People have been making shoes for at least 10,000 years. The oldest surviving footwear is a set of woven bark sandals found in Oregon, and the oldest known leather shoe, from a cave in Armenia, is about 5,500 years old. Since then footwear has moved from simple protection to a marker of status, and then, with rubber and factory production in the nineteenth century, to something almost everyone could afford.
In this guide
Footwear timeline
| Period | Development |
|---|---|
| About 10,000 years ago | Sandals woven from sagebrush bark, found at Fort Rock Cave, Oregon |
| About 3500 BC | One-piece leather shoe with laces, found in the Areni-1 cave, Armenia |
| About 3300 BC | Ötzi the Iceman’s shoes: bearskin soles, deerskin uppers, grass insulation |
| Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome | Sandals of papyrus, palm and leather; Roman military boots with hobnailed soles |
| Middle Ages | Turn-shoes sewn inside out; long pointed poulaines as a status symbol |
| 16th to 17th centuries | Platform chopines; heels spread from riding boots to court fashion |
| 19th century | Left and right shoes become standard; sewing and lasting machines; vulcanised rubber |
| 20th century | Sports shoes, mass-market sneakers, synthetic materials and cushioning technology |
| 21st century | Knitted uppers, advanced foams, 3D printing and recycled materials |
The earliest shoes
Because leather and plant fibre rot, very few ancient shoes survive. Those that do come from dry caves or ice. The Fort Rock sandals were woven from twisted sagebrush bark. The Armenian shoe was cut from a single piece of cowhide, laced along the top and stuffed with grass. Ötzi, the frozen man found in the Alps, wore surprisingly sophisticated shoes built for mountain cold. Evidence from toe bones suggests people may have worn some form of supportive footwear far earlier, tens of thousands of years ago.
Ancient civilisations
- Egypt: sandals woven from papyrus and palm leaves, with leather and decorated versions for the wealthy.
- Greece: a variety of sandals and soft boots; going barefoot was also common.
- Rome: footwear showed rank. Soldiers marched in caligae, heavy open boots with hobnailed soles, and citizens wore closed shoes outdoors.
- Asia: wooden clogs and straw sandals were worn in many regions, and climate and custom shaped distinct local styles.
- North America: soft leather moccasins were made in many regional patterns.
The Middle Ages and the rise of fashion
Medieval European shoes were “turn-shoes”, stitched inside out and then turned so the seams sat inside. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, fashionable men wore poulaines with toes so long that laws tried to limit them by rank. Wooden pattens were strapped underneath to keep shoes out of the mud.
Related: How to Get Tar Off Shoes Without Ruining Them
Heels and status
Heels are thought to have reached Europe from Persia, where riders used them to keep their feet in the stirrups. By the seventeenth century they were a fashion for wealthy men as well as women; Louis XIV of France was known for his red heels. In Venice, women wore chopines, platform shoes that could be extremely tall. Over the following centuries, heels gradually became associated mainly with women’s fashion.
The nineteenth century: shoes for everyone
- Left and right: for centuries most shoes were made “straight”, identical for both feet. Distinct left and right shoes became standard during the 1800s.
- Machines: the sewing machine and, later, machines for stitching soles sped up production. In 1883 Jan Matzeliger patented a machine that mechanised lasting, the most skilled step, and multiplied a factory’s daily output.
- Rubber: Charles Goodyear’s vulcanisation process, patented in 1844, made rubber stable and durable. Rubber-soled canvas shoes followed, known in Britain as plimsolls.
- Sizing: standardised sizes spread with factory production. The Brannock device for measuring feet arrived in the 1920s.
For how the process works today, see how shoes are made.
The twentieth century: the sneaker era
- Rubber-soled athletic shoes became mass-market products in the 1910s and 1920s, with canvas basketball and tennis shoes leading the way.
- Specialised sports shoes developed for running, football, tennis and basketball; see types of basketball shoes and what tennis shoes are.
- From the 1970s, the running boom brought foam midsoles and cushioning systems, and sports shoes became everyday wear.
- Synthetic materials, moulded soles and global manufacturing made shoes cheaper and more varied than ever.
Footwear today
Modern shoes use knitted uppers, engineered foams and carbon plates, and some parts are 3D printed. There is also growing attention to environmental impact, from recycled materials to repairable designs; see eco-friendly shoes. The basics, though, have barely changed: an upper, a sole, and a shape that follows the foot. For the parts of a modern sole, see shoe sole types explained.
Frequently asked questions
What are the oldest shoes ever found?
Bark sandals from Fort Rock Cave in Oregon, around 10,000 years old. The oldest known leather shoe, from Armenia, is about 5,500 years old.
When were left and right shoes invented?
Shaped pairs existed in ancient times, but for centuries most shoes were made identical for both feet. Distinct left and right shoes became standard in the nineteenth century.
Who invented high heels?
No single person. Heels are believed to have come from Persian riding footwear and became fashionable in European courts in the 1600s.
When were sneakers invented?
Rubber-soled canvas shoes appeared in the nineteenth century after vulcanised rubber was developed, and became mass-market products in the early twentieth century.
