Editing Shoe (section)

== History ==

=== Antiquity ===

[[File:Chalcolithic leather shoe from Areni-1 cave.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Areni-1 shoe|oldest known leather shoe]], about 5500 years old, found in [[Armenia]] ]]
[[File:Sandalias de esparto (29139609730).jpg|thumb|[[Esparto]] sandals from the [[6th millennium BC|6th]] or [[5th millennium BC]] found in [[Spain]] ]]
[[File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0263.png|thumb|right|Roman shoes: a man's,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Scottish Ten|url=https://www.engineshed.org/about-us/the-scottish-ten/sites/antonine-wall-scotland/|website=The Engine Shed|publisher=Centre for Digital Documentation and Visualisation LLP|access-date=14 October 2017}}</ref> a woman's<ref>{{cite web|title=Lady's Shoe, Bar Hill|url=https://vimeo.com/140404027|access-date=24 May 2018|date=2015-09-25}}</ref> and a child's<ref>{{cite web|title=Child's Shoe, Bar Hill|url=https://vimeo.com/140054166|access-date=24 May 2018|date=2015-09-22}}</ref> shoe from [[Bar Hill Fort|Bar Hill Roman Fort]], Scotland.]]

====Earliest evidence====
The earliest known shoes are sagebrush bark [[sandal]]s dating from approximately 7000 or 8000 BC, found in the [[Fort Rock Cave]] in the [[United States|US]] state of [[Oregon]] in 1938.<ref name="Connolly_Tom">{{cite web|last=Connolly|first=Tom|title=The World's Oldest Shoes|url=http://pages.uoregon.edu/connolly/FRsandals.htm|publisher=[[University of Oregon]]|access-date=July 22, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722013744/http://pages.uoregon.edu/connolly/FRsandals.htm|archive-date=July 22, 2012}}</ref> The world's [[Areni-1 shoe|oldest leather shoe]], made from a single piece of cowhide laced with a leather cord along seams at the front and back, was found in the [[Areni-1 cave complex]] in [[Armenia]] in 2008 and is believed to date to 3500 BC.<ref name="Ravilious_Kate">{{cite news|last=Ravilious|first=Kate|title=World's Oldest Leather Shoe Found—Stunningly Preserved|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100609-worlds-oldest-leather-shoe-armenia-science/|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]|date=June 9, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724020516/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/06/100609-worlds-oldest-leather-shoe-armenia-science/|archive-date=July 24, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Petraglia_Michael">{{cite journal|last1=Petraglia|first1=Michael D.|author2=Pinhasi R|author3=Gasparian B|author4=Areshian G|author5=Zardaryan D|author6=Smith A|title=First Direct Evidence of Chalcolithic Footwear from the Near Eastern Highlands|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=5|pages=e10984|year=2010|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0010984|editor1-last=Petraglia|editor1-first=Michael D.|issue=6|pmid=20543959|pmc=2882957|display-authors=etal|bibcode=2010PLoSO...510984P|doi-access=free}} Reported in (among others) {{cite news|last=Belluck|first=Pam|title=This Shoe Had Prada Beat by 5,500 Years|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/science/10shoe.html|access-date=11 June 2010|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=9 June 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611103130/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/science/10shoe.html|archive-date=11 June 2010}}</ref> [[Ötzi the Iceman]]'s shoes, dating to 3300 BC, featured brown bearskin bases, deerskin side panels, and a bark-string net, which pulled tight around the foot.<ref name="Ravilious_Kate" /> The [[Jotunheimen shoe]] was discovered in August 2006: archaeologists estimate that this leather shoe was made between 1800 and 1100 BC,<ref name="Nesje Pilø Finstad Solli ">{{cite journal | last1=Nesje | first1=Atle | last2=Pilø | first2=Lars Holger | last3=Finstad | first3=Espen | last4=Solli | first4=Brit | last5=Wangen | first5=Vivian | last6=Ødegård | first6=Rune Strand | last7=Isaksen | first7=Ketil | last8=Støren | first8=Eivind N. | last9=Bakke | first9=Dag Inge | last10=Andreassen | first10=Liss M | title=The climatic significance of artefacts related to prehistoric reindeer hunting exposed at melting ice patches in southern Norway | journal=The Holocene |  volume=22 | issue=4 | date=2011 | issn=0959-6836 | doi=10.1177/0959683611425552 | pages=485–496| s2cid=129845949 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.norwaypost.no/index.php/culture/13871 "Old Shoe- Even Older".] ''The Norway Post'', 2 May 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308201631/http://norwaypost.no/index.php/culture/13871 |date=8 March 2016 }}</ref> making it the oldest article of clothing discovered in Scandinavia. Sandals and other plant fiber based tools were found in [[Cueva de los Murciélagos]] in [[Albuñol]] in southern Spain in 2023, dating to approximately 7500 to 4200 BC, making them what are believed to be the oldest shoes found in Europe.<ref name="Science Advances">{{cite journal|title=The earliest basketry in southern Europe: Hunter-gatherer and farmer plant-based technology in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Albuñol)|journal=Science Advances|volume=9|issue=39|doi=10.1126/sciadv.adi3055|date=27 Sep 2023|author=Francisco Martínez-Sevilla|pages=eadi3055 |pmid=37756397 |pmc=10530072 |bibcode=2023SciA....9I3055M |display-authors=etal|doi-access=free}}</ref>

It is thought that shoes may have been used long before this, but because the materials used were highly perishable, it is difficult to find evidence of the earliest footwear.<ref name="Johnson_Olivia">{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Olivia|title=Bones Reveal First Shoe-Wearers|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4173838.stm|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=August 24, 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603011525/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4173838.stm|archive-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>

[[Footprints]] suggestive of shoes or sandals due to having crisp edges, no signs of toes found and three&nbsp;small divots where leather tying laces/straps would have been attached have been at [[Garden Route National Park]],  [[Addo Elephant National Park]] and [[Goukamma Marine Protected Area|Goukamma Nature Reserve]] in [[South Africa]].<ref name="Helm Lockley Cawthra De Vynck ">{{cite journal | last1=Helm | first1=Charles W. | last2=Lockley | first2=Martin G. | last3=Cawthra | first3=Hayley C. | last4=De Vynck | first4=Jan C. | last5=Dixon | first5=Mark G. | last6=Rust | first6=Renée | last7=Stear | first7=Willo | last8=Van Tonder | first8=Monique | last9=Zipfel | first9=Bernhard | title=Possible shod-hominin tracks on South Africa's Cape coast | journal=Ichnos | date=2023| volume=30 | issue=2 | issn=1042-0940 | doi=10.1080/10420940.2023.2249585 | pages=79–97| bibcode=2023Ichno..30...79H | s2cid=261313433 }}</ref> These date back to between 73,000 and 136,000 BP. Consistent with the existence of such shoe  is the finding of [[Bone tool|bone awls]] dating back to this period that could have made simple footwear.<ref name="Helm Lockley Cawthra De Vynck " />

Another source of evidence is the study of the bones of the smaller toes (as opposed to the big toe); it was observed that their thickness decreased approximately 40,000 to 26,000 years ago. This led [[archaeologist]]s to deduce the existence of common rather than an occasional wearing of shoes as this would lead to less bone growth, resulting in shorter, thinner toes.<ref name="Trinkaus_Erik">{{cite journal|author1=Trinkaus, E. |author2=Shang, H. |title=Anatomical Evidence for the Antiquity of Human Footwear: Tianyuan and Sunghir|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|date=July 2008|volume=35|issue=7|pages=1928–1933|doi=10.1016/j.jas.2007.12.002|bibcode=2008JArSc..35.1928T }}</ref> These earliest designs were very simple, often mere "foot bags" of leather to protect the feet from rocks, debris, and cold.

==== Americas ====
Many early natives in North America wore a similar type of footwear, known as the [[moccasin]]. These are tight-fitting, soft-soled shoes typically made out of leather or [[bison]] hides. Many moccasins were also decorated with various beads and other adornments. Moccasins were not designed to be waterproof, and in wet weather and warm summer months, most [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] went [[barefoot]].<ref name="Laubin_Laubin_Vestal">{{cite book|author1=Laubin, Reginald|author2=Laubin, Gladys|author3=Vestal, Stanley|title=The Indian Tipi: Its History, Construction, and Use|year=1977|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|location=[[Norman, Oklahoma]]|isbn=978-0-8061-2236-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=koVdBGjlz8gC&pg=PA101|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427210304/https://books.google.com/books?id=koVdBGjlz8gC&pg=PA101|archive-date=2018-04-27}}</ref> The leaves of the [[sisal]] plant were used to make [[twine]] for sandals in South America while the natives of Mexico used the [[Yucca]] plant.<ref name="Curtin_Cameron">{{cite book |last=Kippen |first=Cameron |title=The History of Footwear |publisher=Department of Podiatry, Curtin University of Technology |year=1999 |location=[[Perth]], [[Australia]]}}</ref><ref name="DeMello_Margo">{{cite book |last=DeMello |first=Margo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5QdKSxajwP0C&pg=PA131 |title=Feet and Footwear: A Cultural Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO, LLC |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-313-35714-5 |location=[[Santa Barbara, California]] |pages=20–24, 90, 108, 130–131, 226–230}}</ref>

==== Africa and Middle East ====
As civilizations began to develop, thong sandals (precursors to the modern [[flip-flops|flip-flop]]) were worn. This practice dates back to pictures of them in [[ancient Egypt]]ian murals from 4000 BC. "Thebet" may have been the term used to describe these sandals in Egyptian times, possibly from the city [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]. The [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] is when the first of these thebets were found, but it is possible that it debuted in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Egypt: The Birthplace of Flip Flops? – The Sheridan Libraries & University Museums Blog |date=21 July 2017 |url=https://blogs.library.jhu.edu/2017/07/ancient-egypt-the-birthplace-of-flip-flops/ |access-date=2022-05-20 |language=en-US}}</ref> One pair found in Europe was made of [[papyrus]] leaves and [[Carbon dating|dated]] to be approximately 1,500 years old. They were also worn in [[Jerusalem]] during the first century of the Christian era.<ref name="Kendzior_Russell">{{cite book|last=Kendzior|first=Russell J.|title=Falls Aren't Funny: America's Multi-Billion-Dollar Slip-and-Fall Crisis|publisher=www.govtinstpress.com/ Government Institutes|location=[[Lanham, Maryland]]|isbn=978-0-86587-016-1|page=117|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2TzSKEvGDIoC&pg=PA117|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319011755/https://books.google.com/books?id=2TzSKEvGDIoC&pg=PA117|archive-date=2017-03-19|year=2010}}</ref> Thong sandals were worn by many civilizations and made from a vast variety of materials. Ancient Egyptian sandals were made from papyrus and palm leaves. The [[Maasai people|Masai]] of Africa made them out of [[rawhide (textile)|rawhide]]. In India they were made from wood.

While thong sandals were commonly worn, many people in ancient times, such as the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]], [[Hindus]] and [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]], saw little need for footwear, and most of the time, preferred being barefoot.<ref name="Frazine_Richard" /> The Egyptians and Hindus made some use of ornamental footwear, such as a soleless sandal known as a "Cleopatra",{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} which did not provide any practical protection for the foot.

==== Asia and Europe ====
The ancient Greeks largely viewed footwear as self-indulgent, unaesthetic and unnecessary. Shoes were primarily worn in the theater, as a means of increasing stature, and many preferred to go barefoot.<ref name="Frazine_Richard">{{cite book|last=Frazine|first=Richard Keith|title=The Barefoot Hiker|year=1993|publisher=Ten Speed Press|isbn=978-0-89815-525-9|page=98|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edsITVCd2G0C&q=barefoot+hiker}}</ref> Athletes in the [[Ancient Olympic Games]] participated barefoot—and naked.<ref name="ancient_olympics">{{cite news|title=Unearthing the First Olympics|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2004/jul/nemea/|access-date=July 1, 2010|newspaper=[[NPR]]|date=July 19, 2004|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728000414/http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2004/jul/nemea/|archive-date=July 28, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Even the [[Twelve Olympians|gods]] and heroes were primarily depicted barefoot, as well as the [[hoplite]] warriors. They fought battles in bare feet and [[Alexander the Great]] conquered his vast empire with barefoot armies. The runners of [[Ancient Greece]] had also been believed to have run barefoot.<ref name="Krentz_Peter">{{cite book|last=Krentz|first=Peter|title=The Battle of Marathon|year=2010|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven and London|isbn=978-0-300-12085-1|pages=112–113|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncT8JFn-ed8C&pg=PT112|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427210304/https://books.google.com/books?id=ncT8JFn-ed8C&pg=PT112|archive-date=2018-04-27}}</ref>

[[File:6 Schoen inheemse soldaat LegioIIAugusta BlackBox endeLimes fotoAvdOord.jpg|thumb|Footwear of Roman soldiers (reconstruction)]]

The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], who eventually conquered the Greeks and adopted many aspects of their culture, did not adopt the Greek perception of footwear and clothing. [[Clothing in ancient Rome|Roman clothing]] was seen as a sign of power, and footwear was seen as a necessity of living in a civilized world, although the slaves and paupers usually went barefoot.<ref name="Frazine_Richard" /> Roman soldiers were issued with [[chiral]] (left and right shoe different) footwear.<ref>'Greece and Rome at War' by Peter Connolly</ref> Shoes for soldiers had riveted insoles to extend the life of the leather, increase comfort, and provide better traction. The design of these shoes also designated the rank of the officers. The more intricate the insignia and the higher up the boot went on the leg, the higher the rank of the soldier.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Swann |first1=June |title=History of Footwear in Norway, Sweden and Finland: Prehistory to 1950 |date=2001|isbn=9789174023237|publisher=Kungl. Vitterhets, historie och antikvitets akademien}}</ref> There are references to shoes being worn in the [[Bible]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Genesis 14:23, Deuteronomy 25:9, Ruth 4:7-8, Luke 15:22}}</ref> In China and Japan, rice straws were used.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Starting around 4 BC, the Greeks began wearing symbolic footwear. These were heavily decorated to clearly indicate the status of the wearer. Courtesans wore leather shoes colored with white, green, lemon or yellow dyes, and young woman betrothed or newly married wore pure white shoes. Because of the cost to lighten leather, shoes of a paler shade were a symbol of wealth in the upper class. Often, the soles would be carved with a message so it would imprint on the ground. Cobblers became a notable profession around this time, with Greek shoemakers becoming famed in the Roman empire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ledger |first1=Florence |title=Put Your Foot Down: A Treatise on the History of Shoes |date=1985|isbn=9780854751112 |publisher=C. Venton}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages and early modern period ===

==== Asia and Europe ====
A common casual shoe in the [[Pyrenees]] during the Middle Ages was the [[espadrille]]. This is a sandal with braided jute soles and a fabric upper portion, and often includes fabric laces that tie around the ankle. The term is [[French language|French]] and comes from the [[esparto]] grass. The shoe originated in the [[Catalonia]]n region of [[Spain]] as early as the 13th century, and was commonly worn by [[peasant]]s in the farming communities in the area.<ref name="DeMello_Margo" />

New styles began to develop during the Song dynasty in China, some of them resulting from the binding of women's feet, first used by the noble Han classes, but soon spreading throughout Chinese society. The practice allegedly started during the Shang dynasty, but it grew popular by {{Circa|AD 960}}.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The History of Foot Binding in China |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-history-of-foot-binding-in-china-195228 |access-date=2022-05-17 |website=ThoughtCo |language=en}}</ref>

When the [[Mongols]] conquered China, they dissolved the practice in 1279, and the Manchus banned foot binding in 1644. The Han people, however, continued the practice without much government intervention.<ref name=":1" />

[[File:Walraversijde49.jpg|thumb|Dutch pattens, {{c.|1465}}. Excavated from the archeological site of [[Walraversijde]], near [[Ostend]], [[Belgium]]]]

In medieval times shoes could be up to two feet long, with their toes sometimes filled with hair, wool, moss, or grass.<ref>{{cite web |title=Getting To The Point Of Medieval Shoes |author=Ruth Hibbard |date=9 Jul 2015 |accessdate=4 Oct 2021 |website=Victoria & Albert Museum |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/getting-to-the-point-of-medieval-shoes}}</ref> Many medieval shoes were made using the [[turnshoe]] method of construction, in which the upper was turned flesh side out, and was lasted onto the sole and joined to the edge by a seam.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Making Basic Viking-Age Men's Clothing|url=https://www.vikingsof.me/downloads/clothing-guide/male.html#shoes|access-date=2020-11-07|website=www.vikingsof.me}}</ref> The shoe was then turned inside-out so that the grain was outside. Some shoes were developed with toggled flaps or [[drawstring]]s to tighten the leather around the foot for a better fit. Surviving medieval turnshoes often fit the foot closely, with the right and left shoe being mirror images.<ref>'Shoes and Pattens: Finds from Medieval Excavations in London' (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London) by Francis Grew & Margrethe de Neergaard</ref> Around 1500, the turnshoe method was largely replaced by the welted rand method (where the uppers are sewn to a much stiffer sole and the shoe cannot be turned inside-out).<ref name="Blair_John">{{cite book|last=Blair|first=John|title=English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products|year=1991|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|location=[[London]]|isbn=978-0-907628-87-3|pages=309|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDLPX7J8kW8C&q=turnshoe&pg=PA309|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425002817/https://books.google.com/books?id=PDLPX7J8kW8C&pg=PA309&lpg=PA309&dq=turnshoe&source=bl&ots=VeX_KjBRBf&sig=qi6DCjKWfNRsg5Sg1R_uO5vqyXE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VsoOUPTeI-rq0gGj_4CwBA&ved=0CEYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=turnshoe&f=false|archive-date=2016-04-25}}</ref> The turn shoe method is still used for some [[dance shoe|dance]] and specialty shoes.

By the 15th century, [[Patten (shoe)|pattens]] became popular by both men and women in [[Europe]]. These are commonly seen as the predecessor of the modern [[high-heeled footwear|high-heeled shoe]],<ref name="high_heels">{{cite web|title=Dangerous Elegance: A History of High-Heeled Shoes|url=http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/036heels.html|publisher=Random History|access-date=July 1, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728002338/http://www.randomhistory.com/1-50/036heels.html|archive-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref> while the poor and lower classes in Europe, as well as slaves in the New World, were barefoot.<ref name="Frazine_Richard" /> In the 15th century, the [[Crakow (shoe)|Crakow]] was [[1400–1500 in fashion|fashionable]] in [[Europe]]. This style of shoe is named because it is thought to have originated in [[Kraków]], the capital of [[Poland]]. The style is characterized by the point of the shoe, known as the "polaine", which often was supported by a [[Baleen|whalebone]] tied to the knee to prevent the point getting in the way while walking.<ref name="polaine">{{cite book|title=The Encyclopaedia of the Renaissance|year=1988|publisher=Market House Books|isbn=978-0-7134-5967-8}}</ref> Also during the 15th century, [[chopine]]s were created in [[Spain]], and were usually {{cvt|7–8|in}} high.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/hispaniccostume10000ande/page/229/mode/1up?view=theater | isbn=978-0-87535-126-1 | title=Hispanic costume, 1480-1530 | date=1979 | last1=Anderson | first1=Ruth Matilda | publisher=Hispanic Society of America }}</ref> These shoes became popular in [[Venice]] and throughout Europe, as a [[status symbol]] revealing wealth and social standing. During the 16th century, royalty, such as [[Catherine de Medici]] or [[Mary I of England]], started wearing high-heeled shoes to make them look taller or larger than life. By 1580, even men wore them, and a person with authority or wealth was often referred to as, "well-heeled".<ref name="high_heels" /> In 17th century France, heels were exclusively worn by aristocrats. [[Louis XIV of France]] outlawed anybody from wearing red high heels except for himself and his royal court.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riello |first1=Giorgio |last2=McNeil |first2=Peter |title=Footprints from History |journal=History Today |date=March 2007 |volume=57 |issue=3 |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/footprints-history}}</ref>

Eventually the modern shoe, with a sewn-on sole, was devised. Since the 17th century, most leather shoes have used a sewn-on sole. This remains the standard for finer-quality dress shoes today. Until around 1800, welted rand shoes were commonly made without differentiation for the left or right foot. Such shoes are now referred to as "straights".<ref name="Yue_Charlotte">{{cite book |last=Yue |first=Charlotte|title=Shoes: Their History in Words and Pictures|year=1997|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company|location=New York City |isbn=978-0-395-72667-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/shoestheirhistor00yuec/page/46 46] |url=https://archive.org/details/shoestheirhistor00yuec |url-access=registration |quote=straights+shoes.}}</ref> Only gradually did the modern foot-specific shoe become standard.

=== Industrial era ===

==== Asia and Europe ====
[[File:Shoemaker 1821.jpg|thumb|A [[shoemaker]] in the [[Georgian era]], from ''The Book of English Trades'', 1821.]]

[[Shoemaking]] became more commercialized in the mid-18th century, as it expanded as a [[cottage industry]]. Large [[warehouse]]s began to stock footwear, made by many small manufacturers from the area.

Until the 19th century, shoemaking was a traditional handicraft, but by the century's end, the process had been almost completely mechanized, with production occurring in large factories. Despite the obvious economic gains of [[mass production]], the factory system produced shoes without the individual differentiation that the traditional shoemaker was able to provide.

In the 19th century Chinese feminists called for an end to foot binding, and a ban in 1902 was implemented. The ban was soon repealed, but it was banned again in 1911 by the new Nationalist government. It was effective in coastal cities, but countryside cities continued without much regulation. Mao Zedong enforced the rule in 1949 and the practice is still forbidden. A number of women still have bound feet today.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century, satin, silk, cotton, gold thread, velvet - Redpath Museum - McGill University - Montreal, Canada - DSC08203.jpg|thumb|Woman's shoe, China, possibly Shanxi or Ningbo style, late 19th to early 20th century]]
The first steps towards mechanisation were taken during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] by the engineer, [[Marc Brunel]]. He developed machinery for the mass production of boots for the soldiers of the [[British Army]]. In 1812, he devised a scheme for making nailed-boot-making machinery that automatically fastened soles to uppers by means of metallic pins or nails.<ref name="Napol">{{cite web|url=http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|title=History of Shoemaking in Britain—Napoleonic Wars and the Industrial Revolution|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202130102/http://staffscc.net/shoes1/?p=126|archive-date=2014-02-02}}</ref> With the support of the [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany|Duke of York]], the shoes were manufactured, and, due to their strength, cheapness, and durability, were introduced for the use of the army. In the same year, the use of screws and staples was patented by [[Richard Woodman (martyr)|Richard Woodman]]. Brunel's system was described by [[Sir Richard Phillips]] as a visitor to his factory in [[Battersea]] as follows:

[[File:Bottoming room.jpeg|thumb|left|By the late 19th century, the shoemaking industry had migrated to the factory and was increasingly mechanized. Pictured, the bottoming room of the B. F. Spinney & Co. factory in [[Lynn, Massachusetts]], 1872.]]

<blockquote>In another building I was shown his manufactory of shoes, which, like the other, is full of ingenuity, and, in regard to subdivision of labour, brings this fabric on a level with the oft-admired manufactory of pins. Every step in it is affected by the most elegant and precise machinery; while, as each operation is performed by one hand, so each shoe passes through twenty-five hands, who complete from the hide, as supplied by the currier, a hundred pairs of strong and well-finished shoes per day. All the details are performed by the ingenious application of the mechanic powers; and all the parts are characterised by precision, uniformity, and accuracy. As each man performs but one step in the process, which implies no knowledge of what is done by those who go before or follow him, so the persons employed are not shoemakers, but wounded soldiers, who are able to learn their respective duties in a few hours. The contract at which these shoes are delivered to Government is 6s. 6d. per pair, being at least 2s. less than what was paid previously for an unequal and cobbled article.<ref>Richard Phillips, ''Morning's Walk from London to Kew'', 1817.</ref></blockquote>

However, when the war ended in 1815, [[manual labour]] became much cheaper, and the demand for military equipment subsided. As a consequence, Brunel's system was no longer profitable and it soon ceased business.<ref name="Napol" />

==== Americas ====
Similar exigencies at the time of the [[Crimean War]] stimulated a renewed interest in methods of mechanization and mass-production, which proved longer lasting.<ref name="Napol" /> A shoemaker in [[Leicester]], Tomas Crick, patented the design for a riveting machine in 1853. His machine used an iron plate to push iron rivets into the sole. The process greatly increased the speed and efficiency of production. He also introduced the use of [[steam-power]]ed [[rolling-machine]]s for hardening leather and cutting-machines, in the mid-1850s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66568|title=FOOTWEAR MANUFACTURE|author=R. A. McKinley|year=1958|publisher=British History Online|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203092232/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66568|archive-date=2014-02-03}}</ref>

[[File:The Shoe for '96.jpg|thumb|Advertisement in an 1896 issue of ''[[McClure's]]'' for "The Regal".]]
[[File:Attila Elina Linkopuu (16556987222).jpg|thumb|left|Attila, a former shoe factory from the 1910s in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]]]

The sewing machine was introduced in 1846, and provided an alternative method for the mechanization of shoemaking. By the late 1850s, the industry was beginning to shift towards the modern factory, mainly in the US and areas of England. A shoe-stitching machine was invented by the American Lyman Blake in 1856 and perfected by 1864. Entering into a partnership with McKay, his device became known as the McKay stitching machine and was quickly adopted by manufacturers throughout [[New England]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XKiGgl36bkgC|title=American Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Business Visionaries|author=Charles W. Carey|year=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|page=27|isbn=9780816068838}}</ref> As bottlenecks opened up in the production line due to these innovations, more and more of the manufacturing stages, such as pegging and finishing, became automated. By the 1890s, the process of mechanisation was largely complete.

On January 24, 1899, Humphrey O'Sullivan of [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], was awarded a [[patent]] for a rubber heel for boots and shoes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Gary B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CIDWbb-yOQ0C |title=The Oak and Serpent |publisher=Lulu |year=2007 |page=300 |isbn=978-0615155579 |access-date=2019-01-24 }}</ref>

==== Globalization ====
A process for manufacturing stitchless, that is, glued, shoes—[[AGO system|AGO]]—was developed in 1910. Since the mid-20th century, advances in rubber, plastics, synthetic cloth, and industrial adhesives have allowed manufacturers to create shoes that stray considerably from traditional crafting techniques. Leather, which had been the primary material in earlier styles, has remained standard in expensive dress shoes, but athletic shoes often have little or no real leather. Soles, which were once laboriously hand-stitched on, are now more often machine stitched or simply glued on. Many of these newer materials, such as rubber and plastics, have made shoes less biodegradable. It is estimated that most mass-produced shoes require 1000 years to degrade in a [[landfill]].<ref name="Clark_Brian">{{cite news|last=Clark|first=Brian|title=Biodegradable... Shoes??|url=http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/recycling-design-technology/biodegradable-shoes-461009|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=The Daily Green|date=October 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920190620/http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/recycling-design-technology/biodegradable-shoes-461009|archive-date=September 20, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In the late 2000s, some shoemakers picked up on the issue and began to produce shoes made entirely from [[Cradle to Cradle Design|degradable materials]], such as the Nike Considered.<ref name="nike_considered">{{cite news|title=What is Nike Considered?|url=http://help-us.nike.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13764/~/what-is-nike-considered%3F|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=[[Nike, Inc.]]}}</ref><ref name="CSR">{{cite news|title=Ground-breaking Technology Brings World's First Biodegradable Midsole to Runners|url=http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/15082-Brooks-R-Sports-Unveils-BioMoGo-Biodegradable-Shoe|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=CSR Press Release|date=November 15, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728232020/http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/15082-Brooks-R-Sports-Unveils-BioMoGo-Biodegradable-Shoe|archive-date=July 28, 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, the global shoe industry had an overall market of [[United States Dollar|$]]107.4 billion, in terms of [[revenue]], and is expected to grow to $122.9 billion by the end of 2012.{{Needs update|date=February 2025}} Shoe manufacturers in the [[People's Republic of China]] account for 63% of production, 40.5% of global exports and 55% of industry revenue. However, many manufacturers in [[Europe]] dominate the higher-priced, higher value-added end of the market.<ref name="PRWeb_ibisworld">{{cite news|title=Global Footwear Manufacturing Industry Market Research Report|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9580832.htm|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=[[PRWeb]]|date=June 7, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313020222/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9580832.htm|archive-date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>

=== Culture and folklore ===
{{See also|Tradition of removing shoes in home}}
[[File:Shoehouse.jpg|thumb|Haines Shoe House in [[Hallam, Pennsylvania]]]]
[[File:Shoes and Fruit (p365 20).jpg|thumb|Sports shoes in [[Hong Kong]]]]
[[File:Children's shoes at school in Ladakh.jpg|thumb|Children's shoes at school in [[Ladakh]]]]
As an integral part of human culture and civilization, shoes have found their way into culture, folklore, and art. A popular 18th-century [[nursery rhyme]] is ''[[There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe]]''. In 1948, [[Mahlon Haines]], a shoe salesman in [[Hallam, Pennsylvania]], built an actual house shaped like a [[boot|work boot]] as a form of advertisement; the [[Haines Shoe House]] still stands today and is a popular roadside attraction.<ref name="Lake_Matt">{{cite book|author1=Lake, Matt|author2=Moran, Mark|author3=Sceurman, Mark|title=Weird Pennsylvania: Your Travel Guide to Pennsylvania's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets|year=2005|publisher=Sterling Publishing Co.|location=[[New York City]]|isbn=978-1-4027-3279-9|pages=131|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfaultPxl18C&q=haines+shoe+house&pg=PA131|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306155239/https://books.google.com/books?id=bfaultPxl18C&pg=PA131&dq=haines+shoe+house&hl=en#v=onepage&q=haines%20shoe%20house&f=false|archive-date=2016-03-06}}</ref>

Shoes also play an important role in the [[fairy tales]] ''[[Cinderella]]'' and ''[[The Red Shoes (fairy tale)|The Red Shoes]]''. In the [[motion picture|movie]] adaption of the [[children's literature|children's book]] ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', a pair of red ruby slippers play a key role in the plot. The 1985 comedy ''[[The Man with One Red Shoe]]'' features an eccentric man wearing one normal business shoe and one red shoe that becomes central to the plot.

Athletic sneaker collection has also existed as a part of urban subculture in the United States for several decades.<ref name="Skidmore_Sarah">{{cite news|last=Skidmore|first=Sarah|title=Sneakerheads Love to Show Off Their Shoes|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011400451.html|access-date=2 July 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=15 January 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112215819/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011400451.html|archive-date=12 November 2012}}</ref> Recent decades have seen this trend spread to European nations such as the [[Czech Republic]].<ref name="Czech">{{cite web|title=Czech 'Sneakerheads' Flaunt Their Best Trainers|url=http://www.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/czech-%E2%80%98sneakerheads%E2%80%99-flaunt-their-best-trainers|publisher=Czech Position|access-date=2 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620232159/http://www.ceskapozice.cz/en/news/society/czech-%E2%80%98sneakerheads%E2%80%99-flaunt-their-best-trainers|archive-date=20 June 2011}}</ref> A [[Sneakerhead]] is a person who owns multiple pairs of shoes as a form of collection and fashion.

In the [[Bible]]'s [[Old Testament]], the shoe is used to symbolize something that is worthless or of little value. In the [[New Testament]], the act of removing one's shoes symbolizes servitude. [[Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples]] regarded the act of removing their shoes as a mark of reverence when approaching a sacred person or place.<ref name="Farbridge_Maurice">{{cite book|last=Farbridge|first=Maurice H.|author-link=Maurice H. Farbridge|title=Studies in Biblical & Semitic Symbolism 1923|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cDto8rWxKJcC&pg=PA274|year=2003|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=978-0-7661-3856-8|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222034528/https://books.google.com/books?id=cDto8rWxKJcC&pg=PA274|archive-date=2016-12-22}}, pages=273–274</ref> The removal of the shoe also symbolizes the act of giving up a legal right. In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] custom, if a man chose not to [[Levirate marriage|marry his childless brother's widow]], the widow removed her brother-in-law's shoe to symbolize that he had abandoned his duty. In [[arab people|Arab]] custom, the removal of one's shoe also symbolized the dissolution of marriage.<ref name="Farbridge_Maurice" />

In [[Arab culture]], showing the sole of one's shoe is considered an insult, and to [[Shoe tossing#Insult|throw a shoe]] and hit someone with it is considered an even greater insult. Shoes are considered to be dirty as they frequently touch the ground, and are associated with the lowest part of the body—the [[foot]]. As such, shoes are forbidden in [[mosque]]s, and it is also considered unmannerly to cross the legs and display the soles of one's shoes during conversation. This insult was demonstrated in Iraq, first when [[Saddam Hussein]]'s statue was toppled in 2003, Iraqis gathered around it and struck the statue with their shoes.<ref name="Gammell_Caroline">{{cite news|last=Gammell|first=Caroline|title=Arab Culture: The Insult of the Shoe
 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3776970/Arab-culture-the-insult-of-the-shoe.html|access-date=July 24, 2012
 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=December 15, 2008|url-status=live
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725033131/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3776970/Arab-culture-the-insult-of-the-shoe.html|archive-date=July 25, 2012}}</ref> In 2008, United States President [[George W. Bush]] had a shoe [[George W. Bush shoeing incident|thrown at him]] by a journalist as a statement against the war in Iraq.<ref name="Asser_Martin">{{cite news|last=Asser|first=Martin
 |title=Bush Shoe-ing Worst Arab Insult
 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7783325.stm|access-date=July 24, 2012
 |newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=December 15, 2008|url-status=live
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016125313/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7783325.stm|archive-date=October 16, 2012}}</ref> More generally, [[shoe-throwing]] or shoeing, showing the sole of one's shoe or using shoes to [[insult]] are forms of protest in many parts of the world.<ref name=Tel>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3776970/Arab-culture-the-insult-of-the-shoe.html Arab culture: the insult of the shoe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312192122/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3776970/Arab-culture-the-insult-of-the-shoe.html |date=2018-03-12 }}, ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', 15 December 2008.</ref><ref name=BBC>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7783325.stm Bush shoe-ing worst Arab insult] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530150415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7783325.stm |date=2012-05-30 }}, BBC, 16 December 2008.</ref>

Empty shoes may also symbolize death. In [[Greece|Greek]] culture, empty shoes are the equivalent of the American funeral wreath. For example, empty shoes placed outside of a Greek home would tell others that the family's son has died in battle.<ref name="Reeve_Andru">{{cite book|last=Reeve|first=Andru J.|title=Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul Is Dead" Hoax|year=2004|publisher=AuthorHouse|location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]]|isbn=978-1-4184-8294-7|pages=79|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=feRa_ol-CEgC&q=greek+empty+shoes&pg=PA79|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427133401/https://books.google.com/books?id=feRa_ol-CEgC&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=greek+empty+shoes&source=bl&ots=ELuuyVAgwz&sig=LSVlExBoHi4aVg-SjLpfUFF6IM0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KhoOUIXeH4-m8QSZzYDgDw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=greek%20empty%20shoes&f=false|archive-date=2016-04-27}}</ref> The [[Shoes on the Danube Bank]] is a memorial in [[Budapest]], Hungary, to honor the Jews who were killed by fascist [[Arrow Cross Party|Arrow Cross]] militiamen in Budapest during [[World War II]].

{{anchor|Shoe construction|Construction}}