CHAPTER VI.
Natural Character of the Instep—Causes, and Prevention, of Sores upon it—False Taste—Callosities of the Heel—Counters—Criticism of Lasts.
In the last chapter theinstepwas spoken of as a part of the whole arch of the foot. It is now to be looked at from the upper side. When the foot is in its best shape this part is elevated and prominent, with a well-marked and graceful rise from the ball upward, and a distinct projection or convexity at its upward portion, or about half way between the joint and the ankle, which is the upper surface of the first cuneiform bone, or the point where that bone joins the first metatarsal. This place is subject to callosities or thickenings of the skin, resembling corns, but more frequently is affected by soreness without any thickening of the skin. In the broken-down foot there is no convexity here at all, or but very little, the instep being a straight inclined plane from the ankle to the ball, and sometimes even bending downward. Insteps of this kind, whatever bad effects may come from their flatness, arenot afflicted in the way just described. Corns and callosities are never known to fasten upon them; an advantage which shows that some good is mixed with evil, in the foot as well as elsewhere. It is the best formed instep, on the contrary, that is most subject to callosity and tenderness.
This tenderness or callosity, whichever it may be, has one cause in the general tightness of the boot worn, and may have two others, arising from the shape of the lasts used. One of these is in the fact that the corresponding part of the last—technically called theconeof the instep—does not extend far enough forward, or is shaved off too much—is lefttoo flat, for the fitting of well-arched feet. There is not wood enough, proportionally, in the last at this point. The other cause comes from the whole instep, being placed too near themiddle, instead of on theside, where the foot has it. Mr. Watkins, who was referred to in the last chapter, thus explains this defect:
“If the instep is not in the right place, the foot swells in that place. I have seen very troublesome sores on the instep, and very difficult to cure, arising from the misplacing of the instep of the last. By a peculiar measurement[5]I have been enabled to obviate all difficulty in thatrespect, so that none of my customers now complain of tender insteps. The insteps on ordinary lasts are placed near the middle, which is erroneous, as the point of the instep lies on one side, and not in the centre, and common sense would indicate that the thicker parts of the lasts should be on the side of the large joints and toe, and the thinner on the outside of the foot, where the small toes are placed.”
It may seem, at first thought, as we look at a boot after it is made, that the leather will accommodate itself to the shape of the foot with the greatest ease. It appears perfectly pliable, ready to take any form or place that the foot may give to it; and this is true to a great extent, but it is not so entirely. When the boot is made the leather isstretched, and worked into a definite shape—that of the last. When a foot large enough to fill it is put inside, if it be of a different form there will be more or less force exerted to change the shape and adapt it to that of the foot. This is one reason of the difficulty often experienced the first time, or first few times, a new boot is worn. The resistance, pressure, and friction may be considerable, or only slight, with a corresponding effect.
This misplacement of the instep is true of the ordinary right-and-left lasts, and it is necessarily still more marked in thestraightlasts on which the great majority of ladies’ boots and shoes are made. If women’s insteps do not suffer from this difficulty more than men’s, it is because they wear softer material, and boots fitting less tightlythan those of men. The latter have an advantage of the former in this respect, as in some others; for while they have right-and-left lasts wholly, with ladies the straight last is the rule, the other the exception. As long as woman does not have her boots and shoes maderight and left, she is losing one of her “rights,” and subjecting her feet to an “oppression” which, unless they can bear a great deal, they will be likely to complain of in an unpleasant way. And this right is not so unimportant, but that it will be found best to give it a little attention, although the remonstrating “subject” may be in a very humble position.
The best thing to be done for feet with sore insteps is to have lasts made to fit them, and their coverings made by some one who knows the real source of the trouble. The sore will generally disappear soon after removing the pressure. The prevention of it is a much better thing, and will come with a more general understanding of the foot’s nature, and with the more correctly-shaped lasts and more perfect skilfulness which that knowledge will give to the shoe manufacturer.
There is another deformity of the foot, chiefly of the instep, which might be called thestub-foot. It is not the natural short, thick foot of short, stout persons, but seem an unnatural chubbiness, made by prevention of the foot’s growth lengthwise. It is an approximation to the Chinese foot—thick and large round the ankle and instep, but short and small at the toes. There is no correct proportion between one part and another. The arch is high,but thick and clumsy, without its natural regularity and beauty. The constant cramping of small shoes, worn when the feet are young, is most probably the cause of such development, by preventing a normal and perfect growth. As the forward parts of the foot, being smaller and weaker, are more easily cramped, the increase of size is at the heel, and around and above the arch.
It is a very Chinese idea of perfection which admires feet of this character. A correctly educated taste prefers to see a foot equally well developed in all its parts, and of a sizeproportionate to the size of the whole body. This is the idea of the artist, as opposed to that of the Chinaman, and has a reason for it, while the other has none.
If a chance is given the toes to develop themselves before the body gets its full growth, the fault may perhaps be partially outgrown; but after that, the foot will be almost sure to keep the same shape always. The thing to be remedied, is the strange taste which looks upon feet that are abnormally small with any more admiration than would be given to a small head, or short legs, or stumpy fingers. When people who are otherwise intelligent come to see that the foot has the same right to a full and natural growth that belongs to any other part of the body, they will not cramp it with tight boots, or consider a foot of this kind as any more beautiful than a pug nose, a dwarfed limb, or any other lack of development whatever. The defect will then become the result of chance or misfortune only, instead of intention, governed by a false standard of beauty.
It is not, however, intended to deny that there are many feet which are proportionally too large, made so by some occupation or habit demanding an extreme development of bone, muscle, and strength. Nature committed no mistake in their production. She made them no larger than was necessary to adapt them to the habits of their possessor, or of the parents from whom they were inherited. To attempt to improve them by cramping, is only to make them worse by distortion. They will probably decrease their size somewhat in time, if circumstances favour them in so doing; but if not, they are still no worse than big hands, big noses, big bodies, or many of those other unbalanced developments from which none of us can claim to be entirely free.
Callosities upon the heel, sometimes so bad as to be called corns, are often troublesome, and mostly so to those persons whose feet are bony and spare of flesh. In these, if they are not broken down, the heel bone, at its upper part, projects backward distinctly. If the boot worn slips at the heel, there is no flesh over the bone to ease the pressure and friction of the leather, and the skin must thicken for its own protection. After a while it becomes so thick, callous, and hard, that every pressure upon it hurts the bone, as much as before it was formed. It has become similar to a hard corn, and must be removed. This can often be done without any softening, by carefully cutting, scraping, or lifting up gradually with the knife. It will probably grow again, and need relifting occasionallyas long as the irritation continues. It is due to flat feet to say that they usually escape these annoyances, as well as sores of the instep.
Slipping of the boot at the heel, is almost always the fault of the boot-maker. It may come from bad cutting, from bad fitting of the upper, from bad lasting, and from badly shaped lasts upon which the boots are made. When the cutting is wrong—which affectsmen’sboots mainly—it is the leg through the ankle that is too large, or there is some defect that will not allow the upper tolastproperly. Sometimes it is fitted badly, so as to produce the same result. More often than either of these it is the workman, who neglects to draw it over the last in the right way; sometimes from want of knowledge, and sometimes from carelessness or indifference. The error consists in not drawing it over the toe sufficiently tight to make it fit closely at the heel.
A bad fit upon the foot is another cause, in addition to those mentioned; and it is also true that the heels of well-arched feet are more liable to slip than those whose arches are more or less flattened down.
Still another and very decided influence in producing callosities on the heel, is a counter that is hard and stiff at its upper portion. Counters of this kind are very common, and ought to be as commonly avoided. The stiffness of a countershould be at the bottom of it, where there can hardly be too much, while the upper half, or more, should taper to a thin edge, that is soft and flexible. Then,while firm at the proper place, it bends and fits snugly to the heel, preventing its slipping; when, if it stands up straight and stiff throughout, the foot will slip almost invariably.
Lasts, particularly boot lasts, are at fault in this respect generally. Those upon which shoes and slippers are made are so shapedas to force the shoe to set tightly at the heel and ankle. The principle upon which they are formed is well known, and is a correct one. It is difficult to see why it should not be carried further in its application, and govern the making of lasts forboots and gaitersas well as of those intended forlow shoes. The necessity is the same in both these styles; there is only adifference in degree, which is greater in thelow shoeandslipperthan in thehigh gaiterandboot. The tightness at the ankle which prevents slipping, is supplied, more or less perfectly, in side spring gaiters, and those that arelaced. Lacing compels the boot to fit closely, whether it does so easily or not. In men’s boots, where there is no lacing this effect is produced only by having them so small about the heel and ankle that the foot can hardly move at all after it is crowded inside. This may, or may not, be too tight for comfort, but it is doubtful if there is need of its being so for the sake of having a well-fitting boot. The fit can be produced in the same way as in the slipper or shoe, and the demand for doing it is the same,only not to the same extent. The slipper has nothing to keep it on the foot, unless strings are resorted to,except the tightnesslengthwise caused by the peculiarity of the last. A boot, by covering the instep is held more securely, yet it often slips at the heel, and is all the more likely to do so when the foot is well arched.
It seems to us that the way to remedy this trouble in boots is precisely the same as the means taken topreventit inshoes: that is, to makemore spring in the last forward of the instep; in other words, a greater curve on the bottom. The amount of thisspringor curve need not be so great as in the shoe last, for the reason just stated, that the boot is confined at the instep, while the shoe is not, to the same extent. A good shoemaker would not like to make anOxford shoeupon a boot last, although it is laced well up toward the ankle. Why should he be willing to make a boot on it, when the boot is confined at the instep no more than the shoe? There is the same danger of slipping in both cases, and why should it not be guarded against in the same way? Every one who has made or sold shoes knows that a slipper, or low shoe of any kind, will fit on the foot much better if made on a shoe last; that it is less liable to be loose at the sides, and to show big wrinkles across the ball; that, in short, itmustbe made on such a last. The same reasoning and the same rule applies almost as well to the boot or gaiter. If there is any exception, it is the side-spring boot, with its elastic sides to draw the surface smooth, and even this is not an exception when the material is leather, though it may be when cloth of any kind is used. In fact, there is no kindof foot clothing manufactured but would have a better fit upon the foot, both in front and at the heel, sides, and ankle, if a last more closely resembling the common shoe or slipper last was used in the making. There may not be, and we are confident thereisnot, a necessity for having it soflat in the shankas the common slipper last, nor sowidethrough the same region, but the upward curve of the forward part should be nearly or quite as great. The curve of the shank might be very nearly the same as that of the hollow of the foot, while at the toes it may curve, we will say, one-half as much as the whole bend of the toes in walking. This form makes it a shoe last at the fore part, while the shank is but little different from the ordinarybootlast. The part between the heel and instep need not be so wide at the bottom, nor, perhaps, so narrow at the top, as the best shaped lasts for shoes. It is believed possible, however, to make the shank sufficiently wide, at a slight distanceabovethe bottom, to accommodate the foot easily, while it may be suddenly narrowedbelowsufficiently to allow a narrow-shanked sole to be made upon it, if desired, without difficulty. If so, this would be the blending oftastewithcomfortin the fit. The outside edge would be a littlelowerthan the other, as it is in the foot. Perhaps the whole may be well described as half-way between the extremes of the two different styles. There would be no difference between those designed for men and those for women, except in width and bulk—none in the general form.
It may be feared that a tongued boot—patent leather or Napoleon—may be more difficult to draw on the foot if made upon a last of this style. We believe that it can make but very little difference, probably not any after the boot is bent in the shank, while itwilldo much to prevent slipping at the heel when cut with a large ankle, as is usually the case. The pitch of the leg will be very nearly the same when on the last as when the boot is worn.
It may be observed, however, that an improvement has lately been made in many lasts by giving them a greater degree of this curve on the bottom. But it is easy to carry it to an extreme. The sole can be curved too much as well as left too straight. Men’s lasts of medium size have been made with the toes raised an inch and a half above the level of the ball and heel; which is half an inch more than is necessary, or useful. Too much spring, in a thick-soled, stiff boot, prevents the straightening of the toes, while in a thin one, where the toes can be straightened, it may create longitudinal wrinkles in the upper, near the sole at the inside joint. An average spring of an inch in men’s lasts, and three-fourths of an inch in those for women, is not far from the proper standard.
Forms of lasts have always been subject to change. Fifteen or twenty years ago boot lasts were made very hollow in the shank, and very much curved upward at the toe. After that came the stub-toes—flat in shank, andwith scarcely any curve at all; and, in addition to all the changes fashion has imposed, besides the two indicated, every manufacturer seems to have a style of his own, more or less distinct. The principles which should govern their form seem to be very loosely understood, and hence all the differing shapes and styles.
All this is exactly the opposite of what it should be. We have no more right to change the shape of lasts every few years than we have to change that of the foot, and to do this, for it amounts to nothing less, when Nature has formed it exactly in the best way to adapt it to its design and use, is simple absurdity. To change either is just as foolish as it would be to make hats that would flatten the head on the back or sides, and compel it to grow in an upward direction. The whole matter of the shape of lasts is something which fashion has no right to meddle with, unless, it may be, to round or square the toes. It has no right tonarrowthem beyond a certain limit, nor even at all except from the outside. The business of the last-maker is to learn what is the true shape of the natural, healthy foot, and then to imitate it as closely as possible, making only the slight differences for different kinds of coverings that have been pointed out. And when so formed, let it be considered as a thing not to be altered, except to make it resemble the foot still more perfectly. Fashion and taste may change and dictate the cut and style of the upper parts of the boot or shoe to almost any extent, but they must not be allowed to shorten the lengthof the heel, nor to interfere in any manner with the shape of the last.
We have been somewhat particular in description, for the sake of influencing the makers of lasts and boots, as well as for the comfort of those who are to wear the latter. When these principles govern in its manufacture, the boot will fit almost as easily at the first putting on as it will after a week’s wearing. The trouble of “breaking in” will be nearly abolished. It may also be promised that slipping at the heel will be of rare occurrence, and the callosities produced by it be got rid of with little difficulty. When once removed they will not be likely to come again, with a boot that causes no irritation.
FOOTNOTES:[5]A measurement for such cases may be taken by drawing the strap-measure from thepoint of the insteparound theheel, to give the size, while the distance between the same two points, in a straight line, should be taken by thesize-stick, in the same way we take thelengthof the foot, to show how far forward the point of the instep ought to be located on the last. The measurearoundthe foot at the latter place must also be taken.
[5]A measurement for such cases may be taken by drawing the strap-measure from thepoint of the insteparound theheel, to give the size, while the distance between the same two points, in a straight line, should be taken by thesize-stick, in the same way we take thelengthof the foot, to show how far forward the point of the instep ought to be located on the last. The measurearoundthe foot at the latter place must also be taken.
[5]A measurement for such cases may be taken by drawing the strap-measure from thepoint of the insteparound theheel, to give the size, while the distance between the same two points, in a straight line, should be taken by thesize-stick, in the same way we take thelengthof the foot, to show how far forward the point of the instep ought to be located on the last. The measurearoundthe foot at the latter place must also be taken.