A court shoe (British English), or pump (American English), is a shoe with a low-cut front, the vamp, and without a fastening. They are usually worn by women, but are still traditional menswear in some formal situations, where the style is sometimes called an opera slipper or patent pump. Pumps with a strap across the instep are called Mary Jane's. Pumps may have an ankle strap. Pumps for women are usually heeled. The shape has varied through time. In the UK, a closed toe and wide (non-stiletto) heel have been worn by the very fashion-conscious, but most still wore stilettos of mainly 'kitten' height to medium height. In the UK, outside the fashion trade, the term "pumps" would normally imply flat or low-heel dancing or ballerina pumps, or even rubber-soled canvas plimsolls. In the U.S, "pumps" exclusively refers to women's shoes with a kitten or higher heel. Pumps can be made from any material, but traditional patent leather is popular. Pumps are mostly worn with a suit or a uniform, but are also worn with formal and informal dresses, skirts, trousers, and jeans. White, stiletto-heeled pumps are the standard attire with swimsuits in beauty pageants. Pumps are also part of the costume of a ballroom dancer. They are made of satin, usually tan, though other colors are made as well, and worn on both the competition and practice floors. The construction of pumps is simple, using a whole-cut leather top with a low vamp, lined with either quilted silk or plain leather, trimmed with braid at the opening. The full leather sole is either glued onto the bottom, common on cheaper styles, or sewn, as on more costly bespoke styles still made traditionally, using a shallow slit to lift a flap of leather around the edge to recess and hide the stitching. The sole is, as on ordinary shoes, several layers of leather put together. The bow is made of grosgrain silk or rayon, in a pinched or flat form.
