Evening star., 1917-09-28

Before buying shoes, study the shape Of
your foot. If it is pointed. wear shoe
with tapering toe: If round, wear q
modera tely round toe. \ lorl- foot re-
qures a long vaup; a shorc foot, shofi
vamp. What is called the commcn-sense
shoe gives the toes pleaty Of room. but
does not support the arch of the foot
which causes all sorts Of strains, often
disabling and agoniz;n@, the worst Of
which is known as fallen arch.
BE sure that your shoes III Snusly '.ndeT
the arch. This will support the instep
and prevent strained or fallen arch,
besides assisting to hold the foot back in
the heel. People are beginning 10 realize
that the shoe made on an arched last.
with a roomy box toe ara 4 reasonably
high heel, is the really sensible shoe for
all but the extremely fat-footed. who are
in the minority. Those belonging to the
other extreme are helped by artificial
arches, which can be changed from one
pair Of shoes to another. When yol. set
your foot upon the iloor or pavement in
the act OF walking. the shoe aiueres, and
if it is loosely fastened over the instep
the foot will push down into me toe OF
the shoe. At certain spots Gil the foot
this slipping causes friction, which. in
turn, causes corns and bunions. These
spots are the soles of the sney. tol'S,
ends and inner sides of tn" toes. the
great and little toe joints and The back
of the heel.
The best shoe to adjust is a lace shoe,
as buttons work loos". If you 60 wear
buttoned shoes. the three lower huttons
on each shoe shOuil lie set back occa-
sionally When a laced shoe is tried on
the strings should be drawn tight. If The
sides. of the shoe then meet, it is % loose.
They should gap. or make a Y shape even
when laced tight. because ii they do
not, as the leather-stretches the shoe viii
become TOO loose and let the foot slip
down into the toe of the shoe
The most perfectly shaped shoe will
hurt the foot if the heels are allowed
to run over. They should be strafGhtened
up very often and reinforced with a layer
Of thick rubber. which saves a good
many jars to the spine. Shoe strings
will not come united until you want
them to if you will give them the first
single tie, then cross the strings, holding
the cross with your left thumb and fin
ger. Then bring the under lace over the
other and down in the space between the
ward loop. Put the other lace through
from the under side. bring the loop
through on the upper side, and draw
tight When the tin cap comes off the
melted beeswax, it may be used a long
time before it trays out.
A frequent change of both shoes and
hose is positive necessity, and a shoe
tree is a great help toward keeping shoes
in shape.
a child's foot is naturally pretty, with
its slender, straight toes and it's gently
arched fnstep, but it is so soft and
plant that it is easily nodded, and an
ill-fitting, badly made shoe will only too
quickly deforln it and twist it out of
shape. An awkward gait is often due
to imperfect footwear. Shoes that are
too heavy make child drag its feet
and move clumsily about and shoes
that are too lightly soled allow the foot
to slip and turn over. Have a child
wear thick stockings when trying on
shoes. SO that when worn with thin
stockings they will be a trife larger
and viii be more comfortable. In the
best shoe stores saleSpeopie are eau
toned to fit children's shoes long
enough. In the case of short shoe the
great toe has not the necessary room
to stretch out, with the result that the
child will shift as much as possible of
its body weight to that portion of the
foot back of the ball, as this is the only
way possible to secure relief. Unless
the ankles are unusually strong, this
shifting back will develop weak ankles
or bowlegS.
Children cannot be relied upcn to tell
how a shoe feels to the foot They are
attracted by pretty shoes and for fear
of having them taken away will say
that they do not hurt. After the shoe
has been slipped on the child should be
made to stand up. to allow the foot to
settle down into the shoe. The only
guide to the width is to press down on
the box and feel to see If enough free
dom Is allowed. The heel should be
fairly snug. and the buttons should
also fit snug, but easy. Avoid extreme
ly stiff shoes. If child is fitted 10
shoes that will permit of an unhamper-
ed step, the foot will follow its natural
bent and shape into graceful lines that
will insure comfort at all times. If the
soles Of new hard-soled shoes are slight