Céline
52 Rue Malte, Paris
Tan Monk Strap
Circa 1965
Euro 360

This is nothing less than a period piece, absolutely redolent of the aura of its day. Boulevardiers familiar with the period -or should I say, flâneurs- will recognize the “Cuban” heels characteristic of the time and the Céline label in use into the early 1970’s, still showing the carriage over the logo. Among the first products made in Céline’s own Florentine leather goods factory, this delightful Monk Strap employs a particularly attractive piece of calfskin and was, like all early Céline leathers, the height of Parisian luxury of the time, at prices to match.

In 1945, Céline Vipiana and her husband, Richard, opened their first boutique at 52 Rue Malte in Paris, offering bespoke shoes for children. It was one of the first luxury brands in the industry. Their later expansion into ready to wear, leather good and accessories met with sufficient success to warrant the opening in 1964 of their own leather goods factory in Florence. The Italianate style of these shoes is easily attributed to that manufacture, although Céline Vipiana was responsible for all designs from 1945 until as late as 1997. 

By 1996, when the brand was integrated into the LVHM conglomerate at a buyout of 2.7 billion French Francs ($540 million), Céline had boutiques in Monte Carlo, Geneva, Hong Kong, Lausanne, Toronto and Beverly Hills, and today, 150 outlets in all, with its flagship boutique at 36 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. For all its current success, it is the early Céline products which still garner kudos from the connoisseurs, aficionados, or simply those of us nostalgic for springtime in Paris in a more innocent age.

Size: Marked 9….(Continental 42D….US 9D…..UK 8E), for the medium width foot.

Condition: bottoms hardly worn, tops excellent, could do with a little polish. Sold without trees.