Suede wingtip shoes for Ain't Misbehavin' costume worn by André De Shields: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Suede wingtip shoes from Ain't Misbehavin' costume ensemble for Act II worn by André De Shields in the 1988 Broadway Revival. The shoes have green snakeskin on the toe cap, the quarter, and heel cap of the shoe. The toe cap has a design of alternating suede and snakeskin. The heel cap has a design of alternating snakeskin and green leather. The quarter is all green suede. The bottom heel is made of wood with rubber lining on the top and bottom. The shoe laces are a green cotton thread. Written in black marker on the inside of the left shoe (.5a) is [AN] and the rest of the lettering has faded. Written in black marker on the inside of the right shoe (.5b) is [ANDRE]. Both shoes have areas of loss of the snakeskin.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1988
• Created by: Unidentified
• Worn by: André De Shields, American, born 1946
• Type: shoes (footwear)
• Medium: suede, snakeskin, leather, cotton (textile), wood and rubber
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 11 1/4 × 4 1/2 × 4 in. (28.6 × 11.4 × 10.2 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2018.1.2.5ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of André De Shields
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.