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In Depth Tutorials and Information
4
king and his court had shoes with the longest toes. This style was not
worn by women, indicating their lower social ranking. The ankle shoe
remained popular. It was usually side-laced with three pairs of holes.
The pointed toe disappeared at the end of the Middle Ages and was
replaced by round and square toe shapes. At first these toe shapes were
a sensible size, but then became increasingly larger. During the reign of
Henry VIII, the toe area reached 6
1
2
inches with the footwear known as
'foot bags'. During this period came the widespread use of lasts, or as
they were termed 'laests', although there has been some evidence that
the Romans also used lasts on which to make their footwear.
18th-century footwear
In the 18th century, women's footwear reflected the elaborate patterns
of their dresses and had similar embroidery and trimming (
Figure 4.2
).
Bands of metallic braid were popular as decoration on shoes. The
silver or gold braid was transferred from one pair of shoes to another.
figure 4.2
18th-century footwear
