The Significance of Shoes - Essay Example

Absolutely no outfit could be complete with shoes. Shoes enable people to move comfortably over intolerant surfaces. They protect the foot from harmful objects and provide the final touch of elegance to the fashion-oriented class. Shoes have become an integral part of human life in the contemporary world, both as protective wear and a fashion element. Can you imagine what life would be without shoes? Despite the fact that people wear shoes every day, many have no idea of the history of shoes.  This paper explores the origin of shoes and some of the most groundbreaking inventions in the shoe industry.

The origin of shoes dates back to about 40,000 years ago during the Middle Paleolithic age.  Evidence points out that footwear was amongst the things that the ancient man-made. The early man was compelled to devise a means of protecting their feet from rugged terrains, jagged rocks, and hot sand among other things that could hurt their feet (Yue & Yue, 1997). In early civilizations, sandals were the most common footwear among people. However, some communities such as Mesopotamia had shoes. In Mesopotamia, individuals who live in mountains around the boundary with Iran wore some kind of soft shoes made of wraparound leather.

There was no marked distinction between the left and right shoes. Even by 1850, both the left and right pairs of shoes remained largely the same with most shoes having straight lasts. According to Yue and Yue (1997), the ancient shoe designs were in accordance with the surrounding environment of the inventor such as the conditions that people needed to be protected from as well as the available materials. The fast movement was essential for survival, thus “shoes needed to be light-weight but still strong enough for adequate protection” (Yue & Yue, 1997, p.9). Shoes needed to cover up the foot and have a tight grip. In warm areas, people sought flat materials and tied them onto their feet soles while those in colder climates covered their feet and legs with animal skins tying them with thongs (Yue & Yue, 1997).

Many of the shoes that rule the current world of fashion existed in the ancient periods. Different kinds of shoes from thick to thin existed in the antique world. To begin with, sandals are one of the most common footwear among early inhabitants of the planet earth. Sandal still remains common footwear in warm countries.  The ancient Japanese had their version of sandal with a wooden sole called the geta. The geta were worn with socks known as tabi (Yue & Yue, 1997).

Among the Indians was chapel, a tall knobbed sandal that was made from the hide of water buffalo with wood and metal to keep the foot above the ground. Early Egyptians were associated with sandals that were basically made of plaited leaves of papyrus. Sandal making was a widely acknowledged practice among early Egyptians. The Egyptian sandals were unique in that they appeared as both left and right pair, unlike most European shoes that had no differences. In Greece and Rome, the use of sandals was restricted with specific sandals being set for different occasions (Aswad & Meredith, 2003).

In cold countries, moccasin was the most common type of shoes. Moccasin was simple and made of one round of leather sewed together and had laces that were also made of leather. Moccasin was common among Native Americans and ancient American pioneers. The ancient Romans have been associated with wooden-soled shoes. Peasants across Europe have worn clogs as well as other shoes with wooden soles for a very long period of time. Similar to the Japanese geta, the thick wooden sole protected the foot from road fragments, mud, stones, and cold among others. Klompen were wooden shoes in Holland and still exist today. Pattens were worn until the middle ages, during the Victorian period. Among the early French was sabot, a wooden sole shoe for factory employees and peasants. High heel shoes, which commonly rule the women’s fashion world, existed for both males and females in ancient times. These include the Japanese Okobo of the 18th century, Kabkabs of Lebanon (14th-17th century), Italian Copies, and the ballet boots of the 1980s among others (Yue & Yue, 1997).

In 1845, a rolling machine came into use and replaced the previously used lapstone and hammer. A year after (1846), Elias Howe invented the sewing machine for shoes. This invention set the industry in the motion of finding some better methods of producing shoes. In 1858, an American shoemaker, Lyman Reed Blake invented the machine that could sew the sole to the upper component. He got a patent for his machine, but Gordon McKay later bought the patent and upgraded the invention. In 1883 the lasting machine was invented and patented by J.E. Matzeliger (Aswad & Meredith, 2003). Upon the onset of the civil war, many shoemakers joined armies leading to an acute shortage of shoes for the army and the civilians.  The invention of the shoestring dates back to the 1970s in England. Prior to this great invention, shoes were commonly tied with buckles.

The shoe industry has come a long way.  Many shoes that were worn by our ancestors are still living today and those that had been thrown out of the fashion industry are finding their way back into the contemporary fashion world. The climate of an area determines what kind of shoes people wear. Nonetheless, shoes have remained vital protective as well as fashion outfits for the human foot since the relic periods. The next time you buy a shoe, try to find its origin and you will be amazed. All shoe history date back to the ancient world.