Mae West: Perfect Illusion

“In real life, I’m very boring, so I made up the walk and the talk,” said MAE WEST.
• • British freelancer Dr. Sabina Stent, whose area of study included “Women artists, Surrealism, and unconventional females,” penned a fascinating essay on Mae’s customized double-decker footwear. This is Part 4 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • never in my life have I seen another pair of shoes like Mae’s • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: “The hemline of the wearer’s dress must be designed at such a length that it covers the upper portion of the shoe,” observed Charles Carballo of the website Footwear News, “lest the illusion be discovered.” The illusion is perfect: Hollywood’s very own magic slippers. “I have never in my life have seen another pair of shoes like this,” remarked FIDM curator Kevin Jones. “She [West] may have developed this [the shoes] with a cobbler, and she likely worked with a dressmaker because it had to cover the hemlines.”

• • Sabina Stent wrote: The power of clothing, shoes, and accessories is notoriously well known. Even cosmetics imbue strength to their wearer. Red lipstick, for example, a noted cosmetic weapon for centuries, is a well-documented to both embolden and empower.
• • The totemic power of clothing, shoes, and accessories • • . . . 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 23 December 1929 in Los Angeles • •
• • Mae West took her "Diamond Lil" cast to the West Coast where she hoped to meet with Hollywood producers who would help bring the popular stage play to the silver screen. After a booking in San Francisco, Mae moved to her final California destination: Los Angeles. An article about Mae was published in The L.A. Times on Monday, 23 December 1929.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Hollywood — "Belle of the Nineties," starring Mae West, has a "beef trust" chorus and a choir of 100 voices.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said:  "We must do all that only and exclusively with the eyes."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • Associated Press discussed the NBC ban on Mae West.
• • "NBC Bans the Name of Mae West from the Airwaves" • •
• • "Joking References to Adam-Eve Skit are Barred" • •
• • New York, Dec. 23. [AP] Word went out from the National Broadcasting Company today to keep the name of Mae West out of all programs over which it has control.  Issued privately to 16 stations, in 12 cities, the order was designed to forestall any joking references that might be made to the widely discussed Adam and Eve sketch broadcast from Hollywood on December 12th.  
• • Although not made public, it was understood the inter-station communique said in effect:  Please watch scripts for any mention of Mae West's name and keep it out. . . .
• • Source: Associated Press, published on Friday, 24 December 1937
• • The evolution of 2 Mae West plays that keep her memory alive • •
• • A discussion with Mae West playwright LindaAnn LoSchiavo — —
• • http://lideamagazine.com/renaissance-woman-new-york-city-interview-lindaann-loschiavo/
• • The Mae West Blog celebrates its 15th anniversary • • 
• • Thank you for reading, sending questions, and posting comments during these past fifteen years. Not long ago, we entertained 3,497 visitors. And we reached a milestone recently when we completed 4,300 blog posts. Wow! 
• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started fifteen years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 4,372nd blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Mae's black suede platform heels circa 1960s • •
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