Walter H. Goater

“ To this is attached a sole of wood or plaited straw, which is held on the foot by means of a roll passing between the toes.
The Chinese, we all know, have, for ages past, religiously devoted themselves to dwarfing the feet of their women of the higher classes, so that it is not at all uncommon to find a full-grown woman with a foot as small as a child’s of four or five with us. ”

“ From the poulaine, fashion ran into the opposite extreme, and in the sixteenth century people wore shoes with square toes as broad, and sometimes broader, than they were long (Fig. 26) . They had no straps, and were only held on the foot by the narrow piece rising above the heel. It was shoes of this kind that were worn by Francis I. of France, and Henry VIII. of England.
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Fig. ”

“ In Venice we find that the custom in olden times was to have the shoes of the women mounted very high, so as to make walking as difficult as possible. By this means jealous husbands thought they would be able to keep their wives at home; but the plan did not succeed very well, I believe.
Figs. 17 and 18 show the Venetian shoes of this period, the sixteenth century. The first one, of white leather, is cut out in a delicate lace-work pattern, furnished with a broad sole, and would have been comfortable enough, were it not for its high support.
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Fig. ”

“ The men generally wear black satin boots with white soles, which they lay off in summer for shoes made of plaited bamboo, with cork soles.
In India, shoes are worn only by the higher classes, and a few of the lower castes. This habit of going shoeless seems to render the toes of the Hindoo almost as lissom as fingers. Sitting at his work, if his hands are employed he can use his feet to pick up any article he may require, as the big toe becomes quite prehensile. ”

“ When Charles I. first met his future wife at Dover, he seemed surprised to find her so tall, and, having made some remark to that effect, she answered him as follows: “Sire, I stand upon my own feet. I have no help of art. ”

“ Shoes of this description were called sandals, and were worn by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
It has been discovered, by means of paintings on the walls of Thebes, that shoemaking formed a distinct and quite lucrative trade away back in the reign of Thothmes III., some fifteen hundred years before Christ, so that followers of the awl and last can truthfully boast of the great antiquity of their profession. ”

“ But later on, on ceremonial occasions, the magistrates began to wear a red shoe, while the soldiers took to a boot reaching almost to the knee, very elaborate in design, and in a short time the custom of wearing a covering for the feet was adopted by all classes. The shoes of the women were always white in color, the senators black, while the magistrates kept to themselves red.
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Fig. ”