Historical facts about shoes you should know

 10 Historical facts about the shoes we wear every day

Shoes appear in our lives mainly to protect our feet from the effects of the external environment. But then people began to use shoes to express themselves, as accessories to enhance themselves, their fashion to show their status, etc. So in the process of development throughout the long history of opinion about shoes that have changed over time and contain many interesting things. So, Here are 10 historical facts about shoes. Keep on reading to learn more about the history of shoes.

10) Shoe size was measured in Barley

In the past, various units of measurement have been used to describe the size or quantity of things. One of these units was the barleycorn, which was used to measure the length in many ancient societies. The size of a barleycorn was based on the size of a grain of barley, which was considered to be a reference point for other measurements. The length of a barleycorn was typically standardized within a given society and it was used as the basis for other units of measurement such as the inch and the foot. Almost until the end of the 19th century, there was no standard shoe size like there is today. Therefore, the ancients used to measure the length of the sole of a shoe with the grain of barley. This practice is so common that at one point the grain of barley became the basis for a unit of measure, like the inch measurement. Surprisingly, It is still an official unit of measure in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

9) Shoe shape depended on social class 

When the trend of wearing high heels reached the lower classes of society, the aristocracy responded by making their heels even taller. Even the shoes of nobles made them extremely difficult to move, which signified that they did not need the comfort to work like the lower classes.

During the Renaissance, the richer and more powerful the people, the wider the square toe while children mostly wore round-toe shoes.

8) High heels were originally for men

Originally high heels were made for men because it made it easier for them to ride horses. However in the eighteenth century, men gradually fell out of favor with high heels instead men's heels began to get lower, On the contrary, women began to wear high heels more often.

7) Red sole shoes are a symbol of wealth

Christian Louboutin’s signature red-soled shoes have become a luxury shoe brand with their expensive and sophisticated modern days. However, in the 17th century, men’s red high heels were a symbol of wealth. At one point, King Louis XIV even issued a law forbidding anyone who did not wear red-soled shoes into his court.

6) Men want their wives to wear high heels for a special reason

In the 15th century, men wanted their wives to wear shoes with very high soles, called chopines. But they want this not for the sake of beauty but for their wives not to run after other men.

Along with the popularity of high heels, which were popular for women at the time, the law in Venice (Italy) also banned women from wearing these shoes due to too many accidents caused by women being injured and reported falls.

5) The birth of “sneakers”

Sports shoes, also known as sneakers, an indispensable item for not only fashion lovers but also those who love comfort, were invented in the 19th century. At first, the shoes are worn by guards because they don’t make any noise thanks to the rubber soles underneath the shoes. Therefore, It was called “ sneaker” by prisoners.

4) Before the 19th century, we didn’t have left and right shoes

We often think that only children mistake the shoes for the left or the right but few people know that it was not until the 19th century that people divided the left and right shoes.

Accordingly, before the 19th century, shoes were made equally to fit both feet. Therefore, people who wear shoes do not need to distinguish left or right when walking, but it also makes moving a bit more inconvenient than now.

3) The first women’s boots worn by Queen Victoria

Joseph Sparkles designed the first women’s boots for Queen Victoria. He introduced shoes without buttons, without laces, or even shoes without heels. The idea of creating this simple patent was to bring comfort to the wearer and make it so popular that today, boots are still a favorite item of many people.

2) First-ever shoe brand

The earliest sports shoes were created by The Liverpool Rubber Company, founded by John Boyd Dunlop. In 1830, Dunlop was an innovator who discovered how to bond canvas uppers to rubber soles. These were known as sandshoes and were worn by Victorians on their beach excursions.

1) Most expensive shoe ever sold

Nowadays, many shoe brands try to release their most expensive and exclusive pair of shoes for VIP members and celebrities to hold their brand name, but Did you know that a pair of Ruby slippers from the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz worn by actress Judy Garland sold for a whopping $660,000 in 2000. It was the most expensive shoe ever sold in the history of shoes.