Top 10 Most Bizarre Shoes in History
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Shoes date back to the 8,000s BC – a very long history, indeed.
Over the millennia all manner of styles and materials have been used for
shoes. Some successful (the modern athletic shoe) and some not
successful at all (lotus shoes). This list looks at ten bizarre styles
of shoe from early to modern history.
10
Okobo
Japan, 18th century – today
Long before the 1970′s and the platform shoes, Japanese maiko
(apprentice geisha) had been wearing Okobo sandals or clogs. The reason
for wearing these very high platform shoes was not solely for fashion,
but also for very practical reasons. If you are wearing a very expensive
kimono that hangs all the way to your feet, you do not want to get mud
on it when you walk outside. Okobo are made of one piece of solid wood
forming the sole. Usually the wood has a very natural finish, or no
varnish at all. But during the summer, maiko will wear black lacquered
Okobo. The hight of Okobo shoes generally measures at 5 1/2 inches (14
cm), and the wood sole is carved hollow, giving them a very distinctive
sound when one walks in them. In fact, the word Okobo is an
onomatopoeia, that is it represents the sound of walking in them. A
V-shaped thong of cloth forms the upper part of the sandal. The color
of the cloth depends on the status of the maiko. For instance, a new
maiko will wear red, while one who has nearly finished her
apprenticeship will wear yellow.
9
Men’s high heels
Europe, 1700′s
Shoes and stockings became very important for men in the 1700′s, when
the tailored coat and breeches came into fashion and the focus shifted
to the lower body. Suddenly, it was all about the shapely legs, and men
wanted to wear flattering, fanciful hose and shoes to accentuate them.
Louis XIV also had a thing for high heels with red soles and heels. It
must have been tough being short in stature but lofty in power, so I
guess he thought he would even it up a bit. Of course, what the king
does, everyone else copies, so everyone who was anyone wore high heels
with red soles and heels. After all, what would be more proper to wear
with Petticoat breeches, than high-heeled shoes? Boots went completely
out of style in favor of these new elegant heels, now elaborately
decorated with ribbons, rosettes or buckles.
8
kabkabs
Lebanon, 14th-17th century
Silver studded Wooden stilts known as “kabkabs” or “nalins” were once
a practical way for women in the Middle East to protect themselves from
dirt and discomfort on wet, muddy streets and in hot, wet bathhouses.
Those belonging to the wealthy were often richly inlaid with mother of
pearl. They were several inches high and had embroidered leather, silk
or velvet straps. The name “kabkab” is derived from the sound they make
when walking on marble floors. The uppers were embroidered with silver,
gold or pewter wire. For special occasions, like a wedding, the wooden
stilts were entirely covered with intricately decorated silver, or with
small silver ornaments. Many times brides were very young girls and,
therefore, small in stature. To compensate this, bridal kabkabs were
sometimes made as high as two feet. Socially, kabkabs were only worn by
women. In bathhouses, however, simple ones, sometimes with a little
carving only and a leather-strap upper, were also worn by men.
7
Plaited birch bark shoe
Finland, mid 20th century
In the early part of the 20th century, women wore bark shoes daily,
with cloth foot wrap inserts. They were also used as overshoes to
protect more costly leather shoes against rain, mud and snow. These
shoes were commonly made from Birch bark, but they could also be made
from linden or lime-tree bark. Norway, Sweden and even Russia have all
had their own version of the footwear. The lifespan of bark shoes is
limited to about one week.
6
Chopines
Italy, 1580 – 1620
Today, only a very small number of museums have examples of original
chopines. The debut of these shoes was during the renaissance, but they
were still the shoe of choice for many Italian women at the beginning
of the 17th century. Like the Japanese Okobo, Chopines were highly
impractical, their primary purpose was to make the wearer stand out.
They not only heightened the wearer by up to 18 cm (5 inches) but were
extremely extravagant and expensive.
These treasured shoes were made of wood, and either covered with fine
silk or velvet. They were embellished with silver lace, tacks, and
were finished with a silk tassel. The tragic twist to these coveted
shoes is that chopines were rarely ever visible, even in paintings from
the period, since women always wore long dresses that covered their
footwear.
I decided to put a couple of modern shoe designs here too, as they
are just too bizarre to miss. Heelless shoes made their debut on
Antonio Berardi’s runway in 2007, and were made famous by Victoria
Beckham in 2008. And despite their unnatural and extremely
uncomfortable look, according to their English Italian designer, they do
not cause the wearer any pain. He has said “They are perfectly
balanced. When the girls come for fittings, they look a bit daunted,
but by the end they say it’s just like wearing a regular shoe.” But
medical experts have their concerns, saying that the shoes could lead to
permanent damage to the feet, knees and spine if worn regularly.
4
Padukas (Toe-knob sandals)
India, 1700′s
Ceremonial padukas, or toe-knob sandals, is the name of India’s
oldest, and ultimate footwear. They were little more than a sole with a
post and knob, which was situated between the big toe and second toe.
They were commonly made from silver, wood, iron or even ivory. There is
even a Spiked Paduka used for masochism. Masochism is for obtaining
gratification or sexual arousal by having pain inflicted upon oneself.
Some masochists enjoy a form of aichmophilia (the love of needles and
spikes). Once pain has been registered for 20-40 minutes, the body will
begin to produce opiate-like chemicals to reduce pain sensation. The
release of these chemicals causes anesthetic, euphoric and trancelike
qualities that allegedly enhance sexual sensitivity or experience.
Spiked padukas sandals are worn by Indian Hindu Sadhus, or Holy Men, for
this very purpose.
3
Wooden Bridal Shoes
France, late 19th century
Out of the Bethmale Valley, south of the city Saint Girons in the
Ariege district, comes this high pointed bridal wooden shoe. They go
back as far as the 9th century, when local villagers conquered a camp of
Moorish invaders, who kidnapped the village women, and pricked the
hearts of their enemy on the pointed tips of their clogs, in celebration
of their victory. The clogs were made in one piece of the trunks of
walnut trees which formed a rectangle with its roots. Later the branches
of a tree were pulled and warped in a special way to pre-shape the tree
for making this type of clogs. Village men created the clogs for their
future brides. It is said that the higher the point, the greater his
love for her.
2
The Ballet Boot
1980′s-present day
The ballet boot is a contemporary style of footwear. They started as
a fetish shoe, but have grown in popularity as a general fashion
statement, particularly in Japan. This shoe merges the look of the
traditional ballet slipper with the ultimate high heel. The illusion is
to force the wearers feet almost en pointe, like those of a ballerina
using an ultra long heel. The Ballet Boot originally gained popularity
in the 1980′s, and is now available worldwide through specialty stores
and online. You may have guessed, but these shoes are not intended to
be worn for any extended period of time. The shoes (based on the images
one finds on google images) seem to be rather popular with fetishists.
1
Lotus Shoes
China, from the 10th century to 2009
The Han Chinese tradition of binding women’s feet to make them appear
as small as a lotus bud lasted well over a thousand years. Shoes from
the north, especially Beijing, had a ‘bow’ shape, an exaggerated curved
sole and heel in one piece, often with leather reinforcements at toe and
heel. Style conscious women from Shanghai in the late 19th century and
early 20th century, (then the fashion capital of China), liked a
multiple heel, while those from the southern provinces such as Guangdong
wore shoes often made of black cotton or silk, with a fairly flat heel.
Iron or wooden studs were added in some cases to the soles to raise and
protect the embroidered silk shoe from the dirt of the streets.
As part of her dowry, a woman would make several pairs of shoes as
proof of her needlework ability, as well as her small feet. After her
wedding, a bride gave each of her main female in-laws a pair of shoes at
a special ceremony known as “dividing the shoes.” The last shoe factory
to stop mass production of lotus shoes was the Zhiqiang Shoe Factory.
The factory added lotus shoes for old Chinese women who still had bound
feet to it’s product range in 1991. In the first two years, more than
2,000 pairs of shoes were sold annually. It announced in 2009 that it
will make the shoes only on a special-order basis.
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