An estimated tens of millions of people have viewed the Ruby Slippers at the American History Museum since an undisclosed donor gave them to the institution in 1979, according to Lintelman. Prior to their recent conservation, the shoes had been away from the public for only short periods. “Any time that we take the Ruby Slippers off display we immediately hear about it from guests,” he says. “When people see them in person they’re so surprised to see that they’re small, but it brings home the fact that Judy Garland was 16 years old when making the film. . . . It’s a very recognizable and understandable object.”

The last known pair may have been made for Bobbie Koshay, Garland's stunt double. [15] This is most likely the size 6B pair (owned first by Roberta Bauman, then Anthony Landini, and currently by David Elkouby) whose lining says "Double" instead of "Judy Garland". However, some believe this pair may have been the second pair created, therefore explaining the "Double" in the lining, but still worn by Garland and Koshay. [16] Several pairs of Garland's own shoes are size 6 1⁄ 2. Also, Garland can be seen wearing this pair in photos taken after the film's primary shooting was finished in 1939. This is the first book in an Australian series about a rabbit named Ruby Red Shoes. Ruby lives with her grandmother and when she was born her feet were cold, so Grandma knitted her red booties. Now that she is older, she always wears red shoes and she has many choices. The rest of the story introduces us to Grandma, the friends who come to call, and the things Ruby likes to do like garden, take naps, and watch the stars with Grandma.

The Twigseeds band of furry and feathery friends have grown a following of both children and grown-ups alike. They have appeared in books, magazines, art prints, greeting cards, stationery, plush toys and bed linen. a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rhys Thomas (March 13, 1988). "The Ruby Slippers: A Journey to the Land of Oz". Los Angeles Times. For next year, designers have presented a range of shoe trends, including, but not limited to, a continuation of Mary Janes and styles finished in rich ruby red that echo the season's defining colour. I'll admit, 90% of the shoe trends for 2024 aren't exactly practical either—there are bows, fragile heels, and soft fabrications to eat up. But they are fun, and will bring joy to even your most basic outfits. However, if comfort really is your main concern, rest assured there is a shoe waiting for you. One pair, known as "the People's Shoes", is on public display at the Smithsonian Institution. However, the shoes do not belong together; their actual mates are the mismatched pair (left sized 5C, right 5BC) stolen in 2005 and recovered in 2018. [7] [11] The four surviving pairs were made from white silk pumps from the Innes Shoe Company in Los Angeles. At the time, many movie studios used plain white silk shoes because they were inexpensive and easy to dye. It is likely that most of the shoes worn by female characters in The Wizard of Oz were plain Innes shoes with varying heel heights, dyed to match each costume. There is an embossed gold or silver stamp or an embroidered cloth label bearing the name of the company inside each right shoe. [9]

a b c d Thomas, Rhys (March 20, 1988). "The Ruby Slippers: The Search for Sole Survivors". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 22, 2011 . Retrieved November 8, 2021. a b c d e f Daley, Jason (4 September 2018). "After 13-Year Chase, F.B.I. Nabs Pair of Dorothy's Ruby Slippers". Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution . Retrieved 4 September 2018. The Smithsonian conservators were nearing the end of approximately two years of work on one of the most beloved artifacts from movie history, the Ruby Slippers worn in The Wizard of Oz, when they received a call from the FBI. Another pair of the shoes had turned up, the bureau said. Would they take a look at them? Her studio, Twigseeds, has given flight to a world of colourful characters, including the charming and much loved aware hare and children's book character, Ruby Red Shoes. The team studied the FBI pair for a day and a half. The similarities were obvious. “I would say it was after a little over an hour, we were just looking and we see all the consistencies,” Wallace says. “Everything started to line up.” That included clear glass beads painted red on both shoes, a detail she believed was not widely known.a b Monte Burke (December 3, 2008). "Inside The Search For Dorothy's Slippers". Forbes . Retrieved April 28, 2010. Jesse Rhodes (November 18, 2008). "The Ruby Slippers Return to the Museum of American History". Smithsonian. In "At The Auction of the Ruby Slippers", a short story in Salman Rushdie's 1994 anthology East, West, various members of a destitute world attend an auction to bid for the ruby slippers of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, in the hope their transformative powers will help them achieve personal and political ends. The slippers were designed by Gilbert Adrian, MGM's chief costume designer. [8] [9] Initially, two pairs were made in different styles. The so-called "Arabian test pair" was "a wildly jeweled, Arabian motif, with curling toes and heels." [9] This pair was used in costume tests, [1] but was rejected as unsuitable for Dorothy's Kansas farmgirl image. [9] The second design was approved, with one modification. The red bugle beads used to simulate rubies proved too heavy, so they were mostly replaced with sequins, about 2,300 for each shoe. [9] I first heard about Ruby Red Shoes when I was wrapping up the 2014 Readings Children’s Book Prize (where its sequel was shortlisted). It certainly looked beautiful, but at the time neither the original or its sequel were easily found in my local bookshops or department stores, so I filed it away in the ‘nice to read it if I ever find it’ part of my mind.

There’s obvious wear of age and in natural deterioration in fading,” says Dawn Wallace, a Smithsonian objects conservator, about their condition before the conservation, but structurally the shoes were stable.As Thomas wrote in his book, an updated version of which is in the works, as news broke about the auctioned pair, a woman in Tennessee came forward with yet another pair, saying she had won them in a contest soon after the film’s release. That made four sets of Ruby Slippers, plus the screen-test shoes. In Wizard101, the slippers are a wearable item given after completing the sidequest "Not in Kansas Anymore". Once worn, they give +1 resistance to damage from Death spells. In 2019, Ikon Design Studio released an officially licensed pair of ruby slippers. The replica slippers came in Judy Garland's size of 5B and had her name written inside the shoe. The production was limited to 250 numbered pairs worldwide which included an acrylic display case and a numbered plaque. [34]