Shoes worn by Lupita Nyong'o as Patsey in the film 12 Years a Slave: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Lupita Nyong'o wears these shoes as the character Patsey in the film 12 Years a Slave (2013). The shoes are a pair of modified ballet flat slippers with the cord ties removed from the foot openings of the uppers. An elastic cord is still in place around the openings. The slipper uppers and soles are made from leather that has been heavily distressed for filming purposes. A long length of distressed leather cord is used to tie the slippers to the feet, with slits cut at either side of the vamp of each slipper so that the cord extends across the throat of the shoe. The number "2" is stamped in black ink on the proper left interior side of both shoes, and is handwritten in black ink on the insole of the proper left shoe (a). No other evidence of manufacturer information is apparent, likely due to the heavy distressing.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2013
• Designed by: Patricia Norris, American, 1931 - 2015
• Worn by: Lupita Amondi Nyong'o, Mexican Kenyan, born 1983
• Created by: Western Costume Company, American, founded 1912
• Subject of: Solomon Northup, American, 1808 - 1875
• Type: shoes (footwear)
• Medium: leather, elastic, thread
• Dimensions: H x W x D (left): 1 7/8 × 3 5/16 × 9 5/16 in. (4.8 × 8.4 × 23.7 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (right): 1 7/8 × 3 3/8 × 9 7/16 in. (4.8 × 8.6 × 24 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Object number: 2015.158.1.2ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Western Costume Company
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.