SHOES MARCH TOWARD THE CLOG

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 34, 10 February 1939, Page 2

SHOES MARCH TOWARD THE CLOG

CORK FOR LIGHTNESS Footgear is changing rapidly, and no national shoe seems to come amiss just now. Pin heels still convert Western feet into Chinese, but those who consider their feet as much as their figures are liable to go to the other extreme, and instead of walking on an almost ballet toe, adopt the extremely fiat heel and the broad front, with an extended sole to emphasise it all.

The next stage has been to fill in the instep, so that people walk on an inclined plane, with no gap between the heel and the sole. This is now being carried still farther, and the filling in under .the instep has led to a general thickening of the sole, so that people gain in height not only by means of the heel but by the whole shoe, which suggests Oriental sandals. It is curious to hear the little clumping sound which goes with them.

In some cases the shoe really is a sandal with a strap at the back round the heel. It is raised about threequarters of an inch, looks difficult to walk in, but is really easy. The reason for this is that the thickened part of the shoe, both instep and sole, is made of cork.

Country shoes to-day, instead of being made of solid leather and weighing heavily, are unexpectedly light and comfortable. Whether they would stand ploughed fields or heather is another question. They have the appearance of thick shoes which could be worn in the towns and they do keep the feet dry, by reason of raising them off the ground. It is really a return to the pattern or clog or even the sabot, while for those who continue on the old lines there are rubber top-boots or rubber overboots such as are worn in Canada because of the snow.