When little girls of yesteryear dressed their finest, they were sure to be sporting a pair of shoes known as Mary Janes. Made of black or white patent leather, they consisted of a round-toe, complete with instep strap and side buckle and were the perfect compliment to a pinafore dress complete with white tights - the classic all-American little girl look.

These shoes were originally designed for both boys and girls and hawked by two popular comic strip siblings, Buster Brown and Mary Jane, who would eventually lend their names to the Buster Brown Shoe Company shortly after the turn of the century. Boys would eventually turn their attention to Oxfords, but girls would embrace the Mary Jane design as part of their dress-up attire for almost a century.

Mary Janes weren’t exactly playtime shoes. They were easily susceptible to scuffs and scrapes if not taken care of. A girl was expected to stifle her never-ending supply of childhood energy when wearing them, especially after mom had gone through the laborious task of curling her hair and ironing her best dress. After all that work, the shoes best be in pristine condition, an arduous task for any youngster.

Thankfully, casual shoes would soon be introduced so that girls could play unencumbered. But when the occasion arose to dress their finest, they almost always reached for the Mary Janes – even to this day. Through the years, the traditional black and white look has given way to a number of fashionable colors, but the design remains the same as it was a century ago. And for all those adults that long for the days of Mary Janes, the introduction of China Flats have allowed the grown up Janes of the world to reminisce in all their buckled shoe glory.