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These women's brown leather boots were most likely used during the day for strolling or travelling. They feature the low, tapered Louis XIV heel and square toe in vogue during the late 1870s. Eleven keyhole buttonholes were bound by thread with additional hand-sewn, half-ball shank buttons. By the end of the 1870s, current bustle fashion was lifting skirts higher in the back and the importance of women's footwear increased. It was not proper in the late 19th century for a woman's feet or legs to be seen under a sea of crinolines and petticoats, however, if they did show, the ideal female foot was small and narrow.