I am a from-the-middle dresser. When getting dressed, I cover my midsection first, and then work my way out.

As a teenager, I started from the middle out of anxiety. I convinced myself that my middle was a problem, so best to get that problem sorted, hidden, compressed and compacted, right away. Now, I start from my center out of convenience or comfort. What fits? What won’t dig in when I sit down? What will keep me warm? I answer those questions, and then move on. Shoes come last, usually as a mad dash decision, hopping on one leg and then the other, as I pull on a pair and hurl myself out the door.

A few months ago, amidst the backdrop of fashion week, T Magazine published an interview with the Creative Director of Salvatore Ferragamo, Paul Andrew. Andrew has the resume of a fashion wunderkind. After graduating from the Berkshire College of Art and Design, he worked as an apprentice to Alexander McQueen. From there, he designed accessories for Narciso Rodriguez, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan. By 2012, he launched his own eponymous shoe line. The Ferragamo family took notice of his colorful, 70’s-inspired, aesthetic. In 2016, he was named head of women’s shoe design at Salvatore Ferragamo and, by 2018, he became the label’s creative director.

A quote from Paul Andrew’s T Magazine profile has lingered since I read the piece in September:

This season, Andrew conceived of men’s and women’s clothes that were at once utiliatarian and luxe… But, as they were for Ferragamo himself, who founded the 92-year-old Italian house, shoes remain paramount. “They dictate everything else on top,” says Andrew. He designs the footwear of each of his collections first, drawing inspiration from the 15,000 or so vintage heels, sandals and pumps that live in the brand’s archives at Florence’s gothic Palazzo Spini Feroni.”

Shoes “dictate everything else on top”?!? Until I read that quote, I’d never give my tummy-first dressing routine any thought. Had I been blocking myself from sartorial inspiration? Was this shoes-first routine more of a good time? Being half a skeptic and all Capricorn, I concluded that further research into this topic was my only option.

I was, admittedly, entirely naive about Salvatore Ferragamo (both the man and the brand) so, I began at the beginning.

Ferragamo, a brief history

Salvatore Ferragamo began his footwear career at the age of 9. He left school to apprentice with a cobbler in his hometown of Bonito, Italy. By age 11, he’d moved the 55 miles to Naples and was working as a shoemaker. 5 years later, he traveled to the United States, eventually settling down, with his brothers, in Hollywood.

In Hollywood, Ferragamo became the shoemaker to the stars. His designs were both innovative and timeless. He invented the wedge, and was known to use radical materials, like cork, cellophane and bark. (This ability to innovate would prove useful during World War II, when traditional materials were scarce.) One of his most iconic designs was the Rainbow, a tall wedged sandal constructed with layers of suede-covered cork. The shoe was created for Judy Garland in 1938, just prior to the release of The Wizard of Oz.

Though his work with Hollywood would continue, by 1927, Ferragamo was ready to return to Italy. He set up shop in Florence, a city he would describe in his autobiography as, “this beautiful city, with its centuries of wealth in art and its long traditions of noble leatherwork.”

By the late 1930’s, Ferragamo, now in his early 40’s, wanted to settle down. On a visit to his hometown of Bonito, he met his future wife, Wanda Miletti. Wanda’s father, a doctor and the town’s mayor, invited Ferragamo to visit to thank him for a sizable donation to the local hospital. When Ferragamo arrived, Wanda answered the door. She was 18 to his 42. She thanked him for his contributions to women’s fashion. When asked, in a discussion about the foot, if she’d be his model for a shoe-fitting demonstration, she had a whole in her sock. Salvatore was smitten. Two weeks later, he sent her a pair of custom-made, black suede oxfords. Later, Wanda would say, “I had never worn something so comfortable. I thought I could fly.”

Wanda and Salvatore married in Naples in 1940. They had six children, not quite filling the 30-room villa, just outside of Florence, they called home. Salvatore, always the innovator, wracked up roughly 350 patents and 20,000 shoe patterns. He continued his streak as shoemaker for the stars, counting Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn as clients.

In 1960, after a battle with cancer, Salvatore Ferragamo passed away at the age of 62. Wanda, knowing Salvatore’s vision for his company, took over as president. She was 38, had never worked outside of her home, and was undeterred. In 1983, she told People Magazine, “ In those early days I felt an energy like a lion. Everyone was surprised, but I realized it was no use to be alone crying about my destiny. I wanted to keep alive all the efforts my husband made.” In 2007, when asked her greatest challenge in taking over, Wanda said, “I didn’t think about myself at all - whether I was capable or not. I just went at with such energy, such goodwill.”

Under 50 years of Wanda’s leadership, Salvatore Ferragamo, the brand, expanded beyond shoes to become a luxury fashion house. Wanda began her tenure boldly. She instated her daughter, Fiamma, then 19, as head of design. Fiamma had apprenticed under her father before his passing. She would go on to design the Vara, a pump that remains the brand’s most popular item. Fulvia, another daughter, spearheaded the brand’s expansion into silks. All of Wanda and Salvatore’s children would eventually take on substantial roles within the company, and later, grandchildren worked in the family business, as well.

Salvatore Ferragamo continued to grow, eventually selling handbags, leather wallets, perfumes, and ready-to-wear styles for men and women. When Wanda took over in 1960, the brand made 6,500 pairs of shoes per year. By 1981, that number had ballooned to 60,000 pairs per month. By the 1990’s, Salvatore Ferragamo stores opened internationally, in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Mexico City. As of 2018, Bloomberg News reported the brand’s annual revenue to top $1.6 billion.

Wanda passed away last year, at age 96. Though she received numerous offers to sell the company, she never sold. She kept Salvatore Ferragamo as Salvatore envisioned it - a family company. Though Paul Andrew is the line’s creative director, the business itself is still run by Wanda and Salvatore’s surviving children.

the fashion challenge

Considering Paul Andrew’s success, and the illustrious history of Salvatore Ferragamo, it seems that there’s some magic in starting with shoes.

Over the next week, I'm challenging myself to wear three shoes-first outfits. Will starting from the bottom, rather from the middle, change how I see my wardrobe and my personal style? I’ll post those outfits, and my experiences in them, next Sunday.

Want to join me in this challenge? I’d love to see your interpretation of feet-first dressing! Tag me in your photos in Instagram (I’m @costumeparade) or post your photos on the Costume Parade Facebook page.

In what order do you dress yourself? Do you choose shoes first, or do you burrow out from the middle like me? Are you a Ferragamo fan, or was this history news to you, too?