Former Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos had a shoe collection so vast, so impressive, so at-odds with the rest of the impoverished nation her husband presided over, that the 1,000+ pairs of shoes are now synonymous with gross excess.
When she and her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, were driven into exile during the 1986 revolt, Marcos' collection of shoes was stored in the Presidential Palace's basement by successor Corazon Aquino. Later, many pairs were transferred to the National Museum for preservation, but by then, they had already begun to decay from termites, humidity, and mold. Recently, due to ceiling leaks from tropical rains, boxes of Imelda's belongings — including those famed shoes — have become severely water damaged, and curators have been working hard to restore the warped, stained, and molding items. However, around 760 Gucci, Dior, Chanel, Prada, and Ferregamo shoes still remain in pristine condition, and are visited by 50-100 museum guests on the daily.
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Said Marcos, famously, about her shoe collection in light of the accusations of her husband stealing billions of dollars from the government, "They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes." We hate seeing anything so beautiful falling into disrepair, but we felt a sort of schadenfreude upon hearing that these symbols of excess have found their way back to the earth. Dust to dust, right? (Huffington Post)
Photo: Courtesy of NYDaily News