Shoes - Women's Shoes - Men's Shoes

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Shoes - It is to hard to tell when the first pair of shoes were worn, but we do not as long as people have lived in hot and cold climates, they have needed some type of protection on their feet, to protect them from the elements. Shoes were made out of different materials depending on the climate the owner was from.

Before shoes were officially invented, people still needed to protect their feet without shoes. The easiest way for them to protect their tootsies was to use whatever was handy, whether it be large leaves, bark or grass, and they would use vines to tie them under and around their foot, kind of like home-made shoes. In some countries with hot climates, there is evidence of their shoes resembling our sandals. In colder climates, man would use the skin of animals, in order to keep the foot warm and protected from the elements. From what has been found in the romans, people from this timeframe had many more styles of shoes then one would expect.

One of the first pairs of shoes
	In this picture you are looking at one of the earlier pairs of shoes. These shoes were mainly composed of animal skin, and have laces on the front so the shoes wouldnt slip of their feet. This style of shoes were mainly used in colder climates where the shoe was needed to keep the foot warm.

The romans probably had the most shoe styles out of everyone at this time. Their military all used the same sandal style, which you can see below :

Roman Shoes - The Caliga
	The romans had a extensive variety of footwear. When they arrived in britain wearing the shoes in the picture to the left, now known as The Caliga, which exposed most of the foot and the toes. They also had other styles known as the calceus and the gallato, both featuring a closed toe, which was much more appropiate for the britain climate.

In the 17th and 18th century, shoes started becoming more and more fashionable. Shoes with women, started to mean less about protecting their feet, and more about style and fashion. They started to reflect the styles and patterns of their dresses, and were made with similar embroidery and trimming. It became popular to use bands of mettalic braid on top of shoes, as a decoration. One could transfer their silver or gold braids, from one pair of shoes to the other. Other characters shoes started taking on were pointed toes, ribbons, and some even started using large wooden soles ( Known as clogs in the world of today).

Getting farther and farther into the 18th century, womens shoes just kept changing. The heel kept getting lower and lower, until it completely disappeared, and the pointed toe was also inter-changed with square toes and narrow oval toes. Women's Shoes just got dantier and dantier, some needing ribbon just to keep the shoes on the foot.

In the 1900's, there were millions of styes of womens shoes. Some women claimed to own hundreds of pairs of shoes. There are now big-name shoe designers, who's shoes cost more then a week paycheck for some people. Shoes are now a primary aspect of clothing and fashion. In the 20th century, the popular shoes are stiletto heels, and platform shoes. The Shoe fashion world is for-ever changing,and shoes will continue to evolve.