HSF #7: Tops & Toes

The Challenge: Tops & Toes
Fabric: Leather
Pattern:None! The shoes were already shoes
Year:  late 16th century/early 17th century
Notions: Thread
How historically accurate is it? The shoes now have the correct cut and I did hand sew them so maybe 50~60%?
Hours to complete: 3 hours
First worn: As they currently are, I first wore them today around the house. :-) I plan on actually wearing them at Pennsic
Total cost: $9.95 for the sheos

This is what the shoes looked like before hand. My heel is apparently funny and a lot lower than they currently make shoes to be at. The back of most new shoes hits me right in the Achilles tendon and it hurts like crazy. So, I tend to wear mules or buy old shoes at the thrift store. This is one of the pairs of older shoes.

Side view.  I liked these because there was so little to cut away and change.  I originally got the idea to take a pair of modern shoes and turn them into 16th century shoes from an English Civil War group.  They took normal Oxfords and cut them up into a quasi mid 17th Century style. 

First, I took out all the side stitching.  I also took out the buckle.  This took a while.  

It's hard to tell in this photo, but after taking out all the stitching, I started to recut and reshape the shoe into a more late 16th century style.  This included cutting one of the lappets and making the tongue more narrow.

Wearing the shoes with my Hello Kitty socks!  I resewed the sides and around the lappets.  I also punched a couple of holes to tie the shoes properly.   :-D  Yay!  I got one of the HSFs done!!!

EDIT:  I probably should mention the story behind the mud on the shoes.   They were clean when I bought them.  However, I had to test them out if I'm going to wear these babies to Pennsic.  This means tromping through the woods behind my house, up and down the trails, with these shoes on.  It was muddy when I decided to do this.  However, the shoes survived - and survived well.  My feet didn't hurt in the least.   So, I cleaned them off as best as I could but there was still some mud around the shoes in the photos.   I do plan on getting some leather cleaner and leather paint to fix 'em up but they work as shoes for now.