Figure 1.-- High-top shoes were the dominant footwear in the late-19th and early-20th century (1870s-1910s). We see some low-cut shoes, but not very many except for younger children wearin strap shoes. Curiously, the high-tops we see by the 1930s were mostly fo younger chuldren. here we see a younger boy wearing low-cuts in the 1900s decade. This was not very common.

Younger boys in the 19th century sometimes wore low-cut shoes. As far as we can tell, low-cuts were the standard style in the early-19th century. We do not have many images until the advent of photography (1839). Unfortunately early formats (dags and ambos) rarely showed the shoes. We still see low-cut shoes when the CDV began to provide large numbers of images (1860s), but by the 1870s high-tops were becoming standard. This was especially true of America for some reason. We see a low of low-cut shoes in Europoe, but not in America. We still see some low-cuts, but they were a distinct minority. A good exmple is an unidentified Massachusetts boy in 1890. High-tops were not universal, but they were close to it. We see countless American boys and girls as well as adults wearing high-tops. The principal exception was strap shoes worn by some younger children. High-tops were still common in the 1920s, but had begun to decline in popularity. The basic low-cut style was the lace-up oxford. Oxfords originated in Scotland and Ireland and were originally called Balmorals after Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The boot and high-top shoes dominated men's footwear for until the Oxonian, a half-boot, emerged in England. the style was popularuzed at Oxford University. Gradually the low-cut oxford spread to the Continent and America. There were other low-cut types like strap shoes and loafers. The lace-up oxford, however, emerged as the primary low-cut style. Low cut styles began to become more popular in the 1920s, although younger boys continued wearing high-top shoes which were seen as offering more support. There were many different styles, including loafers, basic oxfords, two-tone shoes, and saddle shoes. The minstay was brown ixfords. Saddle shoes were popular for several decades. We see two-tone shoes, especially in the 1950s. We note an unidentified First Communion boy wearring two-tone shies, we think in the late-40s.

Created: 12:37 AM 4/23/2019
Last updated: 12:37 AM 4/23/2019