Shoe
a covering or protection for the foot, ot, usually of leather. The ancients usually wore SANDALS (q. v.). The crescent was employed as an ornament on the shoes of Romans of exalted rank, who appear to have carried on the art of shoe making with great taste and skill. Only one instance is known of an ancient monument exhibiting shoes with separate heel pieces. The custom of making shoes right and left was common in classical times.
The fashion of shoes and boots, as has occurred with other articles of dress, has undergone innumerable changes. In 1914, according to the last United States census of manufactures, there were in the boot and shoe industry 1,960 establishments, employing 227,605 persons. Their combined capital was $97,609,000 and the value of their products was $590,028,000.
The principal centers of the industry were Lynn, Brockton, Haverhill, and Boston, all in Massachusetts, and St. Louis, Mo. See BOOTS AND SHOES.