Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-11
THE FITTING OF SHOES.
Sins of Foot Treatment Committed
Through Vanity and Ignorance.

Sins of Foot Treatment Committed
Through Vanity and Ignorance.
From the New York Times.
There Is a threadbare joke afloat about
the woman who wears No. shoe on a
No. foot-a feat that is impossible in
exact ratio to the antiquity of the story.
There is distinct limit to the squeezing
capacity of any shoe, no matter what may
be the endurance of the wearer. But, on
the authority of the most experienced
shoe callers. we find it true that the ma
jority of feet are distorted and turned
from their natural growth by the obstinate
and misplaced vanity of the general shoe
buyer. Very few persons get their shoes
long enough The great foot folly lies
right here. The masses buy short, broad
shoes, so that widths such as double c
and double D, that never ought to be man
ufactured, are in much demand When
woman tells the size Of her foot. she likes
to make use of a short Misunderstanding
is said about the breadth.
The best authorities assure US that any
one could have what sculptors call the per-
feet foot, long, narrow one, If mothers
would only begin, with the first shoes. to
put their children in those that are a little
longer than the foot. adding all the extra
space necessary before the toes instead
of at the sides. as they are for some unac-
countable reason so prone to do. Thus.
tage of the foot, pleasing shape may
early be secured at the expense of the
present squat extremities.
The other day a woman, who had worn
her shoes so short that her feet had bump
ed themselves up at the instep in the most
unsighty protuberances. told a salesman
who tried to persuade her to lessen the
width and to increase the length of new
purchase that she was considered by her
friends to have a perfect Trflby foot"
She added. with toss Of her head: "A
longer size indeed! Why, my foot was
modelled on the other sider'
For what, unless 1t were as a mon
strosity?" thought another customer, who
overheard the remark.
The Chinese are not the only race who
disfigure their useful extremities. They go
systematically to work to accomplish their
deformitieS. while women do 1t by
blndly ignoring the pedal space that ma
ture has allotted them. The Monaghan
feet are shortened by a long turning up
of the toes, ours by cramping the members
Tense. naturally high instep is thing
of beauty, but one that is elevated by
force Is nothing but grotesque.
And Out of course this is a secret we
| find. If shoe dealers are to be trusted. that
women are not alone In this vanity. They
declare that men commit the same folly of
| broad and short, and, what Is oldest of
all. that country people are much more
prone to it than city-bred men and women
Another word of warning may prove use
ful, as 1t seems not generally to be under
| stood. that when one goes into a shop to
| try on shoes the feet are contracted from
the exercise of walking, and are in the
best condition for making them feel easy
and comfortable. Due allowance should be
| made, too. for the first morning hours
when. after a nights idleness. the feet are
somewhat enlarged, and quite likely to be
| aggressive IN the matter Of space