Cinderella's Guide to Glass Shoes

[asakiyume]

The ninja girl sometimes makes tiny books, and recently she made one on glass footwear. She was inspired by experimenting with making waraji--Japanese straw sandals--which got her thinking about the viability of glass as a material for making shoes. (Here is a photo of some waraji.) She knew that shoes are sometimes made of inflexible materials--think wooden clogs--so she researched types of those and created CINDERELLA'S GUIDE TO GLASS SHOES



The shoes are rated three stars for possible--you might be able to wear such a shoe--two stars for risky, and one star for "clear and present danger"







(The peduka is like a flip-flop, but without the straps! Just the knob for your toes to grip)



And last but not least, just for fun, and completely unwearable, the glass sneaker:

Comments

[evelyn_b]

Admittedly it's early, but this is BY FAR the best thing I've seen today.

[asakiyume]

Oh I'm so pleased! I'll be sure to tell the ninja girl!

[cmcmck]

I remember platforms but nothing quite like that! :o)

[asakiyume]

Vitreous footwear for the win!

[osprey_archer]

That's so cute! I love the shoe designs.

[asakiyume]

All based on research!

[gale_storm]

Oh, this research is well done and worthy of a prize from someone not a fairy godmother or by some group somewhere! 8^D

[asakiyume]

I'll let her know you think so ;-)

[gale_storm]

That the shoes on the page of four are absolutely recognisable is laugh-inducing and wonderful!

[asakiyume]

^_^

[sonia]

I'm impressed by the concept, the drawing, the execution, everything! And now I want to read the story about "Katerina and the Glass Skates."

[asakiyume]

That would make a great picture book!

[sartorias]

Heh, that is adorable!

Those sandals look a lot like the Korean ones peasants made. Also, mainland.

[asakiyume]

I can imagine that a sensible design occurs to people independently--but I also imagine it could spread in the East Asian region.

I had a pair once. I wore them until they were completely gone. I think it could be really fun to learn to make them.

[sartorias]

They look airy and fairly comfy, as long as the ends get tucked in so they don't scratch.

[asakiyume]

You could wrap the straps in soft cloth--I think the pair I had did that.

[ellenmillion]

This is amazing and I love it.

[asakiyume]

:D :D :D
So glad!

[mallorys_camera]

❤️LUV❤️ this!

[asakiyume]

Aww--this will make the ninja girl so happy! I'll make sure she comes and looks at this page.

[rushthatspeaks]

This is lovely, though I think the paduka is more dangerous than it is currently rated. I personally can't grip things with my toes that well, at any rate.

Now I'm remembering the absolutely giant pair of waraji they hang on the wall at the temple in Kamakura in case the Buddha wants to get up and walk around. The sign said they make a new pair every year, so I assume he wears them out...

[asakiyume]

so I assume he wears them out... --He is, after all, pret-ty heavy!

[genarti]

I love this! It's so cute and whimsical and slyly hilarious, and I'm <>deeply impressed by how all the shoes are both recognizable as the type of shoes they are and recognizably made out of glass.

[asakiyume]

Yes, I like how she's represented glass in the picture very much!

[anna_wing]

How clever of her! One could make clogs out of Pyrex or some other toughened glass...it would be an interesting engineering problem. You'd want it tempered, in case of accidents, or coated with some sort of safety film...and definitely some sort of shock-absorbing sole. Chinese-style clogs would work well.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WJjc0N1hIH4/S2p4kQN7yRI/AAAAAAAAKHE/DU5Q_Fwcm3U/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/wooden+clogs.jpg

Here are some glass dresses to match, both ancient and modern:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/who-wears-glass-dresses

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/fashion-news/iris-van-herpen-aw16-couture-collection-4347

[asakiyume]

Yes, fiberglass--both for garments and for the parts of a shoe that come under stress because of pressure from your foot--would be a good solution for the problem both of ordinary glass's lack of flexibility and its shatterability. If made out of ordinary glass, the Chinese clogs would probably be vulnerable at the same point the clog in her book is vulnerable--from the pressure of your foot against the top part. But they're definitely a better choice than some, because they're designed from the start to be made from an inflexible material. I think she was just having fun imagining the shoes made out of ordinary glass but I do think you're right that it could be done with some engineering finessing.

[anna_wing]

And if you google "fiberglass shoes", this is what you get:https://duckduckgo.com/?q=fiberglass+shoes&iax=images&ia=images

Cinderella would certainly have been much more comfortable dancing in those! Though strategically losing one would probably have been a bit harder...

[asakiyume]

Those look much more comfortable! Now I'd like to draw a Cinderella wearing them!

[anna_wing]

A sufficiently voluminous skirt would hide them perfectly well.

[asakiyume]

Or we could create some sort of prince-bride-finding event in which these would be appropriate and flaunted--the prince's gala mountain hike or something.

[anna_wing]

Something like a sex-reversed version of Atalanta's race with her suitors - anyone who can't keep up with the prince in a series of increasingly strenuous outdoor activities isn't invited to the next one! Suitable for a prince wanting to be quite, quite sure of his bride's health and fitness...

[asakiyume]

I love it!

[amaebi]

Wow, that's so beautiful!

Now I (well, not desperately, I know from desperate) really really want to see a volume of the ninja girl's collected books reproduced.

[asakiyume]

It would make a charming collection!

[amaebi]

It would! And I feel that it should be publishable.

[http://lotuslandfineart.com/velvetrope/]

"Clear and present danger" makes me laugh!!!!!

[asakiyume]

Me too! Something about that phrase--and footwear 😂

[minoanmiss]

Please thank her for infusing our days with magic, and keep some thanks for yourself for the same thing. :D

[asakiyume]

I definitely will ^_^

[wayfaringwordhack]

I am ENCHANTED! Ninja Girl is not only clever but a witty and talented artist. I think a whole series of fairytale guides like this would be delightful. *hint, hint!*

[asakiyume]

Awww! Thank you for saying so! I will let her know. I hope she keeps visiting this entry to see everyone's enthusiastic comments.