West SFV Lifestyle

It was September 11, 1933.  The headlines for the Los Angeles Times first page were, “Film Studios Set New Pace”, “And So The Trek Back to Class Begins—All Too Soon”, and “Society Girl and Escort Plunge to Death in Car”.  Then, all the way down, in the center of the first page, tinted toes, or what we know as painted toenails, makes the headlines.

Tinted Toes, What Next, Who Knows? 1933 Mon, Sep 11, 1933 – 13 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

Tinted Toes, What Next, Who Knows? 1933 Mon, Sep 11, 1933 – 14 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

Wow! That was really hard to read because how silly is it? Just think, there’s a whole industry created catering to tinted or painted toes and fingers! Nail salons wouldn’t have flourished. A whole category of footwear wouldn’t have existed for us. Change was hard for people back then and I complain about how hard it is for my day job team to make small changes! Men, seemed particularly scared and according to this article, rightfully so! Feet could not have been well taken care of looked possibly frightful according to this article.

Now, one man, a Mr. L. D. Morris, a resident of Canoga Park in 1934, who I believe was named Lewis Dewey Morris and was the son of William Joseph Morris, Sr. (1873-1943), an immigrant from Ireland and successful builder in Los Angeles. Mr. Morris must have been inspired by this trend. He acted swiftly and with confidence, putting out his creation nearly 5 months later, and on the feet of an actress nonetheless. They’re actually cute in a Grecian-style kind of way. The heel reminds me of Ferragamo.

Canoga Park 1934 – Women Go Stockingless, Wear Sandals, and Tint Toenails Sat, Feb 10, 1934 – 5 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

A few days later, Ed Ainsworth, a columnist writer for the Los Angeles Times wrote about the sandal creation in his regular column, “Along the El Camino Real”. Ainsworth, wrote a very brief but scathing piece on Mr. Morris’ efforts. I’m afraid, Mr. Morris was attacked for his efforts again!  Early adapters are often stigmatized.

El Camino Real mention of LD Morris written by Ed Ainsworth 1934 Mon, Feb 12, 1934 – 4 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com

I tried to do more research to see what became of Mr. Morris after 1934.  It appears he moved to Oregon where he passed away in 1979. Although he may not have become a famous sandal designer, he did pave the way for women to feel proud of their toes, baring them for all to see in their tinted glory! Oh, and thank you Mr. Morris for putting Canoga Park on the fashion map!