Bata Shoe Museum free essay sample

Sandals originated in warm climates where the soles of the feet needed protection but the top of the foot needed to be cool. * 4,000 years ago the first shoes were made of a single piece of rawhide that enveloped the foot for both warmth and protection. * 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 wasnt until the eighteenth century that womens shoes were different from mens. * 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 the high heels. We will write a custom essay sample on Bata Shoe Museum or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page * | * Sneakers were first made in America in 1916. They were originally called keds. * Boots were first worn in cold, mountainous regions and hot, sandy deserts where horse-riding communities lived. Heels on boots kept feet secure in the stirrups. * The first ladys boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840. Shoe Museum The Bata Shoe Museum, located in Toronto, Canada, is the only shoe museum in North America. The collection was compiled by Sonja Bata, of the Bata shoemaking family. The museum features shoes and shoe-related artifacts spanning 4,500 years. Bata Shoe Museum 327 Bloor Street West Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1W7 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 couples car. This is a reminder of the days when a father gave the groom one of his daughters shoes as a symbol of a changing caretaker. * In China one of the brides 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.