Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-01-14
FASHIONS IN SHOES.
Changes In Taste Regarding the Cow
ering and Adornment OF the Human

The Shoe and Leather Reporter.

Grafton. In earlier days, SAYS The
Reporter, males wore long top boots
the year round, almost exclusively,
only varying IN thickness. Even in
{ this respect the variations were fire.
quently limited to the process of oil
( ing Or ''greasing." The women stuck
quite persistently to low-cut shoes, or,
to speak percisely, TO slippers for
summer and busRins for winter.
These dainty slippers laced with gal
loon upon the ankle produced q be-
Witching effect, Occasionally one
saw 8 woman in b0otees. These were
| the pioneers of side-lace gaiterst which
came along later. OF course there
was sOme better protection required
to overcome the discomforts from deep
SHOWS and WEAKNESS Of travel, for the
! faculties were then SO maager. and
these were affored by the ubiquitous
WOODEN socks, which We're worn over
the shoes and ankles. Save ia large
cities or villages very few rub Der
shoes We're worn. These were iuxur-
les seldom INDUCED in, because of the
cost and of Ihe lack Of knowledge as
to their repellant qualities, as we'll as
to the labor performed in conforming
the ungainly thing to the contour OF
the shoe. In the course of events Gus
toms have changed materially. with
the incoming Of women's gaiter boots
men began to grow more partial TO
shoes, and gradually discarded the
long appendage. The prevalence of
hOOp-sklrts among women rendered
species of protective footwear neces-
esary. while on the other hand the
style of tight-fttlng trousers with
men made the legs of boots an in
cumbrance Rubber shoes, mean
while, have become cheap and popu-
lar, SO that both sexes are on plane
Of equality IN the matter for the COW
erlng for the feet.
Abiding to oiling or greasing boots
in early times for winter service re-
calls the cheerful fireplace where the
operation was conducted. This was
before the era of stoves, when sitting
around the ample wood fire of a win
ter's evening was signal for convivi-
ality, with such wholesome refresh
ment as apple, pumpkin pie, and
| sparkling cider, and such amuSe1nents
as checkers, fox and geese, twelve
penny morris. The operation of greag-
Ing was usually performed with melt
ed beef fat, though many affected
neatsfoot oil as superior. The task
was usually allotted to one of the
youngsters, who rubbed the grease in
with bare hand so long as the lea Gher,
thoroughly heated by the fire, would
soak it. This proceeding rendered
the surface impervious to water, kept
it soft and pliable as well, and helped
to exclude cold. The objection to this
treatment was that the boots could
never be polished, but plain country
people didn't do that much, unless it
might be some young men with taste
for sparkling.
The custom of measurement shoe
making that formerly prevailed so ex-
tensively is worth mentioning. Sale
work, called derisively ''shop work"
was rarely seen or handled. A shoe
store in the most popular towns was
a place where ready made shoes could
be procured, though the largest por-
ton of its customers left their meas
ures, which were in turn transferred
to various cOrdwainers to be attended
to. Many of these latter made peri
odical visits to the houses of customers
and supplied their wants. The incest
boots We're found among the import
ers. We had not then acquired the
facility for producing a beet equal in
sty lie and fit to the French article.
When shoes began to supersede
boots, Overgaiters came into use, and
have been worn ever since with
scarcely any change. Not few per-
sons use them. There was not much
difference in contour or construction
| between the gaiter of 1910 and 1885
| At ore period an alteration was tried
| "a steel spring was substituted for
buttons, but it was an unsuccessful
ex periment, and was followed by a
return to the original method.
The Immediate predecessor of India
rubber shoes, for wear in the cities
where paths were prepared during the
snowy seasons, were articles techni-
cally described as ''galoches. They
were ia fact, leather overshoes, save
that protection came to the sole of the
foot rather than to other parts. The
prototype of this shoe was the ancient
''clog," which, indeed, was worn as
shoe or foot-covering, instead Of an
extraneous protector. In later years
the ''patten" Of England was kindred
to the 'galoche." There was always
something natty in the appearance of
this article, and the facility with
which it could be donned was in its
favor as well. Yet, woe to the in
dividual who attempted the use OF
new pair upon the ice walks, where
the hard and smooth soles beguiled
frequent downfalling to the uninitiat-
ed The original vulcanized-rub bier
shoes had a leather bottom, and it
constituted an objection hard to ever
come, because they were so slippery.
Taken In by a Smooth SWindler.
4 French nobleman played a game
of ecarte with a foreign count. The