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Matthew Plexman/ © Bata Shoe Museum
1. As a Class Act
These lifts from the early 1700s were the Manolo Blahniks of their day, though at the time, high heels were by no means for women only. Louis XIV was especially enamored of towering footwear (the Louis heel was later named in his honor). Across Europe, says Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, shoes then said more about status than gender: "You were expressing the fact that you weren't walking miles, working in the fields, or standing all day." By 1730, men had begun to abandon heels, and even women gave them up (for a bit) just after the French Revolution.
These lifts from the early 1700s were the Manolo Blahniks of their day, though at the time, high heels were by no means for women only. Louis XIV was especially enamored of towering footwear (the Louis heel was later named in his honor). Across Europe, says Elizabeth Semmelhack, curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, shoes then said more about status than gender: "You were expressing the fact that you weren't walking miles, working in the fields, or standing all day." By 1730, men had begun to abandon heels, and even women gave them up (for a bit) just after the French Revolution.
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MGM Photofest
2. As Dorothy's Ticket Out
At least four pairs of ruby slippers walked off the set of The Wizard of Oz, including this one on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Decked out in sequins and crystals, the "slippers" were really pumps, and they almost weren't ruby at all-L. Frank Baum's book specified silver. By the time the movie was produced, in 1939, the studio had picked red to show off its new Technicolor ability. The crimson dazzlers have been one of the museum's most popular attractions since they were donated anonymously in 1979. This year, even more shoe leather will be spent at the exhibition—it's the film's 70th anniversary.
At least four pairs of ruby slippers walked off the set of The Wizard of Oz, including this one on display in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Decked out in sequins and crystals, the "slippers" were really pumps, and they almost weren't ruby at all-L. Frank Baum's book specified silver. By the time the movie was produced, in 1939, the studio had picked red to show off its new Technicolor ability. The crimson dazzlers have been one of the museum's most popular attractions since they were donated anonymously in 1979. This year, even more shoe leather will be spent at the exhibition—it's the film's 70th anniversary.
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Photographed by Mitchell Feinberg
3. As a Better Business Model
The idea for Toms Shoes hit Blake Mycoskie on a trip to Argentina in 2006: Sell a pair, give a pair to a needy child. "I met so many kids there who didn't have shoes and had nasty scrapes on their feet," he recalls. Mycoskie launched a line of simple, colorful canvas slip-ons modeled on the traditional alpargata worn by local farmers. Within a year, the concept had taken off (especially after celebrities like—Renée Zellweger started wearing Toms)—and Mycoskie organized his first "shoe drop," a tour of rural Argentina on which he handed out 10,000 pairs. Since then, he's given away another 100,000 on four continents. "The joy the kids express is hard to describe," he says. "They laugh and cry—and run around playing soccer."
The idea for Toms Shoes hit Blake Mycoskie on a trip to Argentina in 2006: Sell a pair, give a pair to a needy child. "I met so many kids there who didn't have shoes and had nasty scrapes on their feet," he recalls. Mycoskie launched a line of simple, colorful canvas slip-ons modeled on the traditional alpargata worn by local farmers. Within a year, the concept had taken off (especially after celebrities like—Renée Zellweger started wearing Toms)—and Mycoskie organized his first "shoe drop," a tour of rural Argentina on which he handed out 10,000 pairs. Since then, he's given away another 100,000 on four continents. "The joy the kids express is hard to describe," he says. "They laugh and cry—and run around playing soccer."
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Photographed by Mitchell Feinberg
4. As a Giant Step for Mankind
As astronauts prep for NASA's lunar visit targeted for 2020, their boots are getting an overhaul. Key to the $30,000 prototype pictured here is its bright-yellow urethane lining, which can withstand the moon's 350°F temperature. Its designers say the material also adds flexibility, which scientists are now testing in a 50,000-year-old meteor crater in Arizona. Trekking through ash and sand in the desert is the best way to simulate a moonwalk—something lead designer David Graziosi compares to "wading through talcum powder 12 inches deep."
As astronauts prep for NASA's lunar visit targeted for 2020, their boots are getting an overhaul. Key to the $30,000 prototype pictured here is its bright-yellow urethane lining, which can withstand the moon's 350°F temperature. Its designers say the material also adds flexibility, which scientists are now testing in a 50,000-year-old meteor crater in Arizona. Trekking through ash and sand in the desert is the best way to simulate a moonwalk—something lead designer David Graziosi compares to "wading through talcum powder 12 inches deep."
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