Shoes can be a uniquely personal thing, with the fashion conscious possessing wardrobes full of shoes for every possible occasion.
One pair for work, one pair for Sunday best was the working mans stance on footwear a couple of generations ago, perhaps a pair of nice
black shoes, and the one for work was usually boots in the industrial towns of Europe.
Times have changed however and although more casual, sports based footwear has become more common in society, mans wardrobe now reflects his desire to compete to be as fashionable as his female counterpart.
In the Middle Ages, the more wealthy regarded footwear as an absolute fashion necessity. Contact with different parts of the World produced different ideas on shoes, both colour, style and material used. It was not just the Court Jester who wore colourful pointed shoes, the nobles and gentry competed with each other to wear longer points.
The peasant was still wearing skins, occasionally clogs and loose hose but post Crusades, and contact with the Middle East, nobility found new ideas for their footwear. Makes used whalebone in production sometimes, creating 24 inch, 60 cms, long shoes. They made the winkle picker of the 50s and more recently, look positively conservative.
Like any fashion it changed and there is no less change in shoes recently.
They have often come from old ideas, or borrowed, in basic concept, style from different parts of the World.
The clog, originating in parts of Europe, now comes in many styles and colours, with platform shoes, male and female, occasionally as much as 12 inches of heel, with half that height as platform at the front end, prominent at various times in the last few decades.
The Red Indian moccasin from North America is now a comfortable casual option for many as the World gets less formal.
The extended variety of materials now available means that polyurethane moulds, multi coloured designs and lightweight canvas and rubber are very common in the market place.
From the first beginnings of man seeking protection from the terrain, shoes have become a fashionable part, and an integral part of our Modern World.
The oldest leather shoe to be found is over 5000 years old and its condition, including the laces, was remarkable. It was found in a cave and the cool and dry conditions have been seen as a reason why the condition is so good.
Its age was determined by carbon dating, and it came as a real shock to the discoverers who did not dream it would be that old.
