Footwear

Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for protection against the environment, and adornment. Socks and other hosiery are worn between the feet and the footwear, except for sandals and flip flops (thongs). Footwear is sometimes associated with fetishism, particularly in some recent fashions in shoes and boots. People who practice the profession of shoemaking are shoemakers, cobblers or cordwainers. The oldest known footwear was discovered in Fort Rock Cave in the U.S. state of Oregon; radiocarbon dating of these sandals woven from sagebrush bark indicates an age of least 10,000 years.

Leather is a material created through the tanning of hides and skins of animals, primarily cattlehide. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses. Together with wood, leather formed the basis of much ancient technology. The leather industry and the fur industry are distinct industries that are differentiated by the importance of their raw materials. In the leather industry the raw materials are by-products of the meat industry, with the meat having higher value than the skin. The fur industry uses raw materials that are higher in value than the meat and hence the meat is classified as a by-product. Taxidermy also makes use of the skin of animals, but generally the head and part of the back are used. Hides and skins are also used in the manufacture of glue and gelatin.

Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular weight, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce costs. There are two types of plastics, thermoplastic and thermoset. Thermoplastics, if exposed to heat, will melt in two to seven minutes. Thermosets will keep their shape until they are a charred, smoking mess. Some examples of thermoplastics are grocery bags, piano keys and some automobile parts. Examples of thermosets are kid's dinner sets and circuit boards.

Platform shoes took off in a very big way amongst most age groups and classes of UK men and women in the 1970s. Whilst wedge heels were popular on platforms in the summer, high thick separate heeled platform boots and shoes were 'all the rage'. Many of the shoe styles were recycled 1940s and early 1950s styles, but both shoes and boots were often in garish combinations of bright colours. The Spice Girls, as with many UK young women and even men of the time, would have seen their mothers' and fathers' '70s shoes at the back of the wardrobe and would have played in them as little girls and boys.