Brief Footwear Timeline

3,000 B.C.E.---Egyptians paint murals of shoes and shoe makers on temple walls.

c.46 CE---Plutarch describes Greek society as having 8 basic guilds of artisans, which include both shoemakers and tanners. Slaves are distinguished from free citizens by their deliberately bare feet. Actors wear raised shoes to tower over their audience and their resulting swaggering gait sends females into sexual ecstasy.

200 CE---Roman emperor Aurelius proclaims that only he and his successors may wear red sandals.

1400s---European knights adopt long-toed shoes, called crackows, with toes up to 24 inches long. Sumptuary laws will dictate the allowed length of the toes.

mid 1500s---Platform shoes rising up to 30 inches called chopines become all the rage in southern Europe.

Early 1600s---Shoelaces emerge as the latest shoe fad.

Mid 1600s---France's Louis XIV is a short man. He starts a whole new movement in platform shoes. Some are 5 inches high and decorated with miniature rustic, romantic or battle scenes. Fanatical about his shoes, the Sun King does not allow anyone other than the privileged classes from wearing the platform shoes on penalty of death.

Late 1600s---A mistranslation from the original French fairy tale turns Cinderella's fur (vair) slipper into a glass one (verre).

17th century---6-inch-high heels are worn by the upper classes in Europe. 2 servants, one on either side, are needed to hold up the person wearing the high heels.

Early 1800s---Flat shoes and Grecian sandals become popular.

1840---The first woman's boot is designed for England's Queen Victoria.

1858---Trained as a boot maker in London, John Lobb moves to Australia to try his luck in the goldfields. Although he doesn't make his fortune in gold, he comes up with the idea of making hollow-heeled boots for prospectors to hide their gold. The idea catches on and John he sets himself up in business in Sydney in 1858.

1860s---A flexible, rubber-soled cotton-canvas shoe with laces is created in England for the newly fashionable sport of croquet. These are the first sneakers, called plimsolls.

1861---The Civil War begins in the U.S. Unscrupulous contractors supply below-par footwear. Many cavalry boots are mass produced using reinforced cardboard. Climatic conditions take their toll and the soldiers suffer deep cuts to their feet. A Chiropodist General to the U.S. Cavalry will be appointed, and the English language is enriched with the word "shoddy" which describes manufacturers willing to compromise for profit. The final victory by the North is in no small part due to the superior footwear of the Union army. Right and left boots are introduced at this time but it will take another half a century before the masses are introduced to such luxuries. By the end of the war the federal government has half a million pairs of boots surplus to requirements. Troops stationed on the frontier will be supplied with shoddy boots and the foundation of the cowboy boot trade in the frontier will be based on the simple necessity for civilian bookmakers to replace defective military footwear.

Late 1800s---A buttonhook becomes an essential part of every woman's wardrobe, as high-buttoned shoes become the fashion norm.

1880s---The cowboy boot is beginning to emerge as a distinctive style.

1914---The film industry moves from the East to California. The real cowboys employed for the western films wear dull clothes compared to the illusion in dime novels. So the actors wear highly decorated boots outside their trousers. Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo makes boots for one of Cecil B de Mille's films. de Mille is so impressed he says, " The West would have been conquered earlier, if they had boots like these."

1929---The Great Depression begins. Shoes with holes in their soles become known as "Hoover Shoes" after the unfortunate occupant of the White House during the Depression.

1950s---Sneakers are the preferred footwear of teenagers and the symbol of rebellion. Cheap, they are worn by students around the world. In the U.S., cheerleaders wear sweaters, short skirts, and ankle socks with canvas topped shoes (or keds). The fashion is officially sanctioned when James Dean is photographed wearing his Levis jeans and white sneakers. [See our Athletics page for more information.]

1991---An ancient shoe made of untanned hide, laced together with a rawhide strip, and stuffed with grass to protect the feet is found in the Alps.

1997---A treasure-trove of slip-ons and padded sandals left behind by generations of prehistoric Native Americans who once took shelter in a Missouri cave are found in the 1950s. But it is not until 1997 that surprised scientists are able to determine that several of the shoes date back 5,000 years or more.

Fashion Timeline 

The History of Shoes: Superstition
Old Wives Tales

There are many old wife's tales which involve feet and shoes. These had less to do with luck, good or bad, but instead were pragmatic in nature. Putting a red pepper in the shoes during winter was thought to keep the feet warm. Giving a friend a pair of shoes would ensure they walked away from you. As such it was considered back luck to accept a gift of old shoes because you would walk in the former owner's troubles. Whilst this may appear a contradiction to above, it was thought shoes took on the persona of the original owner, good or bad. Probably for this reason it was bad karma to borrow the shoes of a friend as an arguement would follow. Whereas sticking a hairpin in a shoe would guarentee you met with a good friend. People with holes in their soles of their shoes were destined to become wealthy. Even the storing shoes had specific tabboos, such as new hoes should be kept high of the floor for good luck; but never in a position higher than knee level, otherwise illness would follow.