These Shoes Were Made for Walking

People probably first wore shoes to make it easier to walk in bad weather or on rough ground. But it didn't take long before shoes were made for more than just walking. They became symbols of wealth or power or beauty, too. Sometimes, shoes weren't even good for walking anymore.

Tippy Toes

In the 14th and 15th centuries European noblemen showed off their wealth by wearing shoes with long pointy tips. After all, someone who actually had to walk and work for a living wouldn't get very far in shoes more than two feet long. Even noble knights in armor followed this fashion trend.

Sitting Shoes

For hundreds of years in China, a woman was not considered beautiful unless she had tiny feet dressed in delicate, embroidered silk shoes. The ideal foot was just three inches long and shaped like a lotus bud. To achieve this form, at about the age of six, girls began the painful practice of having their feet bound. Having bound feet meant a woman's family could afford servants to wait on her and carry her.

If the Shoe's Fish . . .

People living in cold northern areas wore boots to keep their feet warm and dry. They typically used reindeer or seal skin, but sometimes they used fish skin, as on these boots, made by people living along Russia's eastern coast. It's said that fish-skin shoes were especially useful when food supplies were low, because they could be boiled and eaten.

Curlicue Shoe

Shoes are required for warmth in only a few parts of India, so many people there traditionally went barefoot. And because cows are sacred to Hindus, the largest group of people in India, leather shoes were not popular. When people did wear shoes, they often chose elaborately decorated ones made of wood or metal or straw.

Walk Softly

Almost all Native Americans traditionally wore moccasins, sturdy shoes sewn from soft leather, but each group had its own construction techniques and designs. Hunters living in Eastern woodlands, for example, commonly wore soft-soled moccasins of deerskin, which were great for moving quickly and quietly on leaf-covered ground. Indians on the plains and prairies wore moccasins with hard soles made of tough buffalo hide. Some moccasins had long fringe that may have helped wipe away the walker's footprints. The moccasins shown here are decorated with porcupine quills even on the soles and were probably used only for special occasions.

Bathing Beauties

For hundreds of years in many parts of the Middle East, going to the bathhouse for a Turkish bath, a kind of steam bath, was a favorite custom. Women wore tall wooden shoes like these to the baths, to keep their feet off the wet, hot floors. The shoes were exquisitely decorated with carvings or inlaid with silver or mother of pearl. They were easy to slip on and off, but at six inches tall, weren't they easy to slip in as well?

The Height of Fashion

In ancient Greece actors wore shoes with three-inch soles to look more heroic on stage. The style was soon copied by Greek women, and similar platform shoes have frequently come in and out of fashion ever since. These funky shoes are from the 1970s.

Take a Hike

The Anasazi people, who lived in the American Southwest from AD 1 to 1300, used plant fibers to weave the perfect hiking sandals, with deep treads for gripping the ground, channels for draining water, and sturdy, lightweight straps (missing on this pair) for keeping the shoes in place. In the 1980s, frustrated by heavy boots and soggy sneakers, hiker Mark Thatcher came up with the same idea and created the Teva sandal.

Copyright Carus Publishing Company Feb 2005
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