Shoe shop girls: narrating femininity and the art of successful shoe selling

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Braithwaite, N ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6424-8919, 2025. Shoe shop girls: narrating femininity and the art of successful shoe selling. In: Whose voices? Oral History Society Annual Conference 2025, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 06-07 June 2025.

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Abstract

“The salesgirl must always take care over her appearance. High heels, neat and tidy hair and a dash of lipstick, are all important for securing the sale.”

This extract comes from an instruction manual used by the former Leicestershire based footwear company, British Shoe Corporation (BSC) which closed in the late 1990s, to train their largely female sales force in the art of successful shoe selling. BSC held the monopoly for selling fashionable shoes through stores across the British high street, with household names such as Dolcis and Saxone from the 1950s until its demise. BSC was a people focused company, yet despite its prominent contribution to the UK economy, little is known about the experiences of the individuals who worked there. In response I established an Oral History project (Shoe Shop Talk) to draw out the stories of these unheard individuals who had an integral role in shaping the under explored UK footwear retail industry.

During its heyday BSC had a significant operation comprising manufacture, distribution and retail stores, employing a huge, largely male dominated workforce. This oral history documents the voices of many who were key in securing its legacy, and has captured stories from its salesgirls, who, although less visible in the management structures of BSC, were the real trailblazers behind the success of its stores and rise as a fashion leader. A series of BSC retail training manuals exist which document the role of the store manager in taking his female staff through weekly training sessions which focused on appropriate behaviour and appearances. Drawing from oral histories with the shoe shop girls the paper gives voice to their memories from the shop floor and how they negotiated the BSC’s endorsement of the objectification of femininity in the art of selling shoes.

Item Type:	Conference contribution
Creators:	Braithwaite, N.
Date:	June 2025
Identifiers:	Number Type 2434135 Other
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham School of Art & Design
Record created by:	Jeremy Silvester
Date Added:	09 May 2025 09:56
Last Modified:	09 May 2025 09:56
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/53568