CHAPTER X.
Miscellaneous—Criticism of Different Forms and Fashions—Elasticity—Sensitiveness—Rubbers and Water-proof Leather—Cure for Sweating—Qualities of a good Covering.
It has been said that fashion should never be allowed to change the shape of the sole, or interfere with the form of the lasts used in the construction of the foot’s coverings. This restriction, however, does not apply to the materials of which they are made, nor the form into which theuppersmay be cut. The latter may be of a great variety of forms, and the material of almost any kind or quality, and of all colours and descriptions of ornamentation. Yet there are many particulars that are matters of style now, which will give way to something different in another year, or in two or three years. Each of the different kinds of boots has certain peculiar advantages which, in addition to its being fashionable, contribute to make it popular. The side-spring boot, that has been a favourite so long, seldom slips at the heel, and this is a decidedly good point; it also, by fitting closely at the ankles, gives a feeling of snugness and security which is comfortable,while it admits of perfect freedom in all movements of the ankle in walking. There is less trouble in putting it on and off than with most other descriptions of boots and shoes which is a recommendation to many people who value time or dislike extra labour.
TheBalmoral bootfor ladies has its recommendation in itssuperiority of fit. This has made, and keeps it, a favourite, causing it to be more generally worn than any other. The mariner of lacing enables the wearer to draw it smooth and snug over the instep and around the heel and ankle—an advantage possessed by no other, except, partially, by the side-laced boot; which is likely to come again into favour.
ThePolish boottakes the place of the Balmoral when a greater height upon the leg is required. There is no other difference in its form, and the quality of fit is the same. Its worst disadvantage is the amount of time required in lacing and unlacing it, although, when made of thick leather, it may have a slight cramping effect upon the muscles of the ankle.
TheButton boot, often called the Hungarian, when cut high like the Polish, is at this time the most fashionable. It is quite as handsome, but has not usually the neatness of fit which the Balmoral possesses.
One style, not generally introduced, but of which a pair has been made occasionally, is superior to the Polish or Hungarian in that there is only half as much trouble in lacing. It may be made very high—thirteen inches, ifdesired—being laced or buttoned about as far up as the Balmoral, when the upper part of one quarter is folded over past the opening, and fastened with two or three handsome clasps attached to elastic straps, which give and retract sufficiently to accommodate the action of the leg, while at the same time the leg is snugly fitted. This is a good heavy winter boot for ladies, where an extreme height or length of leg is in demand. TheHighland buckleis similar to it, the part that laps over being fastened with one inelastic strap. We have also noticed a high boot made with gores like the side-spring—one at the ankle and two above on each side—which would seem to be a very convenient thing to put on, but one that needs the best gores to make it serviceable. It is not probable that either of these varieties will be extensively popular. The first is of the three the most deserving.
The quality needed by all laced, buckled, or buttoned boots iselasticityat the leg, ankle, or instep, such as is possessed at one point—the ankle—by the side-spring. A great advantage would be gained if this elasticity could be extended down even to the ball or joint. One purpose of it isto give free play to the muscles of the leg and ankle, and also allow the foot to lengthen and spread without hindrance as its arches expand under the weight of the body in walking or standings and another is to keep the upper closely drawn over all parts of the foot, ankle, and leg, when the arches are contracted and the muscles inactive, as in a state of rest; both objects—ease to the foot andbeauty of fit—being secured by the same means. Buckle and button boots for gentlemen, with this quality supplied at the ankle by a narrow goring on one side of it, while the buckles or buttons are on the other side, have lately been made. The gored Oxford shoe supplies the elasticity at the instep. Perhaps some other style can be invented that will do as much for the ball and transverse arch as these kinds have done for the parts above. Any boot or shoe with this peculiarity is superior to the same thing without it. It must not, of course, be supposed that such a shoe will fit a thick or a slim foot equally well, for the elastic may be too tight for ease in one case, and too loose for a good fit in the other.
In connection with this matter, strong elastic cords for laces are suggested as worthy of a trial in Balmoral and Polish boots. If successful, they accomplish the same result as elastic goring, and, besides, may be drawn tightly or loosely to meet the defect of the boot, or suit the convenience or taste of the wearer.
Cloth and leather materials are joined together in ladies’ work in all sorts of proportions. In regard to this practice it may be said that those kinds of shoes in which the higher part is made of cloth or lasting, and the lower and forward parts of leather, are to be preferred for one reason: the softer part at the ankle allows of more freedom and ease to the muscles, while the leather below serves all the purposes it would if extending throughout, and thus the advantages of both are combined. There isno difficulty in making this union, whatever thecutof the boot may be—whether gored, laced, or buttoned.
Tender feet may find what suits their wants in the softer kinds of kid and morocco, when cloth is not preferred. There is no reason why a woman’s boot, though a heavy one, should be hard and stiff; as a good quality of oiled morocco, pebbled calf, or calf-kid leather, to be obtained almost anywhere, will commonly be found pliable enough, even for moderately sensitive corns. Still more softness may be given by double linings of flannel.
There is no leather worn by ladies that is water-proof, and that quality ought not to be expected. Their heaviest boots are made with a double sole and double upper, which give additional warmth, and protect against ordinary dampness. But the only thing they have as a sure protection against wet is rubber. Rubber sandals or shoes for the sidewalk or a rainy day, and high rubber boots for snow, are a complete security.
Men are, in this respect, better provided for. There are several kinds of leather worn by them which, if saturated with grease or special preparations, will be water-proof, though exposed for a considerable time. They have the benefit of rubber besides.
The Napoleon tongued boot, for a heavy one, is supposed to have a superiority of fit about the ankle, and is more tasteful in a general way.
The double-footed boot is considered, with some reason, to bewarmerthan a single one of the same thickness.For men’s feet that are very sensitive to cold, perhaps the best thing is a doubled boot, having the inside part, or foot-lining, made of fur-calf—calf skin dressed with the hair on—or some other kind of fur. Arctic overshoes are very excellent for riding in cold weather, provided they are not too small. Cork soles, covered with wool or flannel, for either sex, are another help toward keeping the feet warm, with which, in addition to flannel linings and other provisions, the most cold-footed ought to be tolerably comfortable. It must not, however, be expected to keep the feet warm in any kind of a covering that istight.
But as this kind of sensitiveness is, in healthy persons, very much a matter of habit, it is perhaps quite as well for such to accustom themselves to wearing an ordinary doubled boot through the winter, unless much exposed, and put on a light boot, shoe, or gaiter for the summer. Appropriateness and adaptation to weather or circumstances are always to be considered. A heavy leather boot with double sole is as much out of place and time in a warm day, as a light cloth gaiter in a snow-storm. While the latter would expose the foot unnecessarily, the first, besides being uncomfortable, keeps the foot in an unnaturally sensitive condition. It is not intended to make any suggestions toinvalids. We only state the well-known rule that exposure to cold makes the feet, or any other part of the body, more hardy, when there is an ordinary state of health, or sufficient blood in the systemto be easily drawn to the surface by this demand. Where there is too little vitality for this, the experience of the person or the counsel of the physician is the best guide. So also in regard to dampness or wetting the feet. While making no law for sickly or feeble constitutions, it seems to us very evident that the more often the feet are exposed to damp or wet, the greater the ability acquired by the system to resist it;[12]and that when the feet happen to get wet only occasionally, the consequences of the exposure are proportionately more serious. It is probable that if care were taken to keep the feetcomfortably warmwhen wet, either by exercise, as in walking, or in some other manner, there would be very little danger from the wet alone, unless in cases of invalid feebleness, or where they were dampened so seldom that the intelligence of the physical system was unprepared for such an occurrence.
One of the well-established facts of physiology is that anything worn upon the feet which, like rubber or patent leather, prevents the passing off of the insensible perspiration,is detrimental to the health. Those who regard the organic laws as having any sacredness, will not use patent leather boots covering the whole foot, for constant wear, but limit them to particular occasions. Rubbers ought to be removed, and something else substituted in their place, as soon as the feet come out of the wet which occasions their being put on. The same is true of all boots that are water-proof. They should be worn only when times of exposure make them necessary. This is sufficiently well known with regard to rubbers; but few know that leather boots are objectionable, for the same reason, in proportion as they are watertight. There are comparatively few of them which are perfectly so; yet there are many, which, worn as they are, day after day, in dry weather as well as wet, must, by retaining a large part of the foot’s perspiration, have an unhealthful effect. It is a good practice to bathe the feet after removing a pair of water-proof boots which have been worn during the day. With many men this is a necessity, and it would be such with many more if they knew all the requirements of the laws of hygiene, to say nothing of any other reason. To give the boots themselves a washing-out occasionally might be advantageous. The feet must be allowed to perspire naturally, or the skin in some other part is liable to be overtasked; and it is stated by medical authorities that skin diseases have been produced by neglect of the feet in this particular.
The following cure for abnormal sweating of the feet is taken from one of our first-class periodicals;[13]and from thenature of the remedy it would seem that it ought to have the effect indicated.
“Pulverized tannin sprinkled inside the boots or shoes in three days prevents tender feet from perspiring and blistering. Tanning thus applied, rapidly strengthens and hardens the skin, softened by the simultaneous action of moisture and heat; perspiration being thus reduced to the proper degree, without its healthy action being in the slightest interfered with, the exhalations as a matter of course cease to be offensive. The cessation of disagreeable odours is explained by the fact that the products of the ammoniacal decomposition of the skin are immediately combined with the tannin and so carried off.”
Rubber-soled shoes for ladies, with leather or other material for the uppers, have been manufactured to a slight extent; and, as far as we know, are a success. The objection on account of health does not apply to them seriously, because the rubber is at the bottom. Possibly, however, an uncomfortable effect may be produced upon the sole of the foot.
Water-proof serge or lasting, also, is among the late inventions. It is claimed to be sufficiently porous to allow the escape of perspiration, yet water-proof under all ordinary exposure. The two qualities are incompatible and if really water-proof it is only fit, like rubber, to be worn occasionally.
Cloth materials of different kinds have been much worn. They permit a partial saving of leather, and are equallyhandsome. They are light, soft, may be made sufficiently warm, and are far more favourable to health. They answer nearly every requirement for a good shoe, except the defence against dampness; and their wearing ought to be encouraged. The defect named must be supplied by rubbers.
Nearly all the coarser and cheaper kinds of men’s shoe goods have the bad quality of general stiffness. Their wearing makes, in a very decided and proper sense,stiff feet. They are all the worse for having pegged soles. Whether the soles are curved or straight makes not much difference, for the stiffness prevents the use of either the upper or lower set of the foot’s muscles. As these goods can not be generally manufactured at the present time without being made stiff by pegs, in addition to the firmness of the leather, there is but little chance for improvement. Those obliged to wear them are advised to do so only so far as they are compelled, and to keep the upper parts in as pliable a condition as possible by frequent applications of oil. It is to be hoped that something softer will some time take their place.
The value of all these various styles, and of any other that may come up hereafter, may be tested by the presence or absence of the following general qualities: sufficient porosity of the upper to admit the passage of the insensible perspiration; softness and pliability sufficient to allow of ease and comfort to the foot in all its movements; flexibility and elasticity that will yield to accommodate the action of the muscles at the ankle and top of the foot, yetdraw the upper tight enough to fit smoothly; general good shape and proportion; flexibility of sole; strength for protection and service. The more of these there can be combined into any species of foot-clothing the better will the foot be protected and preserved, and at the least expense of money and trouble in proportion to the benefit gained.
THE END.
BILLING, PRINTER, GUILDFORD, SURREY.
FOOTNOTES:[12]It may become an important problem to the physiologist and physician to determine whether the same law does not hold good in respect towhateveris naturally injurious to the human constitutionin any way, so long as its resisting poweris not overbalanced. If all kinds of unhealthy conditions, surroundings, and exposures can be made to produce the good effects of healthful stimulation when made use of to the proper extent, however little that may be, while only past that limit they become destructive, then a change will come over a great many notions and practices. Some facts are reconciled by such a theory which are otherwise quite contradictory.[13]Appleton’s Journal—department devoted to Science.
[12]It may become an important problem to the physiologist and physician to determine whether the same law does not hold good in respect towhateveris naturally injurious to the human constitutionin any way, so long as its resisting poweris not overbalanced. If all kinds of unhealthy conditions, surroundings, and exposures can be made to produce the good effects of healthful stimulation when made use of to the proper extent, however little that may be, while only past that limit they become destructive, then a change will come over a great many notions and practices. Some facts are reconciled by such a theory which are otherwise quite contradictory.
[12]It may become an important problem to the physiologist and physician to determine whether the same law does not hold good in respect towhateveris naturally injurious to the human constitutionin any way, so long as its resisting poweris not overbalanced. If all kinds of unhealthy conditions, surroundings, and exposures can be made to produce the good effects of healthful stimulation when made use of to the proper extent, however little that may be, while only past that limit they become destructive, then a change will come over a great many notions and practices. Some facts are reconciled by such a theory which are otherwise quite contradictory.
[13]Appleton’s Journal—department devoted to Science.
[13]Appleton’s Journal—department devoted to Science.