Blog 1: History of Shoes 1700s and 1800s

Lorilee Davis

Blog 1: History of Shoes 1700s and 1800s

            According to Paul Lacroix, during the 1700 hundreds, men would wear shoes that were polished and made of leather. They typically had a heel on them. Those of nobility had shoes with a red heels. The woman during this time would sometimes wear shoes with thick soles. Normally, they wore stockings with them. By the late 1700s, both men and women in the lower classes would sometimes wears shoes called "sabots." These shoes were made of wood. Others from this class would wear sandals or clogs if they couldn't afford "sabots."

            Larcoix goes on to say that during the rule of Louis XV, there was an increase in trade and this allowed for more shoes to be made. Women were able to get smaller shoes from a shoe maker. These shoes were typically high heeled leather shoes. The women were able to get the shoes in a variety of colors. The buckles were made of gold or steel. Men were able to get their shoes with decretive buckles. Towards the end of the 1700s, shoes without heels gained popularity.

            According to Kristine Byrnes, even in the early 1800s, the heel on shoes had disappeared. For women, their shoes frequently resembled slippers. Their shoes often ended with a point and came in pastel type colors. Later in the century, women basically had only 3 types of shoes to choose from. These were boots, clogs, or slippers. The boots were made to be worn daily. After the sewing machine came to be at around 1850, the boot became more popular. Slippers and clogs were shoes that were worn for special occasions.

            Brynes goes on to say that men's shoes tended to be one color: black. Riding boots became popular. These shoes didn't have much of a heel.  Men also started to wear shoes using laces. Lace up shoes have been used ever since.

             According to the article, "The History of Fashion: 1900 - 1910.",  the style of boots continued into the 1900s. Both and men and women wore them. Normally, men and women would get them a size smaller than their actual shoe size. In fact, some people had one of their smaller toes removed. Doing so allowed for them to wear smaller shoes. Women, for evening, they would wear shoes with a Louis heel. These shoes usually were lace ups. Typically, their even shoes were made of satin

            An article from Tim Lambert, it goes on to say that during this time, shoes were made for a particular foot. Such as a left or right foot. Men typically wore boots like they did in the 1800s. Also like the  later 1800's, their shoes used laces. One type of boot they wore was called the Duke of Wellington. This also marked the the first time that shoes were mass-produced. 

            Lambert said that the shoes in the 20th century that women typically had shoes decorated with beads. But after World War 2, leather was hard to come by. So many resorted to wearing clogs. During the 1950s, women started wearing stiletto heels. Some women wear shoes called mules. Mules were strapless shoes. For the mean, they wore shoes with pointed toes. These shoes were called Winkle Pickers. In the 1970's platform shoes came into popularity. They were worn by both genders.

Workcited:

Byrnes, Kristine. "THE 19TH CENTURY." Head Over Heels. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.headoverheelshistory.com/1800.html>.

"The History of Fashion: 1900 - 1910." Buff History. Sugar Inc, 2008. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://buff-history.buzzsugar.com/History-Fashion-1900---1910-1535251>.

Lacroix, Paul. "French Fashions 1700 - 1789." Americanrevolution.org. Web. 27 Jan. 2012. <http://www.americanrevolution.org/clothing/frenchfashion.html>.

Lambert, Tim. "A Brief History of Boots and Shoes." A World History Encyclopedia. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.localhistories.org/shoes.html>.