Salvatore Ferragamo Vintage Nautical Striped Navy Canvas Tote
About the Item
- Designer:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU10424845713
Salvatore Ferragamo
A perfectionist who as a child crafted a pair of white shoes for his sister’s first holy communion because his parents couldn’t afford new footwear, Salvatore Ferragamo was ambitious from his earliest days. The young Italian shoemaker established in the years that followed what would one day become a fashion empire — the highly profitable multinational family-owned and -operated luxury brand today counts more than 600 stores in 96 countries around the world, and vintage Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, belts, handbags and other clothing and accessories are objects of desire for fashion lovers everywhere.
Salvatore Ferragamo sought an education in the art of shoemaking when he was eleven — he apprenticed with a local shoemaker and spent a short time in nearby Naples learning what he could at a shoe factory. He opened his first shop with a handful of workers the following year, and in 1914 — when he was still a teenager — Ferragamo emigrated to America, just as his siblings had before him, seeking new opportunities for work and to learn in the footwear trade.
After securing a job at the Plant Shoe Factory in Boston, Massachusetts, Ferragamo was uninspired by machine-made footwear. He moved across the country to Santa Barbara, California. Owing to a connection he made with a then-actor cousin, Ferragamo found work with the American Film Manufacturing Company. He made women’s shoes and provided durable cowboy boots for a film crew’s costuming department. Ferragamo’s reputation in the world of Hollywood cinema soon broadened, and he established a storefront in Mission Canyon where he made shoes by hand for the likes of actresses Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo and Dolores del Río.
By the 1920s, film directors commissioned Ferragamo to produce shoes for a range of movies — the list of films eventually included The Ten Commandments, The Covered Wagon and The Thief of Baghdad. When he felt comfortable enough with the English language, Ferragamo also enrolled in anatomy courses at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in order to better understand motion and the demands that we place on our footwear.
By the late 1920s, Ferragamo sought to expand production of his shoes and returned to Italy. He hired scores of apprentices to work in a factory in Florence, where Ferragamo carefully melded the principles of handcraftsmanship with all that he learned about America’s shoe factories. He filed patents — hundreds over the years — on the steel shank arch and many other unique aspects of his shoe design, and when economic and political influences during the 1930s forced Ferragamo to substitute pressed cork for steel to support the arch, the wedge heel was born. Other creative materials he integrated into his forward-looking creations were hemp, felt, nylon fishing line, fish skin and cellophane twisted with silk.
In the late 1940s, the brand’s first storefront opened in Manhattan, and today Salvatore Ferragamo is known worldwide and is synonymous with a wealth of iconic footwear such as Viva ballet flats, Vara Bow pumps, Gancini loafers and lots more. Ferragamo’s son, Ferruccio, was appointed CEO in 1984. Under his leadership, Ferruccio diversified and expanded the fashion business further, getting into sunglasses, fragrance, watches and made-to-measure men’s shoes. Ferruccio was succeeded by his brother, Leonardo Ferragamo, and British designer Maximilian Davis is now creative director of the brand.
Find vintage Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Philadelphia, PA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Chanel Metallic Bronze Quilted Leather Classic Flap Shopping ToteBy ChanelLocated in Philadelphia, PAChanel Metallic Bronze Quilted Leather Classic Flap Shopping Tote in excellent condition. Metallic bronze quilted glazed calfskin exterior trimmed with gunmetal hardware. Classic fla...Category
Early 2000s Tote Bags
- Fendi Sheer Silk Organza Hand Beaded Floral Embroidered ToteBy FendiLocated in Philadelphia, PAFendi Sheer Silk Organza Hand Beaded Floral Embroidered Tote in very good condition. Sheer grey silk organza with multicolor embroidered and beaded flowers...Category
Early 2000s Tote Bags
- Christian Dior White Leather Shoulder Shopper BagBy Christian DiorLocated in Philadelphia, PAThis stunning Christian Dior Shoulder bag is in good condition. The exterior features beautiful bone white leather trimmed with matte silver hardware. The double braided handles are ...Category
Early 2000s Tote Bags
- Chanel Quilted White Caviar Grand Shopper ToteBy ChanelLocated in Philadelphia, PAChanel Quilted White Caviar Grand Shopper Tote in fair condition. Quilted white caviar leather exterior trimmed with silver leather and siganture CC Cha...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- Hermes Blue Canvas Toile Herbag ToteBy HermèsLocated in Philadelphia, PAHermes Blue Canvas Toile Herbag Tote in excellent condition. Blue toile canvas exterior trimmed with palladium silver hardware and tan barenia leather. B...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- Chanel Purple Leather Top Stitch CC Pocket ToteBy ChanelLocated in Philadelphia, PAChanel Purple Leather Top Stitch CC Pocket Tote in good condition. Purple quilted lambskin exterior with matching top stitching diamond quilt. Antiqued r...Category
2010s Tote Bags
- Chanel White Leather Hidden Chain Tote BagBy ChanelLocated in Geneva, CHThis pre-owned white lambskin leather tote bag from the Chanel 2008 Collection is a hard piece to find especially in such good condition. It fe...Category
Early 2000s Italian Tote Bags
- Hermes Birkin 35 White Toile Bag Swift Leather PalladiumBy HermèsLocated in Miami, FLHermes Birkin 35 bag featured in rare White Swift leather with coveted Toile. This very rare bag is a collectors treasure! A chic combination with Palladium hardware. Comes with loc...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
- Multicolor Cocoon Bag ChanelBy ChanelLocated in Paris, FRThis Cocoon bag is very practical for travelling or if you like to carry a lot of stuff with you ! Condition : very good Made in Italy Collection : Coco Co...Category
2010s Italian Tote Bags
- John Galliano for Christian Dior Light Blue Logo Oblique Tote Bag with "2"By Christian Dior, John GallianoLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILChristian Dior light blue logo oblique tote bag designed by John Galliano with iconic number "2".Category
Early 2000s Tote Bags
- Hermes Birkin 25cm Etain Gold Hardware Grey BagBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYHermes Birkin 25cm Etain Tin Grey Gold Hardware Bag Brand New in Box. Store fresh. Pristine Condition (with plastic on hardware) Perfect gift!...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- CHRISTIAN DIOR Canvas Embroidered Medium Dioriviera Grey ToteBy Christian DiorLocated in Freehold, NJPre-Owned 100% Authentic CHRISTIAN DIOR Canvas Embroidered Medium Dioriviera Toile De Jouy Book Grey Tote RATING: B...Very Good, well maintained, shows ...Category
2010s Italian Tote Bags