Cover Photo Courtesy of Instagram.com/manoloblahnik
As the ultimate human companions, shoes not only have become an essential part of a wardrobe, be it that of a woman or that of a man. To become what they are today, footwear has come a very long way since it first saw the light, to the point of morphing into a canvas for creativity and innovation. And in order to give women's shoes the attention they truly deserve, let’s tell you all about these creations in a brief story.
Around 40,000 years ago, women and men used to wear the same shoes, which consisted of leather strips wrapped around the feet. In fact, it wasn’t until the 15th century that shoemakers started using various fabrics and designing different styles up until the 19th century, when their creativity reached new levels as they began to experiment with different heights and shapes of heels, as well as shapes of toes.
What might surprise you even more is that right and left shoes were designed in the 1850s, and new types of machines were introduced to render shoemaking easier and pave the way to a higher level of innovation. In the early 20th century, embroidered and lace-up female boots became trendy, while T-strap shoes were high in fashion in the 1920s. Moving towards the 1930s, shoemakers started using leather tanning techniques – making their creations available in more colors, and the trend of the decade were women Oxford shoes with Spanish heels. Next were the 1940s that witnessed the launch of slingbacks and slip-on pumps, followed by skinny-heeled stilettos in the 1950s, the comfortable Mary Jane shoes in the 1960s, the chunky heels in the 1970s, the combat boots in the 1980s and the loafers in the 1990s.
With the start of the 21st century, shoes that bring together comfort and style were the new wave. And with modern technology allowing shoemakers and brands to be more creative than ever, we wonder what the future might still hold.
Article Written by Mirella Haddad
