The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-06-04
Shoes for Me and Women.

There is little doubt in my mind"
said shoe-dealer yesterday, that it is
in the selection of footgear that people
are most IastIdious. / am well aware
that everyone who caters to the fancies
of the community has a hard row to
hoe, but when the average person sets
out to purchase shoes then comes the
time that is calculated to try mems
souls. 1t requires hard effort for one
to repress a torcibie expression of his
feelings on some occasions, but by eX-
perience he learns to bear the torture
in silence In after years he is even
enabled to hide his thoughts behind the
most winning of smiles. The man who
succeeds in the business is he who sue
ceeds in pleasing a patron with the
first or second pair of shoes taken from
box. Let him fail in this before he
has spread large array of footgear
before the prospective purchaser and
he will have almost endless trouble 1t
all lies in the ability to tell almost at a
glance the quality of shoes desired by
customer"
lis much difficulty experienced in
dealing with women?' was asked
That is a subject that has been much
agitated, was the reply. land in my
opinion it is one that has also been
greatly exaggerated. Women have a
strong natural desire. one that almost
appears to be Unborn, to have as small
and shapely feet as possible, but, except
in limited number of cases, the desire
is kept within bounds. 1t is not unus-
ual for one to insist On crowding a No.
5 foot into shoe two sizes smaller. but
the majority while buying footwear
have in view mainly their personal
comfort. There appears also to be a
growing tendency in favor of comforta-
BILE shoes, even at the expense of looks"
Speaking of sizes, does the average
differ in various parts of the country"
asked the reporter.
Il don't know just what foundation
it has or what Investigations have been
made into the subject said the deal
er, ''but it is generally recognized that
the ladies of the east wear the smallest
shoes. 1t is said that the average size
of the shoes worn here ranges from l ]
to .. In Ohio it probably ranges from
the latter figure to 81, and many shoes
half-size larger as you progress to
the west"
How about the Cincinnati girls?"
The bellies of that city have to some
extent been slandered, but it is fact
that their pedal eXtremities are larger
than the ordinary. The sizes probably
run from Nos. to 4, so you see that
although not as diminutive as they
might be the feet of the young ladies
are not SO large that they merit the
widespread attention bestowed on
them. As between Cincinnati and st.
Louis | think nature in this respect dis
tributed favors with an impartial hand.
An exception to all that has been said,
however, is the case of Sandusky
belle. While only II years of age she
wears a No. "a shoe. Ohio does not
thus take position in the background,
even in the case OBJECT. A New ork boot
and shoe mandatory recently issued
to the trade circular of which the pro-
portions of this young lady feet form
ed prominent feature. After much
trouble the manufacturer secured a
piece of paper large enough to contain
an outline of the last from which the
shoes were made, and in addition filled
the publication with poetry appropriate
W lue SuuJeCl. II stllI dcteu great dl-
tention, and was much commented up
on at the time
What is the average size of shoes
worn by men?"
Il think that it ranges from Nos.
to s. 1t is for No. Z, however, that we
have the greatest demand. Once in
while we have call for Nos IL or II,
but few men require protectors of such
ample dimensions. As in the case of
the women, the shoes worn by eastern
men are smaller than those of their
breathern in the west. "-AeU York
Mail and EGpreSs.