WHAT IS FOOTWEAR?

Footwear is a diverse industry having the worldwide approach as it transcends the boundaries because of its divergent style and trend. The boom in this industry came when the foot sizing issue was resolved and the standardization of feet size was determined

Healthy feet keep the body healthy and these ensure stable foundation and smooth mobility. Therefore, caring the feet is caring the whole body and making the walk easy and comfortable. Perhaps man had come to know about the significance and utility of the footwear in the very beginning for certainly being a necessity because man had to keep his feet safe from the harsh weather as he had to survive the freezing cold, sizzling soil in the scorching heat, thorns and edgy stones. In the very onset of the human civilization, the footwear must have restricted to the broader leaves, thick grass and the balk of the trees. The utility of the footwear kept the human innovation alive and more and more things came under use for making boots, sandals and other such things. The leather and wooden shoes continued to be used by human beings throughout the history. The shoes used in wars and battles were the mixture of wood, leather and cloth with iron covering.

There are many types of footwears such as boots, flip-flops, shoes, sandals, ballerinas and stilettos.

WHICH ARE BOOTS?

The boots in footwear have unimaginable variety and the variations range from style, utility, occasion, purpose, design, material, matching and trends. The fashion boots are largely related to the women who choose them for matching with the attire or taking the importance of the occasion into consideration. The boots such as buckled boots. kitten-heeled boots, loafer boats, western boots, shearling boots, riding boots, fold-over boots, Chelsea boots, cowboy boots, sports boots, running and jogging boots, soccer boots, rugby boots, hiking boots, mountaineer boots, casual and fashion boots, waterproof boots, Moc Toe, suede boots, Derby boots, Oxford boots, work boots, Balmoral, Chukka, Jodhpur, Timberland, duck, cutout boots, combat boots, ankle boots, bikers boots, wedge boots, engineer boots, over the knee boots and others combine utility and fashion.

WHAT IS FLIP-FLOP?

The flip-flops are perhaps the most ancient form of footwear as their easy-to-make and comfort style has made it popular among the wearers and designers through different ears of the human history. The flip-flops are sandal-like footwear having a flat surface and two strips as one end are attached to toe and the two backlines are attached to the heel on two sides. In ancient times, the wooden base and leather strips were used in Asian countries like China, Japan, India and others and in India it was called Kharaon or clogs and later when material was changed like leather base and leather strips, it was called Chappel and is still called as such. In Europe, flip flop with variety of material has been in use by the people particularly in Greek, Italy, Paris, England and others. It is still in use having very particular liking and attraction as casual footwear by the people across the globe.

WHAT ARE SANDALS?

Sandals are the advance form of flip-flop and is also considered easy-to-make and easy-to-wear footwear. The sandals are also made up of a flat base and straps covering the foot giving firmness to the feet. Its nomenclature has been claimed to be derived from varied origin as some associate it with sand, others suggest it to be Egyptian origin and many have a believe that these are linked with India, Mesopotamia, Arab, Latin and Germany. However, its popularity and likeness is global and are used by both men and women in the world as a trendy footwear.

WHAT ARE SHOES?

It is hard to make a difference between boots and shoes as boots are part of shoes however boots appear to be casual wear while shoes are associated with formality. The shoes have a large variety ranging from style and material. The shoes are made of leather, canvass, rubber, plastics and other such material. The shoes are of many kinds such as athletic shoes or sneakers, boat shoes, court shoes or pump shoes, ballet flats, brogue shoes, clogs, espadrilles, high heels, loafers, Oxford shoes, monk strap shoes, platform shoes, slingback shoes, strappy sandals and others.

• BALLERINAS

The ballerinas are meant for the ballet dancers but they are also popular among the women because of their easy-to-wear design and trendy look. The design is combination of sandals and shoes as many ballerinas have strips to provide firm grip to the feet. These are pointe shoes and also known as toe shoes. They have flat, stiff and special construction.

• STILETTOS

The stiletto shoes derive their name from their thin, pointed and high heel. The shoes may vary in shape, form and stuff but the commonality of high and pointed heel bring them in the same fold. The high, thin and pointed heel is named after the stiletto dagger.

• CULTURAL FOOTWEAR

Many regions and countries have their own footwear based on their culture and traditions. For example, in China, handmade cloth shoes with hard sole were popular and had been in use for centuries. It is wrong to believe that African remained barefooted and wore no shoes but they had their footwear made up of animal skins and hard bark of the trees. In Europe wooden clogs, leather sandals and cloth shoes had been in use for centuries. India had more diversity in footwear as the people here used leather and thin wood layers for footwear. The leather shoes were handsewn, durable, light weight and easy-to-wear and were in use in daily life of the people. Still in modern days, handmade chappels, flip-flops, khusas and kheris are popular among the people. Khusas are unique in shape as there is no distinction between left or right foot and both the khusas are used alternatively and is also advised so to keep the khusas straightened.

FAQs (Frequent Asked Questions)