The most expensive shoes ever sold are Dorothy's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz", which were auctioned for over $32 million!
The Moon Star Shoes are among the most expensive footwear in the world, valued at $20 million! Designed by Italian designer Antonio Vietri, these extravagant
shoes were unveiled in Dubai as part of a luxury fashion event.
Materials: Made from solid gold, diamonds, and even a meteorite fragment.
Unique Concept: Inspired by space exploration, the shoes symbolize luxury beyond Earth.
Exclusivity: These heels are considered one of the most expensive shoes ever created, though they have yet to be officially certified by Guinness World Records.
Debbie Winghamheels are a masterpiece of luxury and craftsmanship, valued at $15.1 million! These extravagant stilettos are adorned with rare pink and blue diamonds, along with flawless
white diamonds set in platinum, gold-thread stitching, solid gold zippers, and 24-karat gold-painted leather. Debbie Wingham, known for her opulent designs,
has also created the world's most expensive dress and other lavish fashion pieces; she collaborated with artist Chris Campbell to design these $15.1 million heels.
Materials: The heels feature 18K gold zippers, gold-thread stitching, and 24K gold-painted leather.
Diamonds: Thousands of diamonds, including pink, blue, and flawless white diamonds, are set in platinum.
Handcrafted Details: The shoes are adorned with handcrafted Arabian Jasmine flowers made from fine leather.
Unique Piping: The piping on the shoes was designed to resemble icing on a cake, reflecting Wingham’s crossover into luxury cake artistry.
The Stuart Weitzman Rita Hayworth Heels are a stunning tribute to Hollywood glamour, valued at $3 million! These luxurious heels are adorned with diamond, ruby, and sapphire earrings
that once belonged to the legendary actress Rita Hayworth. Stuart Weitzman is known for creating ultra-luxurious footwear, but these heels stand out for their historical significance
and timeless elegance.
Material: Made from burnt sienna satin, a unique and elegant color choice.
Jewelry: The centerpiece of the shoes features earrings worn by Rita Hayworth, adding a personal touch of history.
Exclusivity: Unlike other high-value shoes, these heels are not for sale—they belong to Hayworth’s daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.
Most American shoes are made in Vietnam (Adidas, Asics, Converse, New Balance, Nike, Puma, Reebok, Skechers, Vagabond and Vans), and China (Adidas, Asics, Converse,
New Balance, Nike, Puma, Skechers, and Vans). Other countries, which have also made some American shoes, include Argentina (Adidas, Asics, Nike, Puma, and Vans), Bangladesh (Puma),
Bosnia (Nike), Brazil (Asics, Nike, and VEJA), Cambodia (Adidas, and Asics), Germany (Adidas), Herzegovina (Nike), India (Adidas, Converse, and Nike), Indonesia (Adidas, Asics, Converse, Nike, and Puma),
Italy (Adidas), Japan (Asics, and Nike), Mexico (Vans), Myanmar (Adidas), Portugal (Birkenstock), Romania (Puma), South Korea (Nike, and Vans), Sri Lanka (Nike), Taiwan (Nike), Turkey (Adidas),
and USA (Vans).
The most popular shoes that people like to wear:
Nike Air Force 1: The shoes have been used for street play, professional play, and fashion and casual wear; its versatile design has been loved since the '80s.
Adidas Yeezy: Kanye West's line, blending style and exclusivity; Adidas' Yeezy saga appears to be almost at an end.
Converse All Stars and Chuck Taylor: Both shoes are made with canvas, while All Star's upper is light like a tote bag, lighter than any pair of jeans,
Chuck Taylor shoes have much thicker canvas; they have been a staple for decades, iconic in their own right.
Vans Old Skool: This shoe, which was the first Vans shoe to feature the now iconic side stripe, is a classic low-top sneaker with an iconic design and a slim, minimalist build.
Skate culture to street style, these are always in demand.
Gucci Ace Sneakers: Combining luxury and casual wear seamlessly; introduced in 2016, the Gucci Ace sneaker took the luxury footwear space, its classic continental style
remains relevant today, with the iconic sneaker delivering on the brand's luxury aesthetic.
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23 shoe provides stability and arch support, and is excellent for flat feet and overpronation.
Adidas Ultraboost Light Running shoe known for cloud-like comfort, sock-like fit, and durability, is great for both running and walking.
New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080 V12 is a lightweight and supportive shoe suitable for all-day wear.
HOKA Bondi SR Leather Trainer shoe offers plush cushioning and stability, molds to your feet, provides comfort and support; it'sdeal for walking and running.
Shoe, outer covering for the foot, usually of leather with a stiff or thick sole and heel, and generally reaching no higher than the ankle.
The oldest-known leather shoe dates back to about 3,500 BCE and was discovered in southern Armenia. It was found in the Areni-1 cave and provides evidence of early footwear use.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, shoes became extremely long and pointed. King Edward III even enacted a law limiting the length of shoe points (called “crakows”) to 2 inches, but some exceeded 18 inches.
High heels force your foot into a downward position, increasing pressure on the forefoot. This affects your overall posture, leading to an unnatural stance and stiffness. The higher the heels, the greater the pressure.
High heels were worn by both men and women in ancient Persia. The high heel descends from the riding footwear of medieval Persian cavalrymen. These heels, which served a functional purpose, helping secure the rider’s feet
in the stirrups while on horseback, later became associated with European nobility. In 17th-century Europe, high heels were initially a sign of women’s high social status.
Wearing heels became associated with wealth due to their connection with horseback riding, which was expensive and time-consuming; the practical use of heels set the standard for most horseback riding shoes throughout history.
In Ohio, women are prohibited from wearing patent leather shoes in public.
In North Dakota, it is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.
It is illegal to walk down a street in Maine with your shoelaces untied.
In China one of the bride’s red shoes is tossed from the roof to ensure happiness for the bridal couple.
The Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada, is the only shoe museum in North America.
The average person walks 2,000 miles a year.
The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840.
The first shoe making machine was introduced in 1846.
The world's oldest shoes are Fort Rock-style sandals found below a layer of volcanic ash from the eruption of the Mt. Mazama
volcano (Crater Lake - the deepest lake in central Oregon of the United States) around 7,700 years ago.
Cowboy boots arrived in the American West from Mexico, and they had been brought to Mexico by the Spanish horsemen who conquered that country.
Cowboy boots are normally made from cowhide leather, which may be decoratively hand tooled. Decoration varied widely. Early boots were cowhide leather pieced together with single rows of top stitching, but as custom boots were
made, cowboys asked for decorative stitching, cutouts in the high tops (early on, often Texas stars), and different materials. With sharply pointed toes and a high, angled heel, usually from one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half inches high, the tall leather boots slid easily into stirrups and hooked there when
a horseman had to stand up in the saddle to rope cows.
Modern cowboy boots are available in all colors and can be made from just about every animal whose skin can be made into leather, including exotic materials like alligator,
snake, ostrich, lizard,
eel, elephant, stingray, elk,
buffalo, and so on. Both women and men wore cowboy boots, because they seemingly portrayed a tough, masculine image yet were highly decorative. Old cowboy boots were more about utility than looks,
but the line dancing community has also adopted the West’s favorite footwear as its own. Though cowboy boots have remained popular in the American West, their popularity throughout
the rest of the world had faded by the 1990s.
Cowboy boots originated in the 1800s in the plains and desert of the midwest and far Western United States, however they were inspired by the vaquero-style boot bought from Spain to the Americas in the 1600s.
In 2019, 24.3 billion pair of shoes were produced. China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia were
leaders in this footwear production following by Cambodia, India,
Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Thailand. These days, 99%
of shoes sold in the U.S. are imported, China's share has declined in recent years, but it remains a key source of America's shoes and shoe parts.
The American sportswear manufacturers, Adidas and Nike, relocated manufacturing logistics from China to Vietnam.
The U.S. annually imported 1.6 billion, 502 million and 114 million pairs of shoes from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, respectively.
Since 2010, Adidas and Nike, the world’s two biggest athletic brands, have cut the share of footwear they make in China in half.
China was their main footwear producer; today, Vietnam owns that title. Vietnam now produces more than twice as many Adidas and Nike shoes as China do. At Adidas, China is actually in third place as a supplier of shoes; Indonesia
is now the second-biggest source, behind Vietnam. Adidas and Nike still make most of their clothes in China, despite the drift in their footwear production. Among US fashion companies, the typical sourcing portfolio today is
30-50 percent from China, 11-30 percent from Vietnam, and the rest from other countries.
By the time you reach your 50th birthday, you've put 75,000 miles on your feet. By age 50, you may have lost nearly half of the fatty padding on the soles of your feet, and you may be wearing a shoe that's a size bigger than what you wore in your 20s, in part because of weight gain that puts greater pres-sure on your feet.
Your fingers and toes tend to swell up in hotter climates and the feet naturally expand with use during the day, you should better wait until the afternoon to shop for shoes
Dorothy’s iconic ruby red slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ was the most expensive shoes ever sold for $660,000.
In 1947, Salvatore Ferragamo designed an upper made of one continuous thread, a transparent strand of nylon with a wedge or F-shaped heel. With this shoe, Ferragamo won the Neiman Marcus Award, the Oscar of Fashion.
At the end of 2012 there were 29,360 shoe stores employed 188,866 workers in the U.S., of which Payless ShoeSource had about 4,470 stores, Foot Locker had approximate 4,000 stores and The Brown Shoe Company had around 1,600 stores.
American people spent around $20 billion on shoes annually, of which Foot Locker gets about $4.8 billion, approximate $3.3 billion went to Payless ShoeSource, and around $2.27 billion was for The Brown Shoe Company.
Footwear industry has an annual revenue of $48 billion worldwide.
A diabetic shoe that comes in a wide width is more likely to provide a roomy fit.
Today, around 20 % of total shoes is for men’s athletic shoes, 17% for women’s casual shoes, 13 % for women’s dress shoes, 10 % for women’s athletic shoes, 9 % for men’s casual shoes, 6 % for men’s dress shoes, and the rest (about 25%) is for other styles of shoes.
Ruby slippers from House of Harry Winston is the most expensive shoes: $3,000,000
The most ever spent on a pair of shoes was at auction $665,000 for Judy Garland's ruby red slippers from the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz".
There are 2144 different styles of shoes
On average, men own 15 pairs of shoes.
On average, men wear size-9 shoes while women wear size-7 shoes
On average, women own 27 pairs of shoes, and purchase 4 pairs of shoes a year.
On average, American women own 19 pairs of shoes although they only wear four pairs regularly, and 15 percent of women has over 30 pairs of shoes.
On average, American women bought 469 pairs of shoes in her lifetime and paid $25,000 on those pairs of shoes.
Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos owned 2,700 pairs of shoes.
Brahim Takioullah, a Morocco man born 26 January 1982, has world's biggest feet; he wears a pair of European size-58 shoes. He is also the second tallest man alive at 8'1''.
Marikina city, located in the island of Luzon in the Philippines, owns the distinction of having crafted the world’s largest pair of shoes, each measuring 5.5 meters long, 2.25 meters wide and 1.83 meters high. The heel alone measures 41 centimeters or 16 inches.
Shoes were discovered in various parts of the work that date back from 3500 BC to 8000 BC.
90% of European shoe sizes don't come in multiple widths.
In Europe it wasn't until the eighteenth century that women's shoes were different from men's.
Shoes all over the world were identical until the nineteenth century, when left- and right-footed shoes were first made in Philadelphia.
In Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries heels on shoes were always colored red.
The first fashion of shoes was introduced in England in 1633.
Sneakers, which were originally called keds, were first made in America in 1916.
Sandals originated in warm climates where the soles of the feet needed protection but the top of the foot needed to be cool.
Boots were first worn in cold, mountainous regions and hot, sandy deserts where horse-riding communities lived.
A boot, a type of footwear, mainly covers the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip.
Boots which are designed for walking through snow shallow water and mud to prevent the entry of water, snow, mud or dirt through gaps between the laces and tongue found in other types of shoes.
