Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1886-01-29
FASHIONS ~ SHOES.
How the Fancies - Men and lWoInen Cor
Foot Coverings Have Changed.

's - = ...-s .-..---. --~-s .'.'''
There have been notable changes IN
the fashions of footwear within a gcne-
ration. In earlier days males wore long
top boots the year round almost exelu-
sisely, only varying II thickness. ENen
in this respect the variations were ire
quently limited To = process of oiilng or
..greasing. The women stuck quite
pcrsistenfly 90 lowEaif shoes. or.to speak
precisely. 10 slippers Cor summer and
bnskins for Ninfer. These tltinty slip
pers laced with g'lilsWn upon the ankle
produced bewifkallg etlert Occa-
sionally one saw q woman IN boOtces.
These were the pioneers q sidolace
CATERS which cailas along later Of
course there was splsse better protection
required TO 0vcrcuil fbe. tlisc0nf0rts
from deep SHOWS and weafiness OF tray
81. for which the fsNlIities were then -
meager, aud these 2e afforded by the
ubiquitous wooden .keks which wcrc
worn over the shoes md ankles. Save
in large cities or yiilsxes very few of the
new rubber shoes we're worn. These
were luxtlries seldom }ndlliged In. be-
cause Of the cost anN of the lack of
knowledge as 90 tsaeif rcpcIlant quali-
ties, as well as to tleShbor required in
confirming the ungaI<lly things to the
contour of the shoe. III the course of
events customs have oIsanged materially.
With the incoming o women's gaiter
boots men began to gibw more partial
to shoes, and gradual& discarded the
long-lcg appendage. 'he prevalence
of hoop skirts among Inen rendered
u species of protective Near necessa-
rv. while on the other n the style of
tighf-fitting trousers " 1sag made the
legs Of boots an ind 3T,ince. Rub-
ber shoes. meanwhils# base. become
cheap and popular, so halt both sexes
are on plane Of equaIas im the matter
of covering for the feet.
Abiding to oiling orx greasinr boots
i'm early time for WinteiHsekyicc recalls
the cheerful fireplace where the opera
ton was conducted Tbfs Was before
the era of stoves, when sitting around
the ample wood fire of Il MINERS cye-
ming was u signal fpr conxiyiality,
with such wholesome Entertainments as
apples. pnmpkin-pie and sparkling
cider, and such anlusenlents as check
ers, fox or geese or I2Dcnnv morris.
The operation of 'greasine was usually
performed with melted 3eef fat though
many affected neatsf0ot fil rs superior.
The task was usually allotted toone of
the Youngsters who r1bbe The crease ifl
with bare hand SO long the leather
thoroughly heated llks iiis would
soak II. This proceeding rasidtf1d file
surface iInpcrvious to water, kept It soft
and pliablc rs well, and helped 10 ex-
cludc cold. The objection to this treat
ment was that 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 shoemak-
ing that formerly prevailed SO extensive
" is worth mentioning. Sale work,
called derisively '.slop work, was rare
most sd nonulnns towns was : Mace J. wbers.
raadvr made shoes co,,ld he nrocurad
thors,,, tbo larrast ,,oyt;on nf IL <.usso,,,,
ers l.ft their n,eas,,,as which veya i,
tnrn t,.,nsforrad 81 ra,.;ans co,alva;ra,s
- 10 attanda,l 81 M,nv of thase lotta,.
,nade ner;o,l;e,l visits ~ tba honsa ''' of
....ss,s,,,e,.s .,.l s,,,,,,;s,l tl,a;,.
1r 1s's'o,;'s, ,. VIZ supase" s's' Wis.
INN, m s, rters We had not then acm,;reJ
tha facility for nrodncino boot eonal
i, strIa AMI If r. the French ayt;ela
W,an sl,oes hegsn 70 ,.,,e s,,,ersa.I.. :. h,.ots
.as.; ;.a,s ,. .,,,,a into ,,ia anJ Iaus
Iee ,ee,, worn ever since with scarcs,y anv
shanca % Nns = faw ne,.soas ,,ss tha,n
Tg.arss ,,.s ne.t ,n,,ch .l;sia,.oaa !, ar,,
ta,,r i, ",es construction betwea, Tho o.,;tar
ae Ell Isan and tlat of isss A. ono ,sss.;o.l si.,l
4, .ltarat;on M svas t,.;al !, staal ir,.;ns. p;cs
sras snbsfit,,ted for hnt,ons hn, i w,s .s
=, ,,,,s,,..cassfnl axner;,n,.nf and ,vas
fai,owad ,i IN ! ret,,rn - the or;C;nal
T1,e ;,,,,,o.,; \. ,,,....l la..ss - ;,a;.-
,,,th, ,,,a,, ,,,.a,,. ,ed .l,r;,,o : tba S,,ou-,,