Personally, we prefer sandals.

Does the devil wear Prada? Do you buy your shoes at the Pic-And-Pay?

Here are the answers about some little-known shoe history facts.

1. What did shoemakers in 1850 have in common with those in Egypt in the 14th Century BCE? They were using the same tools. Well, practically. Humans had added very few shoemaking tools since then.
2. What was odd about shoes in the early 19th Century? Left and right shoes were exactly the same. Left and right shoes weren't invented (or reinvented) until the middle of the 19th Century. Ouch. It took a while for the 'new' fashion to catch on.
3. Dressmakers used a dress form or tailor's dummy; shoemakers used a last. Hence the expression, 'stick to your last', meaning 'do what you know'.
4. Authorities in 17th-century Virginia placed a tariff on foreign (English) shoes. What did the money go for? Founding William and Mary College. (That's putting your best foot forward.)
5. What union would a shoemaker belong to? The cordwainer's union, of course. Cordwainers are shoemakers.
6. Why is it an insult to call a shoemaker a cobbler? Cobblers are shoe repairmen, not shoemakers. Don't knock cobblers: William Carey was one. He also translated the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Arabic, Hindi and Sanskrit.
7. Who is the patron saint of shoemakers? (Kenneth Branagh should know.) St Crispin. We few, we happy few...
8. What Welsh shoe saint had his bones made into shoemaking tools? St Hugh. Thrifty legend, but it explains why a shoemaking kit was called St Hugh's Bones.
9. In the 18th Century, what did it mean if a man wore high heels? Not what you think. He was probably trying to show how aristocratic he was: high heels were associated with being upper class.
10. Why do shoe fans owe Gordon McKay of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a vote of thanks? He invented shoemaking machines. The Union Army was grateful, too – it had mass-produced shoes, while those Rebs were wearing moccasins or going barefoot.

Considering how important comfortable shoes are, it's amazing that it took so long to get it right. And what are those pointed toes about, anyway?

Dmitri Gheorgheni

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