Lam Sam Leong Nyonya Heritage
Growing up in a Chinese-Peranakan houisehold in Malacca, Julie Lim and her three siblings mastered the art of making beaded Nyonya slippers by the time they were in their teens.
Her cobbler grandfather, a Peranakan (the early Chinese immigrants to Malaysia, who amrried the local folk and adopted Malay customs). started selling the slippers nback in 1936.
The slippers or Manek Eh in Hokkien, the lingu franca of the Peranakan, completes a Nyonya or Peranakan woman’s outfit which usuall comprises embroidered baju kebaya worn with batik sarong.
There are many shops, even a estaurant or two, which sell beaded shoes in Malacca town but Nyonya Heritage is one of the few which make and sell their own shoes. Others buy from shoe-makers which mean their pricing could be higher. The other advantage of shoe-maker-run shops such as Nyonya Heritage is that customers can makle personalised shoes – certain types of heels or pick their own design.
Julie takes between five and six days to complete a pair of shioes. One must have patience and perseverance, a steady hand, good eyesight and a flair for aestheric creativity to be a good beaded shoe-maker.
The Beaded Nyonya shoes are a comparatively recent invention from 19th 
century Britain and Continental Europe. Prior to the current style, traditional Nyonya beaded slippers were delicate looking footwear made from fabrics like velvet or gauze, and decorated with tiny colourful beads, and gold and silver- coloured thread. Such shoes were de rigueur for social occasions like wedding and reunions. In the old days, after the shoes were used, they were carefullyu put away and wrapped in layers of soft, non-abrasive paper until the next special occasion. Beaded slippers then were very fragile, and ay break int he thread will slowly unravel the entire tapestry.
The once-popular old style of embroidery called the kasut suklam which used gold thread was replaced by beadwork later on. As a result of the Western presence in Malacca by the 19th century. Peranakan beadwork took European motifs and patterns such as English rose and the swan, but also retained the more traditional Chinese symbols such as the phoenix, goldfish and flowers. The beads used were all imported from Europe, chiefly Vienna, Germany anbd Venice. 
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can you upload more nyonya’s shoes coz im really addict its..im also currently art student,n my sub. theme that choose is bout Nyonya
Will do that. We are in talks with all the shops to ensure that they upload the latest pics. We will definitely keep you posted.
Hi, I’m e-mailing you frm abroad & i’m looking for a pair of nyonya beaded shoes to go with my kebaya in conjunction of an event where Malaysia will be reprensented.
Can you kindly let me know if I can buy online from this shop? Otherwise, do you know of any link that I can go to?
Thanks a lot!
Hi,
Very interesting write-about re beaded shoes. Thank you. I wonder if you’ll be able to tel me if one can buy just the beads, and if possible the names of the shops that sell them. Thank you.