The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-01-03
A CHAT ON coRNs.

A CHAT ON CORNS.
| Men Havo Handsomer Feet than Women
and Less Trouble With Bunions.
:. From the National Republican.
"Tell me something about feet" said 8
Republican representative yesterday to 8
leading shoe manufacturer of the dis
trict.
"Well, to begin ,h, as charity hides
multitude of sins, so a well-made shoe
covers very frequently host of deformi-
ties and uglinesses.
"'How often 2"
"About two-thirds of the feet that walk
over streets are more or less deformed
and crippled with corns, bunions, sunken
arches, ingrowing nails, and other un.
slightly, unnatural features. It is as rare
to find handsome foot as a perfect
haud-even rarer-for the foot has to
bear the weight of,the body, and the
style of shoe generally worn is much
more Objectionable than that Of the
glove. Strange rs it may appear at first
glance, there are more men with we'll.
shaped, natural feet, than women"
"What is the reasonthereofW
II think it, arises chiefly from the
excessive, but nearly always ignorant,
solicitude mothers show about the feet of
their daughters when the latter are young.
The custom of buying ready;,made shoes,
especially for children, is, q fatal one to
the beauty and the health of the feet.
The average man and woman are as in
capable. of picking out proper ready.
made shoe as they are Of selecting pair
of spectacles suitable to the requirements
1of their eyes without calling in the aid
of the occulist. For example. the shoe
should be two sizes longer than the foot.
4 mother, bu7ing 9 pair Of shoes for her
child, will b..ve the child's foot incaaed
in one of proper length, and then, feel
ing around the toe, will say 60, this
shoe is entirely too long, OF goes the
shoe, and the little ones tender feet are'
pressed in pair no longer than the foot.
The feet ofa child grow rapidly, and
any excessive pressure, even if the nerves
do not complain, acts ipjuriously. Then,
the ready.made shoe, being built. on 9
general measure, can not BE adapted to
the requirements of each individual foot
except at the expense of the foot. There
is great difference in the size Of the same
PERSONS feet, one or the other being
longer, broader, with higher instep, lar.
ger heel etc. The ready-made shoe is
handy, is much cheaper than those made
to order, but you can not fit your feet in
them any more than you can get per-
feet fit in ready-made clothes-not so
we'll, even. for all the prominent ready
msde clothing houses have special tail
ors whose business it is to adapt the gar
ments to the peculiarities of the purchas-
er. But shoe once made can not be
tinkered Until it is so far worn out as to
need reconstruction"
(Which foot is the larger, generally;
right or left?"
"Generally the right, in two out of
three cases. But a third part of men
and women have the left foot larger and
longer. The difference between the
same mans feet is sometimes very great.
have made shoes for persons whose left
foot had high instep, while the right
was as fat as Maryland ash cake.
Then again I have customers who wear
a No. 7 in length on the right and an 8
on the left foot. These people could
not get q fitting shoe ready-made.
They could not wear them with
out pain and positive injury to the
feet. But many people so con-
stituted do wear them, suffering mis-.
cry and spelling their feet all the while"
"What is the average size of the shoe
worn by men 7"
"From 7 to 8. Tens are not uncom.
mon, and even larger. No. 5 for man
of medium size, is small. The average
size Of woman's shoe is-well, 9's and As.
But vast number of women wear shoes
much larger than. those numbers. And /
have fitted ladies whose feet rivaled
Cinderella's for smallness and shape.
Not long since I made pair of buttoned
CATERS for a young lady, a resident Of
this city, whose feet, though not the
smallest, were the most perfect. l ever
saw The ablest sculptor that ever lived
could not have chiseled out of marble q
pair Of more perfect feet" -.
- "What was the size % - . r . - =
zones" T." ;S'e 't.fi'..,s = -
zones /" replied the reporter. Isn't
that Very small size ?" ~ - - =, -
:. ."Vefy small, not more than one grown
woman in 10000 having. 80 smalla foot.
Bit. there, are ladies whose feet are even
smaller than that. I have never seen,
however, SO perfectly shaped a foot, and
I have made shoes to order for twenty.
three years in this city" 4ri,ts.
"Who was the lady 2" asked the repor-
ter. "What is her name ?" TT,
"Ahl that can not tell. It would be
a breach of confidence between merchant
and customer. Idon't mind telling you,;
however, that she is employed in, the,
bureau Of engraving and printing.
perhaps she is dwarf, hence the
smallbess of her feet" suggested the re.
porter. ~ - -,
"No, she is of medium size, slender,
decidedly pretty, with hazel eyes and
brown hair. She is very unwise, howev.
er, to wear buttoned CATERS. Nothing
SO soon spoils the arch Of the foot and
beats down the instep, making the foot
fiat as buttoned CATERS. You observe"
continued the shoe dealer, "that the flesh
around the instep in unusually tender,
and has but little support. The bones.
of the foot are not calculated to stand 9
continuous pressure such as buttoned
gaiter gives on top. Well, the effect of
wearing them is to cause the flesh to
spread out and fatten and the bones to
yield, until finally well.shaped, hand.
laces up to the front. is bad, very bad for
the feet, but not so Objectionable as the
buttoned. A shoe that laces up the side
is far better, and, as ladies generally will
not wear boots, is the best shoe to pre-.
serve the health and beauty Of the foot"
"Why do you say boots p"
because boots are the only kind of
foot covering that answers all require.