Over the centuries shoes have developed into a myriad of advanced functions not only to support the foot while walking but to support the foot in a myriad of activities. Shoes have also evolved from solely a functional item to an article of fashion.

Shoes have not always been worn by the general population and only become available to most people due to mass production that made the shoe affordable. Shoes were predominantly made from leather, an expensive product, but today man made products have made shoe even more affordable to the extent that in 2007 there were 5 pair of shoes per capita in the UK.

There are now walking shoes, hiking shoes, climbing shoes, riding shoes, running shoes, basketball shoes the list goes on. There are derivatives of the shoe, such as football boots, ski Boots and wellington Boots to mention but three. Then there are the fashion shoes for both men and women. Fashion shoes are again sub divided into Casual and formal, again for both sexes, all at affordable prices.

Shoes protect the foot which is a very complex piece of human anatomy, together the foot and ankle contains 26 bones (a quarter of the bones in the human body), 33 joints, in excess of 100 muscles, ligaments, tendons that hold the foot together. The foot’s function is to support, take the weight, balance, cushion and propel the body. Shoes have to accommodate and withstand the pressures, wear and tare expended.

There are predominantly seven parts of a shoe;
• The sole – bottom of the shoe.
• Insole – bottom of the inside of the shoe
• Outsole – the outside layer of the sole, the part that is in contact with the ground, the tread on hiking boots, studs on football boots, spikes on running and golf shoes.
• Midsole – the equivalent of the shock absorber in a car, the midsole is between the insole and the outsole.
• The Heel – bottom rear part of the shoe.
• Vamp – top part of the shoe
• Quarter – the side and back of the shoe that sometimes is attached to the vamp.

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