Middletown transcript., 1895-11-09
KEAbY MADE. SHOES. :
Many Sizes, but Poor Shapes and Heels
For Women and Children.

IOE p" omen ana C01lOIous
Selling ready made shoes is a very
different thing now from what it
used to be, when many thousands
who now buy them had their foot
wear made to order. Sizes in ready
made shoes have been greatly null
tiplied. Not only do mems shoes
run up to No. 13 in length, but they
vary in width from AA, the mar
rowest, to EE, the widest. A sales
man must know all about sizes and
be able to made pretty good guess
at what customer needs, but must
as we'll know what makes of shoes
run wide or long for their numbers.
Before all these nioeties of shad-
ing were invented, the matter of fit
ting ready made shoes to a custom
er's feet was very simple one. Per-
haps it would be more accurate to
say that there was no such thing as
a fit in ready made shoes save for
persons of normal and average feet.
The long, slender foot was not pro-
vided for, and neither was the short,
thick foot. The numbers of mems
shoes most called for now are z, ~
and 8, with the widths A, B and G.
In women's shoes the numbers in
length most in demand are 8, 81,
4, ~ and 5, with the widths A and
B. But the unusual sizes above and
below these are provided in large
numbers. There are many calls for
IS at the large concerns, where un-
usual sizes are provided. It is diff
cult in small concerns to get any
thing above 10H. The difference in
price for size is little or nothing,
save that what are called misses
Shoes" which run pretty high, are
for some reason sold cheaper than
women's s shoes of like size. Some
women know this and profit by it.
Women have from time immemo-
rial been abominably i'll shod, and
most of them are so still. The max
ers of ready made shoes unhesitat-
ingly cater to fashion, and it is diff
cult for us men to find a ready made
shoe with a low heel and a roomy toe.
Nine women out Of ten have wretch
edly abused feet, and the condition
of their walking shoes at the end of
six weeks use is such that their
brothers or husbands would not for
a moment think of wearing them.
Working women stand or walk all
day long on French heels, partly
through vanity, partly because bet
ter shaped shoes have to be made to
order at comparatively high price.
Children's shoes, save in rare i'll
stances, are still made in defiance of
hygiene and are responsible for half
the pains of learning to walk. Doc
tors are recommending that infants
be brought up barefoot.
The man or woman of normal and
average feet is always welcome in
the ready made shoeshops, because
such persons can usually be fitted in
less than ten minutes. It would
hardly be possible to carry Oh bust
ness were there not comparatively
few feet of abnormal size or shape,
for a man or woman with such feet
consumes from half an hour to an
hour of salesman's time and often
goes away without buying. There
must be small proftin selling ready
mad shoes to such people.
The man that wears, say, liz AA
is a most unwelcome visitor at any
shoeshop, though in all the large
concerns statesmen manfully strug-
gle to fit such customers. On very
busy days the man or woman of alb
normal feet meets with an early in
timation that there is no fit to be
had. Such persons come to be
known in the shops and to be lodged
by the salesmen.-New York Sum-