THISDAY Style

10 InterestIn­g shoe

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Men were the first people to wear heels.

In the 10th century, according to Slate, men who rode horses needed

Hepburn was able to make loafers look just as great on women as they do on men. The Wall Street Journal credits the rise in loafers’ popularity to Audrey Hepburn their boots to have wearing them in the 1957 film, heels in order to stay “Funny Face,”in which the actress in their stirrups. Ever wore and danced in black leather wonder why cowboy boots have heels? And since owning Ferragamo as an anti-fashion horses was a sign of wealth, heels became a signifier of beatnik bookstore clerk. 2 5 aristocrac­y and high social standing, not gender.

Salvatore Ferragamo invented the wedge shoe Platform shoes used to be worn by Greek actors when Italy was suffering from closed trade with to signify status. other countries.

When the Ancient Greeks staged plays, costumes were The wedge shoe was invented out of necessity in crucial for audiences to identify characters. The Kennedy the 1940s. Due to the economic sanctions against Center writes that serious actors would don shoes called Italy, Ferragamo could no longer purchase steel for his “buskins,”or raised platform shoes, to symbolize their traditiona­l heels. According to the fashion house’s website, 3 superiorit­y over comic actors, who would wear plain socks. Ferragamo wrote at the time,“I experiment­ed with pieces

of Sardinian cork, pushing and gluing and fixing and Sneakers got their name because their rubber trimming until the entire space between the sole and the soles do not make noise. heel was blocked solid.”These shoes were described as In the late 1800s, people ‘block heel’. Apparently, after a few weeks, it became one

6 started calling sneakers their of the most popular styles. name because they had rubber soles which enabled Havaianas are inspired by people to walk or“sneak” Japanese sandals. around without making a sound. According to the brand’s

website, the iconic Havaianas Audrey Hepburn could be credited with bringing flip flop isn’t smooth on the loafers into style. sole because it is inspired by

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the Zori, which the brand describes as“typical Japanese sandals made of fabric straps and rice straw soles.”That’s why the foot-bed of Havaianas have a textured rice pattern.

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The First Elastic-Sided Boots Were Made for Queen Victoria

The innovative boot was invented by London shoemaker Joseph Sparkes Hall and presented to Queen Victoria in 1837. Sparkes Hall created the design to do away with the difficulti­es of fastening boots with buttons and laces. He presented his first prototype of the boot to Queen Victoria the year she ascended to the crown. He patented his design, the first one ever to feature elastic, in 1840.

The Largest High-Heeled Shoe Measures 6ft 5” in length and 6ft 1” in height

It was created by fashion designer Kenneth Cole and Today Show contributo­r Jill Martin in New York, USA. The shoe is a replica of Kenneth Cole’s New York Otto bootie and was recognized by the Guinness World Record for being the largest high-heeled shoe in 2014.

The measuremen­t of shoes sizes started with a grain of barley

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