The past several thousand years have seen a succession of different types and makes of shoes that were built for specific purposes, certain regions, and different cultures. Here are 5 unusual shoes in history that were used back in the day but look so out of place in the present.
Lotus Shoes
It was a tradition of the Han Chinese to bind the feet of their women, making them appear small – as small as a lotus bud. The bound feet are then fitted to a pair of Lotus Shoes which are made with cotton or silk. They have flat heels which which have either wooden studs or iron to raise the shoes from the ground. The practice of binding women’s feet and wearing Lotus shoes lasted over a thousand years. There are some even old Chinese women who still wear these.
Wooden Bridal Shoes
This pair of bridal shoes has a long history, but now, the village men of Bethmale Valley in France create these clogs for their future brides. The shoes are made from one piece of the walnut tree’s trunk and roots. TO warp the rectangular shape of the wood, branches were used to pre-shape it into this type of clogs. The pointed ends represent the groom’s love for his bride, so the higher the point, the greater the groom’s love is for the bride.
Plaited Birch Bark Shoe
This type of shoes had several uses: some use it as overshoes to protect leather shoes against rain, snow or mud, while women in the early 20th Century use these as regular foot wear with cloth foot wrap inserts. These shoes are made using Birch bark, linden or lime-tree bark, and don’t usually last for more than a week.
Kabkabs
In the Middle East, kabkabs or nalins were a practical footwear for ladies back in the 14th-17th Century. The silver-studded wooden stilts were several inches high with velvet or silk straps and other decorations. These served as a great footwear to avoid getting the clothes and feet from getting wet from rain or mud in the streets or the bathhouse. Traditionally, only women wore these, but men would also occassionally put on the same footwear but with simpler designs when going to bathhouses.
Men’s High Heels
Men also went through their own vanity stages, and one such stage happened during the 17th Century in Europe. Stockings, tailored coat and breeches, and high heeled shoes with red soles became the fashion for all men back in the day. Men wore fanciful stockings and high heels to achieve shapelier legs. King Louis XIV himself wore these shoes (perhaps to add to his height), and everyone else caught on the trend. Boots became out of fashion (surprisingly) and men’s high heeled shoes with elaborate ribbons, buckles and rosettes became fashionable.
Via ListVerse
Sadly, Converse is launching Super Mario Bros All Star only in Japan.
According to reports, the Super Mario Bros All Star Converse will showcase the oldschool Famicom Mario character. Leaked pictures show white and black versions of the special All Star model with the same printed character. Reports say that Converse worked closely with Nintendo for Mario’s 25th anniversary. The price as well as the release date has yet to be announced, so for the time being, feast your eyes on these pics:
South Thames College in London is currently offering a six-week course called Sexy Heels In The City where teenage girls are taught how to walk in high heels and carry designer bags. According to the school, the course is geared toward preparing young women for the corporate careers and society.
You know, this sounds like an ancient finishing school program, except those don’t usually have “careers” in their curriculums. Anyway, the school took a bit of flak from taxpayers’ groups calling the course pointless. Matthew Elliott from the TaxPayers’ Alliance said, “This is a silly gimmick. Training young people to get them back to work can be good value for money, but this is clearly a case of frivolity.”
It sounds like something out of Sophie Kinsella novels, but it’s a fact that these lessons need to be learned at some point in a young woman’s life. You’d realize the importance of these lessons once you’ve been within falling over and tripping radius of a wobbly heel wearer – though the lessons are preferably taught not at the taxpayers’ expense.
There are simply days when you think you’ve seen everything and then boom! Something totally baffling blindsides you. Enter today’s sucker puncher: Selfridges & Co.’s Body Perks Nipple enhancers.
According to the retailer, the “natural look is back,” though it’s a little disconcerting why you would need fake nipples to look natural. When I think about it though, maybe the manufacturer felt that some women are uncomfortable going Full Monty on their bras.
At any rate, there you have it, another device aiming for the natural look. It comes in 2 colors, blush and mocha, and it retails for around US$ 14 (£9.95).
Yes, ladies, today the brassiere its 100th birthday. To celebrate this intrepid piece of underwear’s one hundred years of service, the folks at The Today Show featured a video montage of vintage ads, fun facts, women’s liberation, and iconic modern bras, among other things.
Considering that the modern bra ousted the corset in terms of accepted support garments, women have a lot to be thankful for. Historically, the bra replaced the corset (a very uncomfortable piece of clothing, even in pictures) in women’s wardrobes. The bra also played a role in the women’s liberation movements in the US, especially during one protest in September 7, 1968 when bras (along with other stuff like high-heeled shoes, girdles, curlers, and corsets, among other things) were dumped into a “Freedom Trash Can.” Reportedly, there were no bras burned during the said protests.
On a different note, the modern bra has turned from Mary Phelps Jabob’s simple assembly of 2 handkerchiefs held together with some cord and pink ribbon to today’s variety of different styles and forms. At any rate, this useful piece of wardrobe has come a long way in one hundred years. To the bra, ladies! Cheers!
Insanity is the great equalizer. It affects both poor folks and rich folks. In particular, anyone who will buy Balmain’s Slashed Army T-shirt, which sells for a whopping $1,406
“Go for stylishly dishevelled cool in Balmain’s olive green distressed detail cotton t-shirt. Work the runway look by teaming this statement staple with cargo pants and ankle boots for a luxe spin on utility chic,” clucks the merchandiser.
What goes with this, you ask? Why the skinny cropped cargo pants, of course! Adorned with pockets, rips and distressed stitching, it will only set you back by about S1,811.
Got change left? Complete the lunacy with Louis Vuitton’s Trash Bag Purse (sold separately – for $1,960).
What started as Larry Platt’s 15 minutes of fame on American Idol is now a serious political cause for State Senator Eric Adams. Adams is spearheading Stop the Sag, a campaign to end sagging pants.
Adams is not moonlighting as chief of the fashion police doing a crackdown on a red carpet trend that Cojo has pronounced foul. He says sagging pants have become a degrading and self-imposed icon of negative stereotyping. “Our young people should not promote it,” Adams says in a PSA. “”You can raise your level of respect if you raise your pants”
Or as Platt puts it “Get it up, hey! Get your pants off the ground! Lookin’ like a fool! Walkin’ talkin’ with your pants on the ground!”
