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 Shoes in the 18th Century Europe

One of the most attractive sites at the Bata Shoe Museum is the section with the 18th

century shoes. The typical 18th century had cloth covering, upon which was embroidered intricate

flowers. It was then backed by a stiff material, which gave the shoe its shape. The shoes won by

different people revealed a lot about a person’s social status, work and family orientation. 18th

century is also called the age of enlightenment, and it brought with it lots of development in the

civilized society as we know it today. A general depiction of the 18th century society is a clear

divide between the rich and the poor, with Europe still united.

As expected, the rich could afford royal grandeur, with the shoes and clothes matching

the pomp of wealth. Thus, on the shoes of the 18th century aristocrat would be embedded

precious stones, sometimes including gold and red rubies (Walton 2014). These types were

commonly known as clogs. Their toes were extremely pointed, their heels curving inwards and

embedded or embroidered with jewels or elaborate patterns. Heels were a distinguishing feature

between the shoes from the aristocracy and the shoes from the laborers. High heels were possible

for the rich since they did not have to do manual labours or walk for long distances. One the

other end, the poor who could not have the luxury of carriages nor sitting in palaces had low

heels. The Bata shoe Museum explains that the exact origin of the heel is yet to be discovered,

but notes that the use of the heel had been introduced in Europe around the 16th and 17th centuries

(BSM 2020).

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 Clogs. Courtesy of BSM.

High heels have always posed a challenge of balance to the wearer. A plausible solution

to this would be to reduce their size, while also maintaining the class of the wearer. The heels

sizes reduced with the dawn of the French revolution, eventually paving room for flat shoes. Flat

shoes brought their own challenges, especially when walking in mud or slippery grounds.

Eventually high heeled shoes arose among the aristocracy. However, since men would often

engage in activities such as horse riding and hunting, the male high heels were reserved for

parties and similar events. For practical purposes, men had to own riding, hunting or army shoes.

These would be actualized in the hessians, a type of knee-high leather boot without heels

(Bogomolov & Tataurova 2016). As noted earlier, the 18th century was very keen on fashion, and

therefore hessians could only be confined to outdoor intensive activities, and could not be won in

polite circles, or when welcoming guests at home. Hessians were often adorned with gold tassels

or lined with beautiful fur. This was in addition to the wearers maintaining a very shiny surface

on the leather shoe. The French Revolution also paved the way for hessians to become part of

every-day acceptable shoes.

Hessian boots. Courtesy of BSM.

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 Towards the 19th century, democracy was arising in many parts of Europe, and it also

showed in the dress up of the society. BSM (2009) states that the grandeur had toned down, the

heels had reduced greatly, and the adornment had almost vanished completely. Boots still had

their regular shine to determine the status, with tassels, fur and embroidery determining the style

of the wearer (BSM 2021). With the dawn of the new century, varieties of shoes increased, and

the distinction in status was no longer on the shape of the shoe, but the material used.

References

Bata Shoes Museum (2009). The Great Divide: Footwear in the Age of Enlightenment. Retrieved

from https://indiashoes.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/shoes-18th-century-europe-1700/ on

16th January 2021.

Bogomolov, B., Tataurova, V. (2016). Women’s High Heel Leather Shoes from seventeenth –

eighteenth Century Russian Villages Near Omsk. Archaeology, Ethnology &

Anthropology of Eurasia. Archeology, Eth ology & Anthropology of Eurasia, Vol. 44,

pp. 109-117.