As classy as its name, Mary Jane is a kind of flat shoe or sandal known for having a single buckle strap across the instep with a rounded heel and made of black patent leather. Mary Janes first became popular in the 20′s and girls usually wear them with dresses and school uniforms. It is the formal counterpart of high heels that girls wear in formal events. Its name came from a comic character Mary Jane- the girlfriend of Buster Brown in the Buster Brown comic series. The Brown Shoe Company used the characters of Buster Brown to advertise their shoes through hired actors performing in theaters and stores. Eventually the shoes worn by the Mary Jane Character adapted its name from its wearer.

After many years, the traditional Mary Janes for girls is still popular. There have been improvements and changes in material and colors but it still has its trademark of round toe and single strap. Another brave step Mary Janes has taken is by re-styling to catering itself to women. So rounded toes morphed into pointed and squared toes;
And flat soles have turned into high heels, wedges and platforms. Black still dominates but there’s more room for other colors. Leather is now competing with synthetic types, PVC and others. As technology improves, the more alternative choices are re-created for Mary Janes.

What to wear with Mary Janes has never been really a problem because it got out from the typical formal wear for girls to office wear for women. By just looking at how Mary Janes evolved in terms of style, color and material it’s easier to re-brand these shoes to fit the overall lifestyle of women. There are now sneakers in the form of Mary Janes-fit for women on the run. Even goth and punk rock babes joined the bandwagon in the late 1990′s and early 2000′s. To get the school girl look they combined knitted knee-high and colorful striped socks with Mary Janes along with mini- plaid skirts. Kinder whore and Lolita Fashion subcultures have also been known to use Mary Janes in dressing up. Apparently, these shoes can be worn one way or the other because through the years women have worn them with almost anything!

Stacy Ferguson A.K.A Fergie, singer and member of the Black Eyed Peas, has a song about Mary Janes in her solo/ debut album, The Dutchess. She tells in her song how Mary Janes are so lovely to wear and how it places a special place in her heart. In pop culture, we have known characters associated with wearing Mary Janes. Billy the puppet, in the Saw horror movies, wears a red pair of Mary Janes and Velma Dinkley in the Scooby-Doo cartoon series wears the traditional style.

Anyone can be inspired of this classic icon and apparently what we see in the media reflects how Mary Janes has been a part of our everyday lives. Mary Janes has been reigning for more or less 90 years. What else can it do to continually surprise us? Have we seen it all? As simple as the original design seems to be, there’s more to imagination that’s in store for this shoe. Its future is as long as the catwalk.