Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Dorothy's Magic Slippers in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!


Did you know that the original slippers worn by Dorothy Gale in the famous novel by L. Frank Baum "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" were not "ruby slippers" but rather "silver shoes"?! The authentic-to-the-book silver Dorothy slippers pictured above are a glamorous pair of vintage 1950s ladies loafer pumps which can be found in my sister Andrea's Etsy shop Storybook Artifact. Yes, these stunning silvery shoes are true to the tale!


The "ruby slippers" are the shoes worn by Dorothy, played by the lovely Judy Garland, in the 1939 MGM classic film "The Wizard of Oz". Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers are now among the most treasured and valuable of all film memorabilia. An original pair of ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz are on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C...and I got the pleasure of seeing them in person! They are dazzling and yes, quite magical!


The movie's creators changed the book's silver shoes to ruby slippers to take advantage of the new Technicolor film process. In my Etsy "sister shop" LaOohLaLa Boutique, I have a nostalgic set of 1940s Judy Garland sheet music; one of them is from another MGM technicolor musical motion picture starring Judy Garland called "In the Good Old Summertime". This vintage sheet music set also features the famous Judy Garland song "Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz.


The other night, I watched the 1985 Return to Oz movie for the very first time. Now, I have seen all three; the original, the sequel, and the newest Oz movie which is auh-mazing! The original is still my favorite though. I did find the story of the Disney "Return to Oz" movie a little creepy since a younger Dorothy is taken to a doctor's laboratory for shock treatments to erase her memories of the land of Oz; perhaps this is an MK Ultra mind control reference...creepy! Also Piper Laurie stars as Dorothy's mother and every time I see her I can't help but think of her being the scary mother in Stephen King's movie "Carrie", although she is certainly wickedly good...also in David Lynch's Twin Peaks!


As a child, I loved watching the original Wizard of Oz film over and over the rainbow again, like many other children; the nostalgia of Dorothy's slippers is so very magical! Are you getting the urge to follow the yellow brick road?! My sister Andrea's vintage 1950s "Yellow Brick Road Dorothy Slippers" can also be found in her Etsy Shop Storybook Artifact...they beautifully capture the magic of the legendary road that leads to the Emerald City...passed the poppy fields and into our hearts! These yellow brick road Dorothy slippers and many other Wizard of Oz themed treasures can be found here on the Octopus Pie Studios blog in the article that was posted today titled: "A Wizard of Oz Kind of Day...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the link love!
Your blog is very lovely and I am looking forward to following you on your adventures!
xoxo
Ash
Octopus Pie Studios

Artifact Andrea said...

Honored to have both silver and gold slippers featured in this lovely blog article highlighting the timeless story of the Wizard of Oz. Thank You. :-)