Closed-toe Sandals: Country Trends

We are not sure in which country they first appeared or just who was responsible. We have begun to collect some basic country information. There were wide variations in popularity from country to country as well as stylistic preferences. As they appear to have been most popular in England, they may have been developed there. Sandals for school were so common that they were called school sandals in England. They were also popular for play and casual wear until sneakers became more accepted in the 1970s. The wearing of sandals, including closed-toe sandals has varied considerably from country to country. We note them worn in many European countries, although they were not the dominant footwar style. We note a Czech boy wearing single-bar sandals or trap shoes at school in 1922, Most of his school mates are barefoot or wear heavy boot-like shoes. This includes such factors as style and color of sandal as well as age and gender of children wearing them. In some countries they were worn by both boys and girls, although styles and color could vary. In other countries they were more commonly worn by girls and some younger boys. We do not note boys commonly wearing closed-toe sandals in America after World War I. Here there are few exceptions, such as a dancing class in Chicago. There are also differences within countries. Sandals have been, for example, more commonly worn in the American South than the rest of the country. Climatic factors probably explain this.

Algeria

We note children in French colonial Algeria wearing closed-toe sandals. The styles followed popular styles in France. We note children at a French colonial school wearing different types of motly closed-toe sandals in 1948-49. Another good example is two boys wearing white sandals at school in 1953-54.

Australia

We do not see closed-toe sandals being commonly wirn in Australia. We see a few boys wearing them, but they were much less common thsan in England.

Austria


Belgium


Bulgaria

A HBC reader believes that the double-strap closed-toe sandal may have originated in Bulgaria. We notice he stle in folk costuming durng the late 19th century. It was not a children's style. We note trade copy in catalogs referring to this style as Bulgarian sandals.

Canada

We have little information on sandals in Canada. We do not believe that they were very common in Canada and hve found very few photographs of Canadian boys wearing sandals. We suspect that trends were similar to those in the northern part of the United States, although even less common. Of course climate is a factor. There are fewer warm months in Canada and this is normally the time that sandals were most commonly worn.

Czechoslovakia

We note a Czech boy wearing single-bar sandals or trap shoes at school in 1922, Most of his school mates are barefoot or wear heavy boot-like shoes.

Denmark

We note Danish boys wearing differebt styles of closed-toe sandals, both with and without socks, in 1955.

England

Closed toe sandals appear to have been most popular in England. Perhps this is an indication that they may have been developed there. We notice children wearing many styles of strap shoes as a dressy style in the 19th and early 20 century. We note, for example, a London boy weasring white strap shoes with a fancy velvet suit. After World war I, sandals for school were so common that they were called school sandals in England. A researcher writes, "I know that the double bar t's were not called 'Barefoot Sandals' in the UK, but they certainly had that name in the U.S. for almost 100 years. In my book I plan to have a chapter on (1) Barefoot Sandals, and (2) School Sandals -- that is: one bar and two bars. There is, of course, overlap between the two; but I think enough difference to have two chapters, because the two-bar sandals were primarily worn in North America, while the single-bar type in the U.K.. That is the way it was in the 1940s and 1950s when I grew up. Any single-bar t-strap shoes in the U.S. at that time were entirely worn by girls as dress up shoes and not sandals. In the U.K., your HBC writeup says that boys felt the same about the two strap sandal: i.e. more for girls. This is the opposite of how we felt, and thus a nice geographical difference.(As a geographer, I'm always looking for geographical differences.) They were also popular for play and casual wear until sneakers became more accepted in the 1970s.


Figure 1.--Here we see a French boy holding a rifle and his pointer hunting dog. He wears what looks like a back-buttoning colored blouse with a fancy large white collar. He has white "T"-strap sandals with dark socks. The darl socks with white sandals is rather unusual. The portrait is dated 1920 on the back.

France

We do not yet have much information on French cloesed-toe sandals. We note a lot of commercial postcards in the early 20th century of boys and girls wearing closed-toe sandals, often with white kneesocks. They were primarily the single bar style without a center strap. We note far fewer actual photographs of French boys wearing closed-toe sandals. Here we see a French boy wearing the English-style "T"-strap style in 1920. These seem to have been more common in the 1930s. We note some boys in the 1940s-60s wearing closed-toe sandals in school photographs, but they were usually a small minority. A good example is a school class we think in the early 1950s. Also we note French boys wearing a range of different styles. Unlike England there does not seem to have been an stabndard school sandal style.


Figure 2.--Here we see two German boys in 1953. One boy wears short pants with sandals.

Germany

We note many images of German boys wearing closed-toe sandals in the 1920s. W see quite a number of German boys wearing the single bar style without a center strap. This appears to have been more of a casual than a dress style. We rarely see German boys wearing other casual footwear like sneakers (canvas shoes). The popularity of closed-toe sandals for boys declined in the 1930s, espdcially after the NAZI take over. Here we see a German boy wearing "T" strap sandals probably in the late 1940s. This is a style that was most common in England, but we see them being worn in Europe as well. German boys in the 1950s began to wear open-toe sandals which became the dominant style. Quite a range of these open toe sandals appeared in Germany. Ny the 1970s we rarely see German boys wearing clsed-toe sandals.

Greece


Italy


Netherlands

We note many Dutch children wearing sandals in the 1950s and 60s. The most popular style seems to be the English-style "T"-strap school sandal. A good example is a Dutch school class, we think in the 1950s.

New Zealand

Many English clothing tyles were popular in New Zealand, especially until after World War II. One style which was not very populsar was closed-toe sandals. We notev them at a few prepo schools, but other thanthsat not very commonly. Many schools did, however, have open-toe sandals as opat of the uniform.

Poland


Russia

We do not have much information on Russia at this time. Russian clothing trends before the Revolution seem somewhat similar to German trends, at least among the urbanized middle class and wealthy families. We note some children wearing various kinds of sandals. Poor children in rural areas were more likely to go barefoot. We have much less informatuon after the Revolution.

Scotland

We notice Scottish boys coomonly wearing sandals in the 1950s and 60s. We think that they were alsowidely worn in the 1940s. Our chronology is incomplete at this time as our archive is still limited. We note Scottlish chikldren, both boys and girls, commonly wearing sandals to school. They were worn by children from all social classes. This was similar to fashion trends in England. The "T"-strap school sandal was the most common style, but we see quite a few children also wearing the twin-strap style. Actually the twin-strap style may have been more popular in Scotland than England, but we are not yet positive about this. We are also not sure about the colors worn. Sandals appear to have been both a school and play style. Children worn them with both ankle and kneesocks. Girls commonly wore them with white socks, but this was no common with boys.

Spain


Sweden

We have very limited information on Sweden. We do note a Stockholm boy wearing double-bar sandals, we believe in the late 1910s.

Switzerland

We note Swiss school children, both boys and girls wearing closed toe sandals about 1944. They are wearing the double-bar style. I'm not sure about the color, but they may be red.

United States

We notice boys wearing various styles of strap sandals in the late 19th and early 20th century. While we have more information on America than Europe, we believe that this is a reflection of our greater archive of American images than the relative popularity of sandals. American boys wore sandals with various numbers of bars with and without center straps. The see boys and girls wearing all the various styles over time. We see boys weating closed-toe styles as both dress shoes and casual sandals. Quite a number of images in the late-19th century show mostly young pre-school children wearing strap shoes or sandals of various styles as a dress shoe. We see boys weating closed-toe styles as both dress shoes and casual sandals. Quite a number of images in the late-19th century show mostly young pre-school children wearing strap shoes or sandals of various styles as a dress shoe. We also notice many boys in the 20th century wearing sandals for casual wear. Both boys and girls wore closed-toe footwear. They were more popular with girls, but boys did wear them. Illustrators would usually provide an idealized picture seem to use the single strap style with white socks most commonly. The popularity and conventions concerning closed-toe footwear changed over time. The conventions before World War I seem quite similar to Europe. We do not note American boys, however, commonly wearing closed-toe sandals in America after World War I. The primary exception was very young boys. There are also differences within countries. Sandals have been, for example, more commonly worn in the American South than the rest of the country. Climatic factors probably explain this. There seem to be social-class connotations associated with cloest-toe footwear in America. We tend to see them being worn more commonly by the children of affluent parents.







HBC





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Created: 4:38 AM 4/4/2005
Last updated: 8:18 AM 9/30/2009