Mae West: Pepenie’s Platforms

“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 2 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • The image of a movie queen • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: Physical beauty, especially in a town like Hollywood, has always functioned as a currency. Careers often rested on studio demands and the public’s preconceptions of beauty, and West understood this better than most. West was unique because of her image, her wit, and her walk.

• • Sabina Stent wrote: Mae West’s walk is part of her legacy. The perfect balance of attitude and physics, it has been replicated by everybody from drag queens to Madonna. The latter’s notable appreciation of West has influenced her persona, costumes, and performances. Emulate, yes, but there was something about the walk that made it unique to West, for one — — or should we say pair? — — of specific reasons.
• • Sabina Stent wrote: What was Mae West’s secret?
• • Instead of glass slippers Mae West favored skyscrapers • • . . .   
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Sunday, 19 December 1936 in Picturegoer • •
• • Picturegoer's issue for the week of 19 December 1936 featured these three: Mae West, Merle Oberon, Alfred Hitchcock.
• • Picturegoer was a magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1913 — 1960. Its primary focus was on contemporary films and the performers who appeared in them.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Representative O'Toole (D. — N.Y.) filed a protest today with the communications commission against what he described as a filthy and indecent radio program in which Mae West was featured as the guest star last Sunday night.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “Sex depends on certain positions. But kissing is good in any position.”
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A review of a book on vaudeville in Scranton, Pennsylvania mentioned Mae West.
• • Cheryl A. Kashuba wrote: Mae West, Will Rogers, Jack Benny, George M. Cohan, Enrico Caruso, Marion Anderson. These and many more all played Scranton, and Nancy McDonald's book tells you all about it. ...
• • Source: Book Review: "Putting on the Ritz Book gives glimpse of Electric City's vaudevillian past" written by Cheryl A. Kashuba for The Times-Tribune; posted on Sunday, 18 December 2011
• • 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 4,370th 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 platform heels circa 1940s • •
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