Mary Jane is an American

American English

American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....

 term (formerly trademarked) for a strap shoe

Shoe

A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...

(American English) or bar shoe (British English

British English

British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...

) that typically has low heels, broad and rounded closed toes, and a single-buckle strap across the instep and/or around the ankle. They are traditionally made of black patent leather

Patent leather

Patent leather is a type of japanned leather that has been given a high gloss, shiny finish. The process was brought to the United States and improved by Newark-based inventor Seth Boyden in 1818, with commercial manufacture beginning September 20, 1819. Boyden's process, which he never patented,...

, although some current incarnations can be in a wide array of colors and leathers.

Traditionally Mary Janes are a variety of shoe worn mainly by young girls. In modern times they are worn by women of all ages. Mary Janes are typically considered formal for girls and informal when worn by women.

History

Children's shoes secured by a strap over the instep and fastened with a buckle or button began to appear in the early 19th century. Originally worn by both sexes, they began to be considered only as girls' shoes after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in North America and after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in Europe. They were popular with adult women in the 1920s.

Etymology

Mary Jane was a character created by Richard Outcault for his comic strip, Buster Brown

Buster Brown

Buster Brown was a comic strip character created in 1902 by Richard Felton Outcault who was known for his association with the Brown Shoe Company. This mischievous young boy was loosely based on a boy near Outcault's home in Flushing, New York...

, which was first published in 1902. She was the sister of the title character, Buster Brown.

In 1904, Outcault traveled to the St. Louis World's Fair and sold licenses to up to 200 companies to use the Buster Brown characters to advertise their products. Among them was the Brown Shoe Company

Brown Shoe Company

Brown Shoe Company is a footwear company that owns a variety of footwear brands in the United States and Canada. Its headquarters is located in Clayton, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.-Origins:...

, who later hired actors to tour the country, performing as the Buster Brown characters in theaters and stores. This strategy helped the Brown Shoe Company become the most prominently associated brand with the Buster Brown characters. The style of shoe both Buster Brown and Mary Jane wore came to be known by her name, Mary Jane.

Current style

While the classic Mary Jane still retains its wide popularity and appeal, today's more stylish Mary Janes tend to be platform styles, with half-inch to one-inch soles and three- to five-inch "chunky heels", often with exaggerated grommets or buckles. These styles were especially popular in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the late 1990s and early 2000s, within punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, psychobilly

Psychobilly

Psychobilly is a fusion genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. It is one of several subgenres of rockabilly which also include thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly and gothabilly...

, and goth

Goth subculture

The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...

 subcultures. Many times the wearers would accent the look with knee-high knit socks in dark-colored stripes or patterns and/or some form of hosiery (stockings/pantyhose), and often complete the look with a plaid, pleated schoolgirl

Schoolgirl

A schoolgirl is a girl attending either primary or secondary school, generally aged between four and eighteen years old.-Academic performance:This has led in some countries to calls for greater equality for education in the school system...

-style skirt.

Mary Janes are a popular part of kinderwhore

Kinderwhore

Kinderwhore was an image used by a handful of mostly female punk rock bands in the US during the early to mid 1990s.The kinderwhore look consisted of torn, ripped tight or low-cut babydoll dresses or nighties, heavy makeup, and leather boots or Mary–Jane shoes of various colors...

 and Lolita fashion

Lolita fashion

is a fashion subculture originating in Japan that is based on Victorian-era clothing as well as costumes from the Rococo period, but the style has expanded greatly beyond these two. The Lolita look began primarily as one of modesty with a focus on quality in both material and manufacture of garments...

. A pump

Court shoe

Court shoes or pumps are shoes with a low-cut front and usually without a fastening. However, some have ankle straps...

with a strap across the instep may be referred to as a "Mary Jane pump", although it does not have the low heels or wide toe of the original Mary Jane (and a pump is generally strapless by definition).