Shoes are an essential part of daily clothing. A shoe is a covering for the human feet that also provides comfort. Men, women, and kids of all age groups, belonging to different societies, strata or cultures wear shoes in everyday life. As we cannot imagine ourselves without clothes, similarly our lives are incomplete without shoes.
Proper shoes make our daily dressing complete. Shoes which started as a basic necessity of human life have now become a style statement. There are shoes for everyone and for all occasions. There are different styles and sizes of shoes. Depending on which part of the world.
History of Shoes
Archaeological surveys show that human beings started using some covering for their feet around 40,000 to 50,000 years back. Changes in the human feet and toe shape are a piece of evidence that prove that human beings had started using some sort of shoes. Probably they were made of perishable materials. So there were no direct shreds of evidence available.
The oldest shoes that were used by human beings on this earth date back to somewhere around 7000BC to 8000BC. They were made of leather. A little later in around 3300 BC, shoes were found to be made of animal skin. Usually, bear or deer skin was used to make the shoes and bark string was used to tie it around the feet.
Gradually with time and need, there were changes in the making and use of shoes. They were later made of soft leather. People also started wearing thong sandals or flip-flops. They were called “Thebets”. They were usually made of palm leaves or papyrus. Later on, the shoes were made of soft leather and even jute.
As time progressed, the use of shoes spread to different parts of the world. There were changes in shape, size, heels and raw material of the Shoes. In the industrial era, shoe manufacturing was commercialised. Shoes became a style statement. Different types of shoes were worn according to different strata or financial conditions to which people belonged.
In the 19th century, the shoes manufactured were stitchless but glued. Materials like rubber, plastic, and other synthetic cloth and industrial adhesives are now used in the making of shoes. Companies are considering making shoes that are completely biodegradable to reduce the weight of waste material on the planet.
Statics of the Shoe Industry
The shoe industry generates more than $100 billion in revenue every year and this is growing. It is the second fastest-growing industry with a growth rate of 18.4%. It is estimated that the global footwear market would reach $ 122.2 billion this year in terms of revenue. The figures are overwhelmingly projecting vast growth in the shoe industry. There are hundreds of Australian online shoe stores as well as offline stores selling all sorts of shoes.
Anatomy of Shoe
No matter what the shoe is made of and in which part of the country. Shoe anatomy has these parts
- Insole-It is the part just beneath a foot. It is made up of cellulose paper or synthetic non-woven insole board.
- Outsole- It is the outer layer of a shoe which directly comes in contact with the ground. It is made of leather, resin rubber, natural rubber or synthetic material like polyurethane. It is made of a single piece or multiple pieces of different materials.
- Midsole– As the name suggests, the midsole is the part between the insole and outsole. It works as a shock absorber. Some shoes do not have the midsole while others have extra layers added to them to provide extra shock absorption capacity in the case of running or sports shoes.
- Heel- It is the bottom part of the sole on the rear part of the shoe. Its function is to make the person wearing it look taller. Sometimes heels are also small or more comfortable for daily use. They are made of the same material as soles.
- Upper- It is the upper portion of the shoe which holds the foot inside the shoe. They are usually decorated part to make the shoe look attractive. In men’s shoes, they are road and elaborate while women’s sandals or flip flops are comprised of just a few straps.
- Vamp- It is a part of the shoe that starts from behind the toes and extends to the back of the shoe.
- Medial- This part is close to the person’s centre of symmetry. The Lateral part is on the opposite of the medial part.
- Toe-Box- It is the part that covers the toes. People with big toes or toe problems need bigger toe boxes.
Types of Shoes
Shoes are now an integral part of everyone’s wardrobe. There are different types of shoes for different types of activities, like heavy work, sports, daily wear, office wear, army etc. Here are the basic categories of shoes used commonly in society:
- Athletic: They are manufactured according to the needs of different types of sports. In some sports, there is a need for more friction while in others there is a need for reduced friction. For some games like football & basketball spikes are added to the shoe base. Nowadays some specific brands and companies are exclusively into manufacturing athletic shoes.
- Boots: They are another common type of footwear popular with people. The boots are different from others in the way that they cover the foot and extend from the ankle to the length of the leg. Some of the boots extensively used are hiking boots, uniform boots, cowboy boots, ski boots, snow boots and riding boots. There are a lot of Australian online shoe stores where you can buy shoes as per your need
- Casual Shoes: They are usually made of soft and smooth leather. Some of them can be worn both by men and women while most of them are designed to keep the needs of either of them in need. They can be further divided into the following categories:
- Men’s Shoes- They are either divided according to the way they are closed or sometimes according to the type of decoration on the top. Some of the common shoes for men are cap-toes, slip-on, derby shoes, monk straps, plain toes, oxford shoes etc.
- Women’s Shoe-When it comes to fashion, women always have an upper hand. There are a wide variety of stylish and fashionable shoes like mules, slingbacks, stiletto heels, and ballet flats. You can buy shoes online in Australia and upgrade your wardrobe from the comfort of your home.
- Gothic Shoes- Since Gothic fashion has become popular these days, stores are filled with gothic shoes as well to accentuate to Gothic look. They are dark mysterious-looking shoes available in a lot of Australian online shoe stores. They can be worn both by men and women.
Shoes are an essential part of our daily clothing. They are a style statement in the modern world. Wearing comfy yet fashionable shoe upgrades our look.
You should buy shoes that not only suit your personality but also are easy to carry in your day-to-day life.
If you planning to buy shoes without having to travel and explore much, you can buy shoes online in Australia from A Shoe Addition. They have the latest collection of boots, heels, and gothic shoes that will match your taste and personality.