The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1891-06-04
HOW TO SELECT SHOES.
Good Judgment Must BE Exercised o
Misery VIII Follow.


heels and ankles. AS the counter holds
the quarter to the shape of the last on
which the shoe was made, we must
hold the last responsible so far as fit at
this point is concerned, and in order to
remedy the evils that grow in this end
of the shoe the shape of the last must
be changed.
If the foot has long, a broad or
narrow heel then the last must be of
that form. Surely no one would expect
a foot having a broad heel to feel COM
Portable in shoe that is very narrow
at the point or vice versa. The only
way to make sure of getting good fit
at this part of the shoe is to have last
made from the cast of the foot, for
very few shoemakers give any thought
or care as to the general form or con-
tour of the foot at the heel. Even
those that make practice of taking
an outline of the foot make no record
whether the contour of the ankle above
the heel is nearly straight or very much
curved. Quite frequently feet are
found that show by the outline that
the heel is broad, yet that same foot
may be very thin above the heel and
should therefore have last fitted espe-
cially for it and when the shape is
secured the counter does its duty by re-
tanning the quarter in that shape.
Fashion may change shapes in shoes,
but it cannot change the shape of feet,
and as long as people will wear fashion
able shoes and cannot regulate their
feet to suit the dictates of tickle mode
they will have pains and aches. Com
fort is the first idea of good fitting
shoe, but it is in the idea of what con-
stitutes a good-ftting shoe that most
people err, for not always is comfort
able shoe good-ftting one, says a
writer who is an expert on the subject,
in recent issue of Boots and Shoes.
In order to select the proper footwear
it is necessary to know something of
the anatomy of the foot, and for the in
formation of the reader it is stated that
the foot is composed of twenty-six
bones, each intended to perform certain
functions, and each more or less de-
pendent upon its neighbor in the proper
performance of its duty. Therefore,
should any one of these bones become
incapacitated for the duty assigned it,
to that extent is the foot crippled until
a point is reached where the unworthy
owner walks the street veritable
cripple.
The natural movement of the toes is
upward and downward, but when they
are cramped they are thrown to one
side and out of gear, for there is nc
provision made for a sidewise move.
ment of the toes. From this it may be
concluded that the Creator gave nc
thought to narrow-toed shoes. The foot
must not be changed by fashion. A man
may wear a coat that's too large or 6
pair of trousers that are considerably
too short and the only effect is the
| tendency they may have to the lu
dicrous-his health is not affected.
j Not so with ill-f1tting shoes, however
The moment they are too short toe
narrow, too large or too small that mo-
ment is his comfort affected and finally
the health of his feet.
Corns, as rule, are not the result o.
pressure but of friction, and consequent
ly the shoe that is too large produce!
these little plaques incarnate by fric
ton. One source of more or less dis
comfort is the counter. This is piee,
of sole leather that gives shape to anC
keeps in form the heel. As the counte,
holds the shoe quarter out from tn,
foot, this portion of the shoe has no op
portunity to conform itself to the shape
of the foot. If, therefore, a good-fttinl
shoe is desired, this part of the sho,
must fit at the start or not at all
/ One cause of shoes running over a
| the heel is that either the heel of tn
shoe is too large or too small for tn
foot When the heel is too small tn
heel of the foot presses against tn
walls formed by the counter, and soone
or later one side or the other begins +
give way, and when that happens tn
foot seems to concentrate all its effort
upon the weakened wall until it ha
pushed it out of shape. In this effor
of freedom on the part OF the foot n
little assistance is received from tn
bottom of the shoe by its wearing ava
at one side until the heel slants unde
the foot, giving abundant opportunit
for the breaking down of the counter
In the other instance, when the heel {
the shoe is too large for its tenant, tn
causes are somewhat different, thoug
the result is the same.
In this case the heel of the foot
usually thrown against one side or til
other of the shoe by the strain upon tn
foot at the fore part. and thus one wa
of the counter has to support all til
pressure that should be divided betwee
its two sides. In consequence of thi
unless the counter be an unusually sti
one, it breaks down. Outside of Il
contour of the sole there are thrt
salient points of defect in the shape
the average last, namely: The widtl
heel and toe. Nearly all lasts are tc
narrow in proportion to the size fl
which they are intended.
Unless the customer demands bros
shoe-and usually he then selects OF
too broad-he is fitted with shoe thi
is fully one size too narrow, thinkin
no doubt, that if he hasn't a narro
foot he ought to have, and by putting
into a narrow shoe will prevent
sureadiuO R41f this a sarfe41r yaiS,4a L