What Do Your Shoes Say About You?

    How did you choose the shoes you are wearing today? Did you
slide into your most comfortable ones? Did you select them to go
with the outfit you are wearing? Do you have plans that require
special shoes? Did weather conditions influence your choice? Did
you put on the same kind of shoes that your friends would be
wearing or did you choose a pair that made you feel different and
unique? Were you making a fashion statement or a political state
ment with your choicer? Do your shoes express your mood? Do you
plan to wear the same shoes all day, or change them later on? How
about tomorrow?
    Shoes tell a lot about their wearer. Sometimes they give clues
about what the person is going to do. We recognize the shoes of
a ballet dancer, a tap dancer, a runner; a cowboy, a soccer player, a
construction worker, a nurse, a firefighter, a fisherman.we can
make guesses about the personallity of the wearer-a sensible person,
an active person,one who likes to be fashionable, different, or
comfortable. Shoes might tell us whether the wearer is wealthy.
Sherlock Homes could judge a man's occupation by his boots.
    We could make an estimate of a persons height by the sizes of
his shoes. If we examined how the shoes have changed shape with
wear and the places where they are most worn out, the shoes
might tell us something about the wearers foot structure and how
he walks and stands.
   Of course, we can easilly be deceived by all these clues. Shoes
that w,ere originally made for special purposes ftequendy have
been adopt-ed by people who found. them fashionable, comfortable,
or useful for a different purpose. Shoe fashions are borrowed from
all times and places. Men and women adapt fashion ideas from
each other; some Shoes are not always made specifically for left and rigbt
feet; some shoes can be worn on either foot. People sometimes
force their feet into tiny shoes to make the feet seem smaller, and
downs wear huge shoes to lookfunnJt Special pads m shoes can adjust
irregularities in foot suucture so that shoes wear out normally.
    Almost as soon as possible people first started protecting their feet with
shoes they began to experiment with techniques and materials to
make sboes that fit well and suited their needs. They wanted shoes
for the same reasons we do today. Shoes could make the wearers
look special and could help them do their jobs safely. They devised
footwear for traveling through mud and snow and set aside shoes
for special occasions and ceremonies. Sometimes people have
worn shoes to identify themselves with a particular group. Since
early times people have wanted beauty in their lives and have
needed to express their individuality and, for these reasons, have
created shoes of different styles and materials.