SHOE TIME
History shows it’s human nature: we gotta have shoes. BY ARWEN O’REILLY
15000 B.C.
The first documented
shoes appear in pre-
historic Spanish cave
paintings showing animal
skins wrapped
around feet. »
8000 B.C.
Native Americans in
Missouri leave behind the
earliest surviving shoes.
4000 B.C.
In ancient Egypt,
commoners wear sandals
of woven papyrus or palm
leaves. Pointed toes are
reserved for royalty.
200 B.C.
Roman tragic actors wear
platform shoes, sandals
called kothorni with high
wood or cork soles.
mid-1500s
Venetian
courtesans
wear
exquisitely
decorated
silk chopines
up to 30"
high (and
have servants
to help them
walk). »
1605
A new last is developed
which allows a sturdy,
“true” heel to be worn in
Queen Elizabeth’s court
(rumors of such things
existing in Russia for
centuries may have
spurred this innovation).
Men wear them as well
as women for almost
two centuries.
1628
Thomas Beard,
a Mayflower pilgrim, nails
together the first pair of
Euro-shoes in America.
Moccasins, which the
natives have worn for
centuries, become
so popular that the
colonies begin
exporting them
to England in
1650. »
1760
The first American factory
for mechanized shoe
production is established
in Lynn, Mass.
1940s
1951
1964
1972
The cork platform and
wedge make a comeback
after centuries on the
back burner. A shortage
of leather in wartime
leaves the cork soles
exposed.
The stiletto appears on
the market, becoming
standard wear by 1955.
André Courrèges debuts
a white plastic boot that
is later named the go-go
boot and
enshrined
in Nancy
Sinatra’s
hit “These
Boots Are
Made for
Walking.” »
Nike athletic shoes are
launched by Oregon’s
Blue Ribbon Sports. The
company is renamed
Nike in 1978; the Nike
Air debuts in 1979.
Illustrations by Tim Lillis
