A 1938 Rainbow Shoe and a Vintage X-Ray Machine at Miami's Wolfsonian

Salvatore Ferragamo built the Rainbow in 1938 from slabs of suede-covered cork strapped with gilded leather, and made this pair for Judy Garland. Cork kept the chunky wedge light enough to walk in, which is the show in miniature: a shoe announces who you are before you speak. Around it sit a c. 1929 shoe display from Bullock's Wilshire and Beth Levine's 1961 Cinderella shoe, part of 150 objects drawn from the collection.

The wooden cabinet beside the sandal is an X-ray Shoe Sizer, made around 1946 by Simplex for X-Ray Shoe Fitter, Inc. of Milwaukee. Customers stood on the platform and the viewfinder showed the bones of the foot inside the shoe, so the fitter could see how much room was left in front of the toes. Curator Danielle Charlap drew this one from the Wolfsonian's own collection.

The galleries are on the seventh floor at 10th and Washington, open July 2 through February 28. Hours: Wednesday and Thursday 10 to 6, Friday 10 to 9, Saturday and Sunday 10 to 6; closed Monday and Tuesday, and on the holidays the museum lists, among them Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Memorial Day. Adults $12; seniors, students with ID and ages 6 to 18 $8; Florida residents, members and children under 6 free. Every Friday, 6 to 9 PM, everyone gets in free, and Metrobus and Miami Beach Trolley stops are within a block.