The selection of shoes seen here comes from the collection of shoe designer and retailer Douglas Clarence George. George grew up in Manurewa, later moving to Christchurch where he began working in a shoe shop at the age of 18. In Australia, George developed his own shoe brand “Georgia D” (a gender reversal of his own name) and worked with two factories there to supply stores such as David Jones. After 12 years there he moved back to Auckland where he opened a Georgia D shoe store in Khartoum Place. George made simple, classic women’s shoes and even expanded into larger sizes to supply his drag queen clientele. George was HIV positive when he returned to New Zealand, and he passed away in 1994.
Doug George and shoes from his collection. Image courtesy of Garth Maxwell
George's collection of around 40 pairs of vintage shoes was amassed throughout his career, with many of them on display in a cabinet in his store. Although the shoes in this collection are typical examples of 20th-century women’s footwear, their significance comes from their association with George, a well-known figure in the late 20th century queer Auckland scene, and from their starring role in the short film Naughty Little Peeptoe directed by Garth Maxwell and Peter Wells and released in 2000.
Still from the short film Naughty Little Peeptoe directed by Garth Maxwell & Peter Wells and released in 2000. Reproduced courtesy of MF Films Ltd
Naughty Little Peeptoe is formed around an interview with George conducted by Maxwell and author Debra Daley shortly before George died. In the recording, George talks candidly about his upbringing in Manurewa, his relationships with his parents, his queer identity, and how his life with shoes was intertwined with these memories. He recalls, as a child, seeing women in movies being passionately kissed by men, and how he speculated that if his mother would only wear fabulous shoes instead of gumboots then she too might be kissed by his father (something George only witnessed once).
He talks explicitly about the connection between shoes and sex, and the posture created by high heels - "...what happens is when women wear shoes that are high, with platforms and what have you, is that their posture changes...They go up, their buttocks go in, their thighs slim down, their shoulders go back, their busts go out, their backs get a curvature in them. So they look sexy.”