Pointe shoes from the early nineteenth century closely resembled fashionable dress shoes of that period and, therefore, were part of larger fashion system. In the opening chapter of this canonical work, Barthes discusses the relationships and shifts that occur between a real object/garment, the iconic image/photo, and the textual description/words. Focusing on the textual description, he discusses how words/text focus attention on particular aspects of a garment/object and how the ordering of perceived elements implies a goal, conscious or unconscious, on the part of the describer. I believe Barthes’ argument will be useful in a number of ways. His discussion of the relationship between image and text will be valuable as I explore the relationship between the world of fashion and that of dance. As well, Barthes will provide one methodology with which I can deconstruct primary accounts of nineteenth century performances en pointe. I intend to read more of this work as I explore my topic further.