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Oh, Those Ruby Slippers; Dorothy's Magic Shoes, a Touchstone of Americana and a Writer's Obsession

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From: The Washington Post
Date: 19890702
Author:Carla Hall

Originally they were silver slippers.

That may have been fine for L. Frank Baum's novel, even metaphorical if you believe that "The Wizard of Oz" is a depression-era parable-and the coveted slippers were the hard currency so needed.

But it wouldn't do for showing off MGM's expensive Technicolor. Sometime between the May 9, 1938, script of "The Wizard of Oz" and the May 14, 1938, revision, they became ruby slippers, silk faille pumps, each covered with georgette fabric and 2,300 sequins.

The counting of such a thing would be ludicrous-perhaps you think it still is-were it not that ...

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