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Bates professor 'bares sole' in shoe exhibit

Christine McDowell has been collecting shoes since she was a child; from all over the world, each one represents culture and fashion through the years.

LEWISTON, Maine — Christine McDowell has collected more than 200 pairs of shoes from all over the world; a collection the Bates professor is sharing in an exhibit at Museum L-A in Lewiston. Shoes made from straw, carved from wood, or designed right in the Lewiston-Auburn area back in the heyday of the shoe manufacturing industry. 

McDowell walked us through the museum, pointing out some of her favorites in the collection called, "Footwear: From Function to Fashion." As a professor of theater at Bates College, McDowell always keeps her eyes out for unique costumes or shoes that can be used in a production; that's just part of her fascination with shoes. 

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McDowell worked with Museum L-A collections and exhibits coordinator, Emma Sieh, to piece together shoes from her own collection; some on loan from Rancourt & Company; and some from the Androscoggin Historical Society and the Bates Museum of Art

The collection will be on display at Museum L-A through the new year. 

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