The History of Shoes

I love shoes. And I love history. So I decided to combine the two and figure out how shoes have evolved throughout the centuries. And my former blog on foot-binding gave me the idea as well; though I abhore what women did to their daughters, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Those are cute shoes!"

So where else to start but with the Ice Age. No one likes frost bite, and our ancestors felt exactly the same way, even billions of years ago. So they came up with the idea of some sort of covering for the foot to stay warm. But this was bad news for the large, strong toes that they had. When the coverings turned into shoes, it wasn't necessary for such huge toes, and the muscles were weakened and the toes became smaller.

Shoes were extremely necessary to walk over the jagged rocks and hot desert sand and freezing ice glaciers that we today call Earth. Some sort of protection was need for the foot since going barefoot was no longer an option. After they killed the bear for their food, they used the hide to fashion shoes. They had a few more issues to think about than style, so they didn't care what the shoe looked like. The Cavemen were a more practical lot...

Leaving the ice, we go over to the desert-- Egypt to be exact. While the ancient Canadians were hanging out killing bears, the Egyptians were protecting their delicate feet from the burning desert sands by wearing sandals. The very first sandals were made of wet sand and papyrus leaves. They can be compared to modern-day flip-flops, but were no where near as comfy! The sandal for each foot was exactly the same; no option for right foot and left foot. Also, not much give in wet sand and papyrus...Eventually the Egyptians learned about leather, and switched to the more flexible option. The sandals also became more interesting depending on the status of your rank. Pharoahs, of course, had the best, even with a bit of a peak above the toes. Colors were added as well, with gold and jewels for the rich, red and yellow for the middle class, and nothing for the peasants. They couldn't afford sandals, so they went barefoot.

And we'll stop there for today, for all that to sink in. I'll be back with the Greeks and the Romans and we'll have a toga and sandal party.