The variety of shoe models perfectly reflects the long history of this piece of clothing. We have already written about the origin of many models of modern men's shoes, and we will not repeat ourselves. Today is a selection of interesting facts about shoes from world history.
As in school, we will start from the earliest times. Everyone understands that the cavemen were in dire need of shoes, but they were content with skins wrapped around their feet. Best case scenario. Agree, there is no grace here, so we will not talk about them.
Let's start the conversation with ancient egypt Civilizations in the Nile River Valley. And, since civilization means a great variety in clothes and shoes. One could easily determine the estate of a person just by looking at his shoes. For example, the pharaohs wore sandals made of gold. Nothing more and nothing less. Gold and precious stones: catchy, solid and looks. You will meet - you will not confuse with anyone.

By the way, Pharaoh Tutankhamun took his entire wardrobe with him to the next world. We will not enumerate, we will only note that there were 93 pairs of shoes alone, and, apparently, this is just what he did not have time to demolish. In Egypt, in clothes in general and in shoes in particular, red and yellow were allowed only to the nobility and high priests. Those who are simpler, but still from the nobility, wore sandals made of leather with a pointed top. The slaves went barefoot.
Romans, slightly less ancient than the Egyptians, have already diversified their wardrobe quite seriously. These guys, in addition to sandals, walked in boots and boots. Men wore mostly leather sandals, but only in their homes. Wealthy women wore shoes adorned with pearls, gold, pearls and precious stones. One can only guess how the emperors wore shoes every day, but given the status of the emperor of Rome, one might think that 93 pairs of Tutankhamen are simply ridiculous. By the way, Roman sandals were called "kaligi". It was thanks to these soldiers' shoes that the emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus received his nickname "Caligula". The fact is that his father often took the future emperor on military campaigns, for which the boy was sewn a children's version of the kalig. Here the soldiers nicknamed the boy "boot".

Other Roman shoes looked like caligas - calcei, ankle-high leather boots. Only Roman citizens had the right to wear them. Status was determined by color: ordinary citizens wore black calcei, aristocrats wore red with silver buckles, and the emperor wore purple (the expression “put on purple shoes” meant “sit on the throne”). The slaves went barefoot.
Early Medieval Europe instead of sandals, she offered shoes with long, upturned toes. These shoes were called “puleny”, which means “the nose of the ship”. Such shoes, returning from the crusades, were brought with them by the crusaders, and the king brought these shoes into fashion. A corresponding decree of the French king Philip IV was issued, explaining to whom and how long shoes were allowed to be worn. For example, nobles were allowed to wear shoes with a nose no more than 1.5 cm, and princes - 3 cm, princes of the blood - of any length. It is clear that the more noble the nobleman, the more uncomfortable it is for him to walk. For convenience, they came up with tying a lace or chain, a bent toe of the shoe to the leg or belt.

Later, a new law is issued in Paris prohibiting the wearing of shoes with long toes. From now on, only members of the royal family could wear such shoes. Since that time, the saying “live in a big way” has gone around the world. Later, the shoes began to be shortened, the sharp toe of the shoes became shorter and rounded. King Henry VIII introduced the fashion for duck-billed shoes - flat shoes with a short toe and a wide slit on the side.


He, like his French colleague before him, issued a law according to which all the nobility had to wear such shoes. The fact is that the king, because he wanted to hide his legs, suffering from gout. And Louis XIV, the French sun king, was only 165 cm tall. For this reason, he not only brought men's high heels into fashion, but also legally made them an indispensable element of the wardrobe of the nobles. Commoners prisoners and rowers in the galleys walked barefoot.
In the baroque and classic era over the knee boots appear - high boots with square toes, the tops of which ended in wide bells. They were usually lowered to knee level.

These shoes were for all occasions, but at the balls men were required to appear in shoes decorated with huge bows of ribbons (there could even be two such bows: one, more, on the rise, the other, smaller, near the toe). Spurs were always attached to boots, even if they walked (and even if they didn’t have a horse at all). Commoners in the villages wore wooden shoes - clogs, or walked barefoot.
From the middle of the 19th century the place of shoes is occupied by comfortable and practical leather boots. The shape of the shoe becomes more rigid, lacing and fasteners appear. The innovation of the twentieth century mainly consists in the fact that the shape of the shoe begins to follow the shape of the foot, the insole becomes asymmetrical. Shoes became the object of attention of artists and designers, but, as before, remained a sign of the social difference of the owners. So, aristocratic shoes are narrow in the foot, with figured heels made of thin natural leather.
And no one goes barefoot anymore, except by choice.

"If Cleopatra's nose had been a little shorter, the appearance of the Earth would have become different." Let's think about this phrase of the great thinker Blaise Pascal. If it were not for the fabulous beauty of Cleopatra, then relations between the members of the "second triumvirate" Mark Antony, Octavian and Aemily Lepidus would have developed differently. We will not analyze this phrase from the standpoint of a historian; it probably will not stand up to criticism, as it contradicts the objective laws of the development of society. Let's ignore the hyperbole of this statement. For the topic of our conversation with you, one thing is important: Pascal's concept of beauty. If Cleopatra's nose were a little shorter, the wonderful symmetry of her regal features, sung by artists and poets for two millennia, would be broken.

So, it is the nose that plays a huge role in our appearance. A man without a nose is something fantastic. Remember the cry of the soul of Gogol's major Kovalev, who instead of a nose - "the place is completely smooth, as if just baked pancake"?

"... My God, my God! My God! Why such a misfortune? If I were without an arm or without a leg - all this would be better, if I were without ears - bad, but still more tolerable; but without a nose, a person - the devil knows that: a bird is not a bird, a citizen is not a citizen; just take it and throw it out the window!

The nose has its own history. The ancient man had a very small nose. In primitive people, it already occupies a more prominent place on the face, but only much later acquires its current dimensions.

Each person in his development, as it were, briefly repeats the history of the human race - from the cell to the thinking being. The laws of these transformations are studied by a science called embryology. This science is so diverse and interesting that it requires a separate discussion in a separate large book, and therefore we will not touch on it. We will only say that all organs undergo evolution during the period of embryonic development, and the nose is no exception.

If during the period of intrauterine life of the fetus, as a result of any reasons, a violation of the formation of the nose occurs, then deformity occurs. The earlier the violation of the embryonic development of the organ occurs, the more severe the deformity is. The degree of severity of changes determines the concept of deformity, anomaly and variation: the more pronounced the malformation, the more right it should be attributed to deformities, weak degrees of disfigurement should be considered anomalies, and underdeveloped deviations - variations.

Among the malformations of the nose in clinical practice, deviations from the norm are most often encountered, depending on the insufficiency or even lack of development of this organ. Among them, various forms of anomalies and variations are the most frequent, while deformity as such is extremely rare.

In Leningrad, in the Kunstkamera, the very first Russian museum founded by Peter I over 250 years ago, there is a "collection of freaks": anatomical preparations of various congenital developmental defects. This collection was acquired in 1717 by Peter I, during his second visit to Amsterdam, from the famous Dutch anatomist Frederick Ruysch, who discovered a way to preserve anatomical preparations for a long time. Among the drugs presented in the Ruysch collection, the following congenital deformities of the nose are found: cyclopia, arynencephaly (complete absence of the nose), cebocephaly. Usually such deformities are combined with others that are incompatible with life, and therefore we almost never meet adults with such defects.

Of the anomalies in the development of the nose, the median nasal fissures are most common. The most typical of these anomalies is, according to the terminology of German scientists, "the nose of a dog". In these cases, there is a depression at the top of the nose, which is formed due to non-union of the two plates of the anterior part of the nasal septum. Cartilage may be underdeveloped. Then, when breathing through the nose, the skin covering the recess makes movements synchronous with breathing.

In some cases, the formation of a gap is not limited only to the tip of the nose, but, spreading upward, reaches the frontal bone, and the external nose is divided into two parts by a groove. As a result, two nostrils and two nasal cavities are far apart in the anterior sections and converge in the deep sections of the nose.

The malformations of the nose include congenital fistulas, which are formed as a result of non-closure of embryonic fissures. Variations of this kind of underdevelopment are atresia (complete fusion) of the nasal cavity.

With anomalies in the structure of the nose, surgical intervention is performed, the methods of which are determined depending on the size of the deformation. Operations are designed mainly for cosmetic rather than functional effect.

But, as we have said, developmental anomalies are a rare exception. But what happens during the normal development of the nose? In all children at birth, the shape and size of the noses are more or less the same. The child grows, develops, begins to speak, and only by the age of two does his nose acquire individuality.

There are pronounced national features of the shape of the nose. Distinguish the so-called classic "Greek nose", "Roman nose" with a straight back; "Caucasian nose", "Negroid noses" with wide nostrils; flattened "Mongoloid" noses, etc. The dispute about which nose is more beautiful is as meaningless as the dispute in the famous fairy tale by Vitaly Bianchi "Whose nose is better?". Remember?

The grosbeak boasts of its strong nose, with which it easily bites through a cherry pit. Klest-Krestos - with its crooked beak, with which it shells seeds from spruce cones. Snipe-Weevil praises his straight and long nose, which is so convenient to get boogers out of mud. Kulik-Shilonos and Curlew-Serponos protect their noses, which can be used to hook any small living creatures in the water or to drag worms and insects from the grass. And the Broad-nosed Duck, and the Setkonos Nightjar, and the Dolbonos Woodpecker, and even the Meshkonos Pelican - they all praise their noses so much that Tonkonos Mukholov cannot choose the best one ...

For a long time, Europeans considered the "Greek nose" as the standard of beauty. And here is an excerpt from the biblical text "Song of Songs": "Your nose is like a mountain tower on patrol against Aram..." beloved: "How beautiful you are, how pleasant, love, daughter of pleasures! This camp of yours is like a palm tree and breasts like clusters ... How beautiful are your legs in sandals, noble maiden! The bend of your hips is like a hoop that a craftsman made .. The neck is an ivory tower, your eyes are ponds in Heshbon at the Batrabbim gate ... "and then the phrase already known to us:" Your nose is like a mountain tower ... " Well, apparently, it was this shape of the nose that was considered the ideal of beauty in Ancient Judea.

The Great Medical Encyclopedia contains 15 drawings of various nose shapes, and all of these are not any anomalies and deformities, but variants of the norm. Among Leonardo da Vinci's pencil drawings, we are interested in one representing 12 different types of nose: straight, concave at the top, in the middle, at the bottom; curved up, in the middle, below; with a hump between straight lines, between curved lines, between concave lines, etc.

And how many definitions of the shape of the nose can we learn from Russian folk speech? Nose with a potato, duck, crochet, snub-nosed, nose with a boot. Let's recall a few Russian proverbs that characterize the nose, its shape and size: "Why not well done, if the nose is the size of a cucumber!", "This nose has been growing for a hundred years"; "A big nose is not a reproach: if you fall, it's a backwater"; "God carried this nose to seven - one got it."

And what does the expression "cut on the nose" mean? Its meaning is clear to everyone: remember firmly, firmly, once and for all. One problem: it’s not very pleasant to make notches on your own nose. The word "nose" as an anatomical concept has nothing to do with it. So it means "commemorative plaques, tags for recording." In the old days, illiterate people in Rus' carried such boards and sticks with them everywhere and made notes and notches on them. These tags were called "nose" - from the word "wear".

Often, an overly large nose becomes the object of ridicule, anecdotes and even fairy tales. Let us recall the curious Baby Elephant with his huge nose, which was stretched out by a crocodile, from Kipling's fairy tale; or the long wooden nose of Pinocchio; or the enormous nose of the hero of Wilhelm Hauff's fairy tale "Dwarf Nose"; or long noses, hanging down to the very chin, with which Little Muk, the hero of another Gauf tale, awarded the greedy padishah and his courtiers.

Do you remember Baba Yaga - the bone leg of Russian folk tales? When she lies on the stove, her nose rests on the lintel.

How many ridicule had to endure Cyrano de Bergerac, the hero of the play by Edmond Rostand, because of his huge nose. But the wit and freethinker, a desperate brave man and a bully did not go into his pocket for a word and brilliantly parried all the witticisms about his ugliness. "I choose for the hundredth time my proud path under the firefight of eyes burning with hatred!" Cyrano's monologue sounds.

General Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, the hero of the war of 1812, also had a nose of no smaller size. But unlike Cyrano, he was good-natured about this shortcoming of his and even often joked about it. Once he was informed that "the French are on the nose." "... It depends on whose, - Bagration answered good-naturedly. - If on yours, then we urgently need to retreat, and if on mine, then we still have time to have lunch."

But not all owners of huge noses manage to endure this defect so stoically. Especially when a long or crooked nose belongs to a woman. This is where rhinoplasty comes to the rescue - the surgical elimination of defects in the external nose, congenital and acquired.

The advances made by rhinosurgeons allow many people to change their appearance. An excellent film by Georgian documentary filmmakers was created about the work of doctors to correct the shape of the external nose, which was shown several times on Central Television. There, with subtle irony and gentle humor, the whole atmosphere of creating beauty is shown.

Why "with irony", even if subtle? Here is an excerpt from a magazine report from the Moscow Institute of Beauty. Patient A., 35 years old, comes to the inpatient department of the Beauty Institute. Two years ago, she underwent surgery to remove a hump on her nose. Now she thinks that the tip of her nose is too fleshy. "Does not look," as the patient herself says. With great difficulty, the doctor convinces this woman that the shape of her nose is quite beautiful, fully corresponds to the type of face, and that he, as a surgeon, will not undertake to spoil the excellent work done earlier.

Yes, you should not abuse the achievements of medicine. Moreover, the burden on rhinosurgeons is very high. Here are the figures from the report mentioned above: 118,362 patients applied to the Moscow Institute of Beauty during the year, of which 17,300 were assisted by a surgeon.

Rhinoplasty refers not so much to the subject of otorhinolaryngology as to operational cosmetics. Although cosmetics is an independent specialty, it deserves a separate discussion as part of our story about the functions of the nose.

There are children on whom any shoes simply “burn” - if this is not your child, then it is definitely the child of a girlfriend. The same problem suffers from shoes that are not bought in size, cheap shoes, as well as shoes for one-year-olds - these babies are just learning to walk, their legs are braided, and crawling is more convenient - but shoes suffer at the same time. So, what to do if the shoes are the most beloved or completely new, and only by the holes in the socks you can guess that they were worn?

How to revive children's shoes:

Find a fabric that matches the color of your shoes. Cut out a patch of the desired shape and size from it, which will easily cover damage to the shoes and part of the "nose" of the shoe.

Spread the fabric with PVA glue, leave to dry completely. And on top, coat with acrylic varnish (it will protect the shoes from moisture and dirt), trying to go “beyond the contours” no more than 1-2 mm.

If you make the patch a little larger than in the photo, you get a variant a la “Chanel”, “baby Armani” and others like them:

But do not overdo it, the patch should end earlier than the place where natural folds form during wear - otherwise it will lag behind later.

And a couple more tips: it’s better to choose a matte varnish and not apply it in many layers (like glue before) - otherwise it will still catch dust particles).

If a fabric patch, in your opinion, is not suitable, then use special acrylic paints for fabric or leather. Prime the pre-cut area with paint in the color of the shoes, or in the lightest color of the future image, wait until it dries completely. Then apply the image and after it has completely dried, cover it with varnish (you can use a universal matte varnish in a spray - then there will be no gloss and shine, and the drawing will not peel off after the first puddle)

Once, my daughter urgently needed shoes under her dress. It was not possible to buy. And here's what I got...

Old shoes, lace, beads were urgently found ... and embellishment began
Capes painted with acrylic paint, glued lace and beads. On the lintels, pieces of lace were collected in a “fan” and glued.
That's how we get out. Shoes survived two holidays.

Fashion is changeable like the wind. Pointed-toe shoes, so popular recently, are now forced to gather dust in the closet due to irrelevance. If you calculate the cost of buying shoes in an effort to match fashion trends, then the figure will be considerable. But you can go the other way to continue wearing shoes, boots, boots and save your money. We bring to your attention a service for changing the shape of the nose of shoes in the workshop "Aleganna"! Experienced craftsmen will give outdated shoes and boots a different look and no one but you will know that they have been remade.

Order service

When is a shoe change required?

The need for this procedure may arise in the following cases:

Too long sock

Not so long ago, shoes with a long toe were very popular among men and women. However, this feature is a big drawback, because during intensive use the nose rises up and clings to all the bumps in the road. If these shoes are gathering dust in your closet, give them a second chance! We can shorten the toe of the shoe to give it an attractive look and make it more convenient for further use.

impossibility shoe toe restoration easier methods. If it is skinned, it can be restored, for example, with liquid skin, but if it is very damaged, then costs change the shape of the toe of the shoe.

Moral obsolescence.

It is a pity to throw out shoes, boots, ballet shoes or over the knee boots in excellent condition due to their obsolescence. If you remake the toe, bootleg or other parts, then you can achieve shoe model changes. Consequently, it will again become stylish and suitable for an updated wardrobe.

Narrow, wide, long shaft.

In addition to socks, there are other parts of shoes that need to be changed by the hands of an experienced craftsman. In many cases, the shafts do not satisfy the owners of boots. One needs to cut it off, the other needs to be sutured, and on the calves of the third it does not converge, therefore it needs to be stretched. In the workshop "Aleganna" stretching and bootleg performed at a professional level.

The need to significantly change the look of shoes.

In this case, in our workshop you can order a partial reupholstering of shoes using high-quality materials. Sometimes the top of the boots and other parts of them become so unkempt that no professional cleaning can restore their former beauty. Partial constriction and replacement of some elements is a procedure that can fix this.

Why you should trust us to change the shape of the nose of your shoes?

Many large workshops in St. Petersburg do not undertake such work, because it is not so easy to remake the nose, like other parts of boots and shoes. To do this, the master must have certain knowledge, good experience, proper consumables and equipment. Changing the shape of the nose of the shoe- an exclusive work, which takes into account the height of the heel and rise. In our workshop, only experienced professionals who strictly adhere to the appropriate technology perform such a task.

In addition, in the workshop "Aleganna" one important tradition is observed, which our customers really like. Before repair, the master first advises shoe owners about the possibilities of restoration, discusses the details and agrees on the nuances. This avoids misunderstandings, and customers are satisfied with the work done. Agree, it’s much fairer to immediately find out how the shoes will look after the repair than to lament over unjustified expectations later.

Padding. Restoration of the shape of the nose of the shoe. Hardware replacement.

Padding. Changing the shape of the nose of the boots

How can you shorten the toe of a shoe?

It is wrong to believe that the shortened toe of boots or shoes will look the same as the previous one, yielding to it only in length. Thanks to the availability of all the necessary material, tools and equipment, including lasts of your size, our masters can radically change the sock. For example, closed shoes, in which the skin of the legs could not breathe, we can make open. The master will not only remove the clinging long nose on the shoes, but also give it a completely different look.

Just imagine how much money you can save if you don’t throw away the once popular models, but simply remake them in the Aleganna workshop! Thanks to the great experience of our specialists, the work on changing the nose of shoes and other parts of it looks like new.

Since fashion trends repeat themselves after a while, today an interesting square toe shoes is back in fashion. Designers noticed a certain charm in such products, emphasizing the style of the ensembles they create.

Are square toe shoes popular today?

World designers back in the 90s offered shoes with this toe configuration. However, such products gained their popularity thanks to the American brand, which clearly emphasizes the advantages of this style. Surprisingly, such shoes can look elegant on the foot. A square nose visually makes the legs slender and incredibly fragile, the ankles look thinner, and the feet look neater (especially if this shape of the nose is deliberately made rough). In this they differ from shoes with a pointed toe on a flat sole, which visually lengthens the feet.

In a competition with previously popular products with a pointed toe, shoes with a square toe won. Although the square version of the nose has always been considered inelegant and vulgar, unpredictable fashion brings back these forgotten but interesting models. It's time for massive and comfortable shoes.

Modern fashionistas must have at least one pair of such trendy shoes in their wardrobe. Despite the wide range of shoes available in stores, young girls are more likely to choose their favorite stylish shoes with a square toe.

Features of wearing shoes with a square toe

Simultaneously with elegant and feminine pumps, square-toed shoes came into fashion. At the same time, designers do not focus on the material or color of the product.

According to the designers, shoes with a rather unusual toe shape will lead to a slightly rough shape in the outfit, despite the fact that the square toes of the products sometimes look elegant and elegant. The idea of ​​​​creating shoes with a square toe was suggested to the designers by pointe shoes used by ballerinas. To get as close to the ideal as possible, the authors proposed shoes with ribbons intertwining the slender leg of a woman.

Stylists recommend buying shoes and ankle boots with a square version of the nose only on a high platform. It is advantageous to wear such shoes with shorts, short skirts and tunics. Many believe that buckles and various other decorations look best on the nose of such models.

While products with a pointed nose, perfect for both office work and special occasions, it is advisable to combine them with skinny jeans, long (short) dresses and trousers sewn in a classic style.