haired, blue-eyed actress chose her clothing and accessories carefully to best showcase her body and face, and to cultivate a look of effortless elegance.

 

Garbo, along with fellow actresses Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich, are credited with popularizing androgynous clothing in mainstream American culture in the 1930s. Garbo appropriated traditionally masculine clothing, like Oxford blouses, turtlenecks, trousers, trench coats, and wide-brimmed hats, and made the look feminine. Several of Garbo's most famous "looks" incorporated such traditionally male clothing. Garbo preferred clothes that covered rather than revealed: long sleeves, low hemlines, and high necklines added to her mystique. She preferred dressing in black, brown, gray, and beige clothing for public appearances, but typically wore lighter colors and pastels in private. The Swedish Sphinx was also known for her artistic use of accessories: belts, sunglasses, scarves, and hats ranging from cloches and berets to turbans and fedoras.

 

Greta Garbo started her acting career as a hat model in a Stockholm department store. Discovered by Swedish filmmakers, the 20-year-old was brought to Hollywood in 1925 by movie mogul Louis B. Mayer. Garbo starred in 28 movies, both silent and talkie, before retiring at age 35. Her highly successful film career resulted in four Oscar nominations and such films as Grand Hotel (1932), Camille (1936), and Ninotchka (1939).  After retiring from the film industry in 1935, the actress lived semi-reclusively. She moved into a midtown Manhattan apartment after 1953, where "Garbo watching" tourists and press could often see her walking near her house.

 

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