FAQS ABOUT SHOES AND FOOTWEAR

Selecting footwear that fits properly is critical. Yet 95 percent of consumers don't wear shoes that fit properly. The reason? Fewer than 10 percent of shoe salespeople have even basic training in foot anatomy or shoe sizing.

Shoes that don't fit can cause a variety of problems from blisters, corns and calluses, to foot, leg and back pain. Here are some tips on finding shoes that fit:

1. Sizes may vary among shoe brands and styles. Don't select shoes by the size marked inside the shoe. Judge the shoe by how it fits on your foot.
2. Select a shoe that conforms as nearly as possible to the shape of your foot.
3. Have your feet measured regularly. The size of your feet changes as you grow older.
4. Have both feet measured. Most people have one foot larger than the other. Fit to the largest foot.
5. Fit at the end of the day when your feet are the largest.
6. Stand during the fitting process and check that there is adequate space (3/8 to 1/2 inch) for your longest toe at the end of each shoe.
7. Make sure the ball of your foot fits comfortably into the widest part of the shoe.
8. Do not purchase shoes that feel too tight, expecting them to stretch to fit.
9. Your heel should fit comfortable in the shoe with a minimum amount of slippage.
10. Walk in the shoe to make sure it fits and feels right. Fashionable shoes can be comfortable

Shoes as symbols

• In Biblical times a sandal was given as a sign of an oath.
• In the Middle Ages a father passed his authority over his daughter to her husband in a shoe ceremony. At the wedding, the groom handed the bride a shoe, which she put on to show she was then his subject.
• Today in the U.S. shoes are tied to the bumper of the bridal couple's car. This is a reminder of the days when a father gave the groom one of his daughter's shoes as a symbol of a changing caretaker.
• In China one of the bride's red shoes is tossed from the roof to ensure happiness for the bridal couple.
• In Hungary the groom drinks a toast to his bride out of her wedding slipper.

Shoe Historical facts

• The history of human development shows that the importance of protecting the foot was early recognized. Records of the Egyptians, the Chinese and other early civilizations all contain references to shoes. The shoe is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible and the Hebrews used it in several instances with a legal significance, notably in binding a bargain.
• 4,000 years ago the first shoes were made of a single piece of rawhide that enveloped the foot for both warmth and protection.
• Sturdy shoes first came into widespread use between 40,000 and 26,000 years ago, according to a US scientist. Humans’ small toes became weaker during this time, says physical anthropologist Erik Trinkaus, who has studied scores of early human foot bones.
• He attributes this anatomical change to the invention of rugged shoes, that reduced our need for strong, flexible toes to grip and balance.
• The first known images of footwear are boots depicted in 15,000 year old Spanish cave paintings.
• In Europe pointed toes on shoes were fashionable from the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries.
• In the Middle East heels were added to shoes to lift the foot from the burning sand.
• In Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries heels on shoes were always colored red.
• Shoes all over the world were identical until the nineteenth century, when left- and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia.
• In Europe it wasn’t until the eighteenth century that women’s shoes were different from men’s.
• The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840.
• Six-inch-high heels were worn by the upper classes in seventeenth-century Europe. Two servants, one on either side, were needed to hold up the person wearing, etc...