Shoes History - Facts and History of Shoes

In today modern times, vast majority of the people uses shoes every day never even knowing about their long history and their incredible journey through the ages. It all started incredibly long time ago. Some 40 millennia ago our African ancestors exited into the Europe and for the first time met the Neanderthal sub-species of humans. Archeologist to this day believe that this was the time, at the crossroads of two cultures, that the modern human race embraced the shoes as one of the integral part of their lives and started their long expansion to the all four corners of the world.

It was not until the formation of ancient Babylonian, Assyrian and Egyptian civilizations that shoes became much more sophisticated and started looking like the ones we know today. Located in the hot and very unfriendly environment of African and Middle Eastern deserts, those kingdoms had a great need of shoes that will protect them from the hot ground and sand. Sandals, slippers, and all kinds of easy to wear and light shoes were created during that time. By the time Pharaohs ruled the Egypt, the first designs of high heeled shoes started being used by royal members, wealthy class and members of the religious clergy.

As for Europe, the true shoe revolution started in Greek and Roman empires, who all had wealth, manufacturing capabilities, trade connections with all regions of then-known world and high class societies that demanded the constant stream of new shoe designs. During the last millennia BC, those societies started using all kind of shoes in all of their social classes, form sandals, slippers and clogs, to leather boots, buskins, and high heeled shoes. Wealthy people wore nicely designed leather shoes, soldiers used more sturdy buskins or sandals, theatre performers used their special slippers and high heeled shoes, and Roman prostitutes used special kind of high-heeled shoes that identified them clearly on the busy streets of their cities.

Fall of Greek and Western Roman Empire brought the Europe into the state of disarray. Economical downfall, numerous wars, ever-present sickness and famines, and overall stagnation of arts and sciences meant that shoes became very seldom used objects. Until 14th century, almost entire population of Europe used simple wooden clogs as their regular shoes. However all that changed with the start of the Renaissance, when new wave of high class people (and eventually middle class) started importing items from the Middle East and especially India. All kinds of shoes started appearing, evolving, and disappearing according to the popular fashion trends (and in some cases government laws regarding footwear – extremely large pointed shoes were banned from use by many countries, and French King Louis XIV greatly popularized high-heeled Court Shoe with his eccentric fashion sense).

Advancements in science, industry and fashion enabled shoe into reach height of its popularity at the start of the 19th century. Men embraced their Wellington boots and low heeled leather shoes, females embraced Victorian boots and fashionable high-heel light shoes, but all that was brought on another level during 20th century. Sneakers, Stilettos, Kitten Shoes, Court Shoes, even Cowboy Boots became popular across entire world, enabling great rise of the shoe industry and the creation of thousands of designs and models of ever shoe imaginable.

With such strong history behind the shoe and its undeniable usefulness, it’s not so hard to imagine that they will continue to evolve and remain with us forever.