CHAPTER III.

Distortion of the Toes and Joint—Various Causes—Want of Harmony between Shape of Foot and Shape of Shoe—Grown-in Nails—Influence of Stockings, Narrow-Toed Soles, High Heels, and Changing of Shoes—Faults of Lasts.

The doctrine concerning the shape and position of the toes is considered to be made sufficiently clear by what has been already advanced. As the best illustration of it, we copy from Dr. Meyer’s book a cut of the natural, healthy foot of a child (Fig. 8), in which the line of the great toe, continued backward, passes under the middle of the heel. By the side of this is placed a shoe-sole of the common form (Fig. 9), and which plainly does not harmonize with the shape of the foot. From the ball forward instead of being straight on the inside line, it slants off obliquely toward the middle of the toe, making as great an inclination or curve on that side as on the outside. As the toes of the foot cannot force the upper of a boot over the sole to any great extent, the form of the sole determines the shape in which the toes shall lie when they are inside the boot. The linec d, in the diagram, showswhere the great toe ought to be; but, far from being there, it is turned aside into the linec e, a position entirely unnatural. We will here quote again from the book, taking the liberty to italicize:

Fig. 8.

Fig. 9.

“It is quite clear that the foot must get into the shoe; and if the shoe differs in shape from the foot, it is no less plain that the foot, being the more pliable, must necessarily adapt itself to the shape of the shoe. If, then, fashion prescribes anarbitraryform of shoe, she goes far beyond her province, and in reality arrogates to herself the right of determining the shape of the foot.

“But the foot is a part of the body, and must not bechanged by fashion; for our body is a gift, and its several parts are beautifully adapted to the purposes for which they were intended.

“If, therefore, we in any way change its normal form,not only do we not improve, but we actually disfigure it.

“We do not, indeed at first sight, perceive the arrogant absurdity of which fashion is guilty in going so far as to determine the shape of our feet, because we are not alive to the fact that the case ispeculiarto the feet. We only see it influencing the shape of the shoe, and come to the conclusion that it may regulate this, as well as the cut of the coat. To this prevalent opinion we yield, regardless of the influence on the shape of the shoe, and thereby on the foot. As well, indeed, might fashion one day come to the conclusion thatfingersare inelegant, and decree that henceforth the hand be squeezed into a conical leather bag; as well, indeed, might she in one of her freaks, forbid the display of our arms, and bind them firmly to our bodies, like those of children in swaddling clothes.

“The shoe ought toprotectthe foot, but it has no right todistort its shape.”

Seeing, therefore, that the common form of boots and shoes, as now made, is not the true one, and that it arbitrarily forces the great toe into a false position, it follows that all the bad effects resulting from this false position are to be attributed directly to the incorrect form of the last and shoe. The first of these is a crowding togetherof all the toes, in which some are obliged to find their placesunder, and someabove, the more ambitious of them sometimes pushing their nails through the upper leather, the rubbing and chafing they meet making them sore, while the more humble are glad to curl themselves down in any way that will give them a place of comfort. When the crowding is not so great as to force them out of place there is still a constant pressure against each other that is liable to create corns between them.

Another effect is thegrowing in, or toone side, of the nails. The boot-upper presses the flesh against the nail of the great toe on one side, while there is a similar pressure from the smaller toes on the opposite side, and between both, the nail is almost compelled to grow into the flesh, if it grows at all. If the great toe gets the advantage, then the one next to it is likely to suffer in the same way, and all of them are liable to the same trouble. When the nail grows so far that its edge turns downward, the pressure against the sole, in walking or standing, is a more aggravated discomfort. Dr. Meyer says that “by degrees it [the toe] gets into a state of chronic inflammation, and may eventually become ulcerated, producing what is popularly known as ‘proud flesh.’ The ailment not only interferes with the use of the foot, but too often requires, for its relief, medical, and even operative interference.” A surgical operation of this kind, which consists in removing the nail entirely, we are assured, by those who have seen it, is an intensely painful thing to witness, and cannot be less so tobe borne. The following description of the nature of the trouble, and of the mode of treatment, is copied from Dr. R. T. Trall, for the benefit of those who may wish to treat it for themselves.

“Onyxis.—This distressing affliction consists in an incurvation of the toe-nail from a bruise or the pressure of a tight shoe, producing inflammation and ulceration, and followed eventually by fungous growths, or proud flesh, which is exceedingly tender and painful. The cure is slow but certain. The foot must be frequently soaked in warm water, until the soreness is so far abated that it can be handled without pain; then, with a probe, press pledgets of lint as firmly as can be borne under the most detached point of the nail, pressing them also between the nail and projecting portions of the flesh, as far as possible. Cover these with the wet compress, and apply a moderately tight bandage over the whole, frequently wetting the whole with warm, tepid, or cold water, as either temperature is most agreeable. The lints are to be pressed farther and farther under the nail, from time to time, and the foot should be soaked and dressed once or twice daily. When portions of the nail become free they may be cut off, and mild caustics may be employed to remove fungous or indurated growths, which do not yield to the other measures of treatment.”

Aslim-toed shoe—one that isthin, and scant in the upper—whatever be its width or shape, has a bad influence upon the nails, not only by inciting them to grow in, butby turning them down at the ends, and keeping them constantly irritated and sore, a condition which effectually prevents the toes from being of any use. The seller of such an article will sometimes try to persuade the wearer that it is a “good fit” when snug at the forward part, however loose elsewhere; and many persons are quite willing to be persuaded in this way. But if they are wise they will not attempt to wear anything that is not perfectly easy to the toes, for these may be allowed all necessary room, and still, if the fit is “just right,” there will be no wrinkling, nor any other bad appearance.

The next and most important of the difficulties springing from this source is the enlargement of the great-toe joint. We continue to quote from Meyer:

“Not less important are the evils arising at the root of the great toe from the same cause. It has already been stated that the pressure of the upper leather pushes the point of the great toe against the smaller toes. The joint at the metatarsal bone thus becomesbent aside, so that it forms a protuberance on the inner side of the foot. If the point of the toe is now pressed against the ground in walking, this protuberance must be made still greater, and so pressed more forcibly against the upper leather. At the same time, moreover, the great transverse wrinkle in the upper leather—the result of the bending of the toes—presses directly on the same point, and the protuberance at the root of the toe is thus constantly subjected to a twofold and very injurious pressure. In these circumstancesit is by no means wonderful that this joint becomes subject to a continual inflammation, which by extending to the bones must, in this situation, produce permanent and painful swellings, which become, in their turn, and even from slight causes, the source of inflammations and new growths of bone.

“In this manner arise those unseemly and painful swellings at the root of the great toe, which, either from mistaking their true nature, or from wilful deception, are called ‘chilblains,’ or ‘gout,’ just as one or the other term appears the most interesting. In many cases, moreover, this kind of inflammation of the bones, and their investing membrane, may lead to the formation of matter,and eventually to the disease known as ‘caries,’ or ulceration of the bone.”

Narrow-toedshoes furnish another influence strongly operating to produce large joints. The great toe is drawn farther than usual toward the others, and its joint thrown out in the opposite direction. All the toes are more crowded, until some of them are forced out of place while corns and grown-in nails are developed or made worse. Width at the ball alone will not prevent these effects. French and English styles are in this respect often pernicious. The whole tendency of narrow toes is toward deformity; and those who cannot because they happen to be the style, refuse to wear them, should make up their minds to accept the consequences with a good grace.

Another great cause of the prominence and swelling of the joint—which our author alludes to, but gives it hardly any of its real importance—is the backward pressure of the toe by shoes that are tooshort. This, in addition to causing sore nails, crowds the toes still more closely together, and pushes the joint still farther inward, away from its proper place. To illustrate.

Fig. 10.Fig. 11.a,Phalanges, or Bones of the Toe;b,Metatarsal Bone;c,Joint.

Fig. 10.Fig. 11.

a,Phalanges, or Bones of the Toe;b,Metatarsal Bone;c,Joint.

Supposing these to represent the bones of the great toe and its metatarsal bone—which, in their normal position, are on the same line—we can see that if the toe bonesaare bent toward the other toes first, and then pushed backward, it necessarily forces out the joint in the only direction in which itcanbend, which is inward. The greater and more constant the pressure against the end of the toe by the short boot or shoe, the larger the joint, and the more it will project from the inside of the foot; the more liable also to soreness, swelling, corns, bunions, inflammation, and settled disease, and the moreawkward, ill-shaped, and uncomfortable, not only to walk with but to look upon.

High heelsalso do their share toward bringing on this deformity. They cause the foot to pitch downward on the toes, sometimes pushing it a size farther forward into the boot than it would go if the heel was only moderately high, thus creating the necessity for alongerboot.The crowding of the toes is increased; and as they meet with resistance or a backward pressure from both sides and the end of the shoe, at the same time that there is aforward pressure from the heelby the weight of the body,of course the angle formed at the joint must be pushed out more acute, the footmaking room for itself by stretching and treading over the upper at the sides.

There is a peculiarity about thePlumerlast recommending it in this particular. The heel, on the bottom, is quite convex, which allows the heel of the foot to settle down into that of the boot more than usual, and thus what appears to be a high heel, outside, feels, on the foot, to be no higher than one made upon ordinary lasts an eighth of an inch lower. There is hence so much less pressure upon the ends of the toes.

A false habit, tending in the same direction, is that ofchangingthe shoes of children to make them wear evenly or prevent their treading over to one side at the heel. It is a practice productive of far more harm than good—a saving of shoe-leather at the foot’s expense.After one foot has shaped a shoe to itself, to put the other into itforcing the great toe into the curve made by the little toe and outside of the foot, must do much toward bending the toe permanently out of place.It should never be allowed or proposed. Give childrenright and leftshoes, and guard against their wearing on one side by good firm counters. It is their right, when obtainable, and anything less is injustice.

While the foot is growing, it easily adapts itself to its surroundings; and by wearing short boots and shoes it may be encouraged to grow into a bad shape in a few years. Most old people have joints deformed in this way. We have also seen them on the feet of young and beautiful women, where they seemed most sadly out of place. Young feet are often forced to grow into uncomely shape through the good intentions of parents, whose falsely-taught instinct of beauty induces them to put as small a shoe on the child’s foot as it will bear, fearing that if left to itself it will grow too long, or too wide, to be elegant in form. The motive of this action is most commendable, but its wisdom extremely doubtful and weak. Beauty, taste, elegance, are to be sought for everywhere and always. We have not the least sympathy with any attempt to depreciate them. But they are not to be sought by counteracting nature. On the contrary, nature is most trustworthy. If not interfered with, she will make the foot grow in due proportion to the size of the whole body; and every part will be developed in the right proportion to itself.

“Children of a larger growth” continue to carry out thesame false idea by wearing as short and narrow a boot as they can squeeze their foot into with any degree of comfort. While the object is to obtain a handsome foot,all such cramping inevitably defeats its purpose. The effect which it invariably has and must have, is to make the joints project, and add from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch to the foot’s width, leaving out of account the torture accompanying the process. Nobody will claim that large joints and extra width at this point make a good-looking foot, but they are the sure results, in greater or less degree according to the severity of the pinching, and the length of the time it is continued.

It is well to ascertain ifstockingsdo not have some effect in giving a bad shape to this part of the foot, although made of such yielding materials that they may at first thought, appear harmless. Mr. James Dowie, in a work published in England some years since, speaking of the toes being cramped, crowded, bent, and piled over each other, attributes part of this result to the stocking, and recommends the wearing of one havingtoeson it—similar to the fingers on a glove. There is no reason to doubt that this conclusion is correct, for while a stocking that is loose may be drawn into almost any shape to suit the toes, one which istight, short, and narrow-toed, must, and does, draw the toes together and keep them so, however favourable may be the form of the boot outside. It is a fact, too, that stockings are narrow and pointed at the toe; almost universally. The suggestion of puttingtoesto themis a good one. But if this is thought to be taking too much pains with such an article—though it is evidently impossible to take too much pains in dressing any part of the body so as to protect it from being injured in any manner—it is perfectly easy to make the stockingwiderat this part, leaving itnearly square, or with only a slight roundness at the end. This would be a very decided improvement, and cannot be urged too strongly.[2]

Like the defects of the shoe, those of the stocking must be felt more seriously by children. They are ignorant of the matter, and would be careless and inattentive even if they were not. But if parents will half do their duty by them, there is no reason why they should not grow up with well-formed feet, thankful for the care which has saved them from distortion and blessed them with pedal comeliness.

There is here, also, a question of the comparative taste and elegance of wide and narrow soles, which needs a little discussion. It is the practice with many persons to wear as narrow a boot or shoe as they can, thinking we suppose, that if they have not a narrow foot, theyought to have, and that by putting it into a narrow boot they prevent it from spreading. As such a boot is and will benarrow at the toe, the effect is just the opposite of that intendedas in the case ofshortones.The toes are drawn together, and the ball pushed out wider than before.Then besides this tendency tomakeit wider, the footlookswider in a shoe that is too narrow for it, because it treads the upper over,and the narrow toe makes it appear all the wider by contrast. Afootthat is narrow may wear a narrow-soled shoe with propriety; for awideone to attempt to do so is foolish. We have seen a lady’s boot trodden over so far that a hole had been worn through the upper on each side of the sole by its contact with the ground. The wearer doubtless thought it was necessary for her to wear a narrow sole to prevent her foot from spreading, and keep it in an elegant shape. She did not know that she was taking the most direct way to defeat her object, and that her true policy would have been to wear the widest-soled shoe she could get. This case was extreme, but it is quite common to see the upper worn through ononeside from the same cause. The right kind of shoe for a wide foot is one so wide on the sole that the upper will project over it on the sides but slightly, andwith as great a width of the toe, in proportion to the ball, as there would be in a narrow one. Such a shoe will make the foot appear narrower, by contrast, than it really is, and the greater the width of the toe, the more this effect is produced. Besides, the shoe or bootkeeps its proper shapemuch better and longer when not too narrow or too short. If thefootbeshortproportionately, as well as wide, the covering should be of goodlength—at least a full size to spare at the toe, after being worn a few days and fitted, or broken in. These doctrines may not be readily accepted, but let any one who doubts give them atrial, and we are willing to be judged by the opinion formed afterward.

There are those who appear to urge the idea that broad soles are eminently proper always, and for everybody, which doctrine we do not endorse; but we mean to say that persons who have wide feet naturally, or who have made them wide at the joints in the ways here pointed out, ought to wear wide soles. It is also quite certain that if people wore soles of the correct shape from childhood there would be a far less number than now of those feet, that require this extra width of sole, for nine-tenths of themare forced into a width which they would not have by nature, and, when once deformed, no pains taken in fitting them can make them lookwell, or like those which keep their proper shape.

Anarrowfoot must not be confounded with aslimone. Feet that are slim—that measure less than an average in circumference—are often foundwiderthan most of those of the same length which are of medium size or fulness. These are feet thatspread, and may generally be found on individuals of spare or muscular temperament. Such persons ought to wear boots made on wide lasts, with wide toes, though at the same time sufficiently slim to fit. As such lasts cannot easily be found ready-made, those having feet of this shape ought to possess a pair made expressly for themselves.

There is an opposite style of feet, those which are long and narrow, while they may be alsofull, or thick, vertically.These are usually found on persons who are tall, yet round, and fleshy in physique. They can wear boots made on lasts that are comparatively narrow, such as may be found at any shoe-shop. It is not intended to argue in favour of anyunnecessarywidth in either case, but simply to urge the necessity, not only for comfort,but especially for elegance also, of having sufficient width to accommodate the foot easily, and preserve the natural shape of both the foot and its covering.

Bad fashions oflastshave had much to do in producing a deformed condition of the feet, as well as the false ideas and tastes of the people. Shoemakers, and more especially last-makers, who should have studied the nature of the foot, and given the people, who looked to them for a correctly-shaped last and shoe, something truly and naturally adapted to its purpose, have failed in this part of their duty. The latter have made lasts of all varieties of shape except the true one, while the maker of the shoe has made a bad matter worse with his high and short heels.

Formerly the great majority of ladies’ shoes and gaiters were made upon lasts that werestraight, and the same is true even yet. Almost the whole of the cheaper kinds of work got up in the manufactories is of this style. Slippers are hardly ever seen made upon other than straight lasts. The whole custom is a wrong one, for this reason; the middle of the toe of shoes made upon straight lasts is nearer to the outside than it is in those made on rights-and-lefts. Hence they draw the great toe farther towardthe outside of the foot than do those of the latter kind,and have a greater effect in producing all the evils that go with deformed toes and joints. No woman ought to be asked to wear them, nor should she allow herself to do so if those of another form can be obtained. Girls whose feet are growing cannot have them forced into straight shoes, especially if tight, without perpetrating a kind of tyranny very similar in character to that of the Chinese. Right-and-left boots and shoes are the natural right of all men, women, and children. Men and boys have, in this respect, the advantage over their sisters, as their foot apparel is almost wholly of the better shape. There is no reason why women and girls should not have the benefit of the improvement in form, though it is only a slight one, and they are counselled to take it whenever they can. In fact, there is no excuse for straight shoes, except that they can be made a little more cheaply—that is, there is a little less expense for the lasts used. They do not wear more evenly than the others—on the contrary, they are quite as liable, if not more so, to tread over at the heel. They never fit the foot so well in the hollow, at the instep, or on the side. There is nonecessityfor their existence, for there is no form of foot-covering but might be made on crooked lasts with equal facility. Ladies’ slippers are believed to be the only article that isalwaysmade straight, and for these, right-and-left lasts, properly adapted to the purpose, might be used without the least difficulty. Considering these facts, and that there is but a slight advantage to themanufacturer, and to him only, in their production, and that the children and poorer class of women, who wear them—the most helpless classes in the community—are almost compelled to deform their feet in doing so, it becomes a disgrace to the shoemaking profession that straight shoes are not abolished.

Many right-and-left lasts are madeso nearly straightthat the difference in form, and the benefit arising from it, amount to but very little. This must be remedied by the people learning what is to be desired, and making a demand for it. It is sometimes argued that the straighter the last is, the less liable is the foot to tread the boot over to one side; but this we hold to be a fallacy, and that the liability to tread over, is determined by the shape of that part of the last between the heel and instep. The form of thetoe or forward parthas nothing to do with the matter. It is generally, however, an advantage to the foot, though not to the boot, if it succeeds in treading the latter over to theoutside. It thus gives the boot a more distinctly right-and-left shape, and can hence more easily preserve its own. When it goes overinside, there is a good prospect of a big joint being soon produced.

The last-makers have given us toes of many styles, from the turn-up toes an inch longer than necessary, to the stub-toes half an inch shorter than the foot; and from the round toe narrowed to a point, to the square one nearly or quite as wide as the ball. All that needs to be said of them is, that the wider they are, except the extreme justnoted, the better for the foot, at least while the present lasts are in use, and generally the handsomer also; that the long toe is unnecessary, and therefore unhandsome; while the short or stub toe is decidedly awkward and clumsy-looking, besides being injurious to the foot, and utterly unworthy of toleration by any person of sense or taste. The true and most tasteful shape will be found near the half-way point between the two extremes in each direction. Whether round or square is of no material consequence.

Here, then, we have found several causes for the deformities of the forward part of the foot—the crooked great toe, the cramped and distorted smaller ones, the corns between, the grown-in nails, the big joint, and the increased width. The cause first operating to produce them is the wrong shape of the shoe at the inside, which gives the oblique position to the great toe. Narrowness and shortness are stronger influences acting in the same direction, aided still further by extreme height of heels, by changing, by narrow-toed stockings, etc. And it is especially worthy of being noticed that the short and narrow toes, and the high heels often adopted to improve the foot’s appearance, do thus inevitably defeat that purpose.

The attention of those who regard their own foot-comfort is earnestly directed to the points and reasoning presented in this chapter. Just as earnestly it is desired that those whose principal aim in dressing the foot is its beauty, elegance, and perfection of form, should give a thoroughconsideration to what has been said. Both classes will easily see that, in order to gain the object sought, there must be a reform in the shape and style of the foot’s covering. The nature of that improvement is already partially shown—that is, as far as the toes are concerned—and will be shown fully in what is to follow.

The cuts below, showing some of the worst deformities of the forward part of the foot, and adding the force of illustration to what has been said, are an appropriate conclusion to this chapter. It will do no harm to contrast them with Fig. 8 and Fig. 3, previously given.

Fig. 12.

Fig. 13.

FOOTNOTES:[2]We have lately seen stockings for sale that were nearly square-toed, and these should obtain the preference in buying.

[2]We have lately seen stockings for sale that were nearly square-toed, and these should obtain the preference in buying.

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