Shoes

Shoes are popular footwear items that protect the human feet from the elements and tough environmental conditions. Shoes are essentially designed to provide utmost comfort to the person while walking. They protect our feet from stones on the ground and heat that may emanate from the ground surface.

The first shoes were probably the crude footwear worn by primitive men. These were crafted from materials like leaves, grass, animal skins and wood. The Romans are credited with developing the modern shoe. Thereafter, shoe styles underwent many changes throughout the middle ages. The shoes of today are crafted from leather, rubber, canvas, etc. Nowadays, some of the common shoe categories include the balmorals, moccasins and high-heeled shoes like stilettos that are designed exclusively for women. Shoes can also be classified according to their usage, such as dance shoes or snow shoes. Special shoes (made mostly of rubber) are especially designed for athletes to provide traction for superior performance.

A shoe consists of the insole, the outsole and the heel. The bottom of a shoe is known as the sole. The outsole is the portion that touches the ground, whereas the insole is the part over which the feet are placed. The insoles can be replaced and removed in some shoes. The heel is the bottom rear portion of the shoe that absorbs the shock on the heel of the foot.