Mae West: Footwear Fatigue

“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 22 of 27 parts.
• • “Get the Idea, Boys? Mae West’s Shoes” • •
• • Did Mae West’s feet ever hurt? • •
• • Sabina Stent wrote: We refer to Mae West as a hunting cat, but rarely a sex kitten or even feline, as we would a more gamine beauty. Feline is a word we attribute to Lauren Bacall: cat-like, slinking, and shimmying her way into our and Bogey’s hearts in To Have and Have Not. Mae West shimmies with every inch of her vaudeville attitude, because a stage actor must use every tool at their disposal, including their bodies.

Mae West's black platform heels

• • Sabina Stent wrote: I have often wondered if the shoes ever hurt West’s feet.
• • Sabina Stent wrote: In “Undone: High Maintenance,” Mary Karr’s offers a scathing down with heels! rally cry, confronting the historical stigma of heels wielding power, fantasy, and fetish.
• • excruciating heels would telegraph a woman’s masochism • • … 
• • This long essay by Sabina Stent will be continued on the next post.
• • Source: Majuscule, Issue 2; posted in December 2019.
• • On Monday, 17 January 1944 • •
• • An article about the motion picture "The Heat's On" starring Mae West was published in Hollywood Citizen-News in Monday's issue on 17 January 1944.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Much of this money is spent to maintain a reputation. Stars feel that a "rep" for some particular idiosyncrasy is an asset in hand. Mae West's diamonds are part of her publicity campaign.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: “I have always — — as the baseball diamond-saying goes — — two strikes on me. Because of the records set by my pictures, I have to top each one.” 
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • A North Carolina columnist mentioned Mae West.
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: Mae West comes back with her “Going to Town” picture.
• • Francis C. Thompson wrote: And everyone you know will say:  I am not sure I’ll see that picture. All of them will be there. . . .
• • Source: The Daily Courier, thanks to Cliffside Historical Society, N.C.; published on Thursday, 23 May 1935
• • 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 4,390th 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 • • black platform heels worn by Mae West • •
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