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Shoes

• Message 1. 

  Posted by potato (U12977864) on Friday, 9th January 2009

  What were shoes made of between 100-600 years ago?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by TwinProbe (U4077936) on Friday, 9th January 2009

  Where in the world? If you mean the UK then Leather.
  
  TP

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by potato (U12977864) on Friday, 9th January 2009

  
  
  
  Yes, the UK and thank you TwinProbe.
  
  

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by englishvote (U5473482) on Saturday, 10th January 2009

  Of course if you had money then leather was the preferred choice. But most workers would have used wooden shoes until relatively recent times.
  
  The traditional clog is still made in some areas in Britain.
  

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by PaulRyckier (U1753522) on Saturday, 10th January 2009

  Re: Message 4.
  
  Englishvote,
  
  do you mean Dutch clogs?
  
  Bit expensive me thinks. But it is for Americans?...and they believe it all?
  
  Serious now:
  .
  
  And I have many friends whose parents were in that business. They said: "kloefekappers" to them with the "oe" as in "put" and the "a" a bit as in the first a of "americans". Only some thirty or forthy years ago...
  
  Warm regards,
  
  Paul.

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• Message 6

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  Posted by englishvote (U5473482) on Saturday, 10th January 2009

  Hi Paul
  
  Good to hear from you.
  
  As far as I can tell the Dutch clog is very similar to the traditional clog used in Britain.
  Of course the Dutch have the more famous wooden shoe but Welsh and Lancastrian wooden shoes probably sell very well to American tourists as well.
  
  I seem to remember my sister receiving a pair of wooden welsh clogs when we were young, I have no idea what happened to them. They made a terrible noise on the stairs and could be dangerous during a game of football!
  

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• Message 7

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  Posted by TwinProbe (U4077936) on Saturday, 10th January 2009

  Hi ev,
  
  Strictly speaking the question was "what were shoes made of?", so that "leather" was correct.
  
  If the question had been what types of foot ware were used in the past, then clogs would have had to be included. To the best of my knowledge the Dutch clog is all wood, and the type of clog popular in the North of England had a leather upper and nailed wooden soles.
  
  Leather shoes have changed enormously in design over the last millennium and can often be dated on stylistic grounds. The leather components of shoes and the types of stitching employed have a language all their own. Even the makers had the lovely old name of cordwainer.
  
  Best wishes,
  
  TP

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by Gavin Corder (U732634) on Tuesday, 13th January 2009

  Pattens are wooden overshoes, Thomas Hardy refers to them in Tess of the D'Urbevilles pub 1891:
  
  "This would have been no serious hindrance on a week-day; they would have clicked through it in their high pattens and boots quite unconcerned; but on this day of vanity... {snip}...on this occasion for wearing their white stockings and thin shoes."
  
  
  This site gives an overview of the styles in the periods covered by your enquiry. Shoes we made from all sorts of materials, silk brocades for dancing slippers, decorated with threads and beads, or wooden chopines like the pattern an overshoe up to thirty inches high!
  
  
  
  
  

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by 2295wynberglad (U7761102) on Tuesday, 13th January 2009

  Pattens, I do recall from one visit to churches in London many years ago, Please remove pattens on entry. Was this to prevent the sound of clattering on the stone floors? or to prevent damage. Sorry I cannot remember wich church but it sticks in my mind. History shows that this was the general form of footwear.

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• Message 10

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  Posted by Temperance (U13685519) on Wednesday, 14th January 2009

  Ellen Nussey, Charlotte Bronte's closest friend, gave a description of Aunt Branwell (the lady who came to look after the little Brontes after the death of their mother) to Mrs Gaskell. It includes the following mention of footwear:
  
  "...she particularly dreaded the cold damp arising from the flag floors in the passages and parlours of Haworth Parsonage. The stairs, too, I believe, are made of stone... I have heard that Miss Branwell always went about the house in pattens, clicking up and down the stairs, from her dread of catching cold."
  
  Ellen N. was much amused at this eccentric habit, as pattens were normally only worn outside.
  
  ("The Life of Charlotte Bronte" Elizabeth Gaskell)

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