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Hot Foot
by Guy Babineau
We’ve all seen caricatures of court jesters wearing long, curly-
toed shoes accessorized with tinkling bells. This was the most
extreme version of a style of men’s footwear popular in Europe
for most of the Middle Ages, called the poulaine. The poulaine
was a phallic forerunner to the codpiece. Only the moneyed and
aristocratic classes were permitted to wear them. Poulaines
started off with straight, pointy toes, and as the fashion took off
the shoes grew longer and longer. They eventually became
difficult to walk in, so they were attached to the knee to keep
flirting swains from toppling headfirst into roadside sloughs of
open sewage. Young men would stuff the toe extensions with
wool and moss to keep them erect. Some went so far as to paint
them a fleshy pink. Then came the bells. When the wearer
jingled his bells, it was an indication of his sexual availability.
Poulaines bit the dust for two reasons. Duke Leopold II of
Austria was unable to escape his assassins due to his long,
pointy shoes. Then King Charles VIII of France was born with
six toes on each foot, paving the way for a new fashion: squat,
broad-toed shoes.
Throughout most of history the design of shoes for both men
and women has been influenced by sex and dictated by status.
Comfort and mobility? Forget it. Most societies have
considered feet erogenous to varying degrees. After all, we’re
the only species that can copulate standing up facing each
other; and the part of the brain responsible for orgasms is close
to the bit that controls feet. Who doesn’t like a good foot
massage?
Post-Neolithic advances in leather-tanning and shoemaking
technology allowed footwear to become an accomplice to
seduction for the powerful. As a sign of status and a subtle
suggestion of splendour further up the leg, upper-class
Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman men wore sandals with a
thong that highlighted different toes: the third, second, and big
toe, respectively. As the Middle Ages gave way to the
Rennaissance, the aristocracy and church gained a moral
toehold. For years they had been trying to subdue sexual
metaphor in footwear among the lower classes. Men’s and
women’s shoes went from Dionysian to demure. There were
occasional exceptions. For example, sixteenth and seventeenth
century fops wore highheels to showoff their calves. For the
most part, though restraint was the keyword when it came to
men’s shoes up until the last part of the twentieth century, and
the outcome was anything but comfortable. Today, sexualized
footwear has made something of a comeback, but at least we
now also have the option of shoes that offer comfort and
ergonomic support as well as funky good looks. And we’ve
certainly come a long way in both style and variety from the
depressed-heel earth shoes and spongy-soled Wallabees of the
1970s.
Sports-oriented fashions are making huge strides. The trainer
is king of the hill, thanks to hip-hop culture and the enormous
escalation in big-time sports franchises. At the ultrahip John
Fluevog Boots & Shoes (837 Granville Street), a shoe inspired
by trainers has just been unveiled. It was designed by Chad
Combes, manager of the Vancouver store, who won a
competition open to all Fluevog employees across North
America. Hundreds of design were entered; Combes, who
moonlights as DJ Quest, produced three. John Fluevog, the
store’s owner, is world-renowned for his unique, cutting-edge
shoes, and the DJ Quest doesn’t disappoint.
“I’m not a professional designer,” Combes says, “but I really
like trainers and running shoes. My shoe includes influences
from several different kinds of trainers, something Fluevog
didn’t carry before. I drew a picture and they made it.” The DJ
Quest is a good-looking, comfortable, square-toed shoe
available in black or an orange-and-brown combo. At the
reasonably competitive price of $89, it’s a good deal, especially
for such an unusual design.
Also available at Fluevog are a couple of really smart sandals.
The black Nelson sandal ($159) features a small heel, a square
toe, a waxy leather upper, a leather lining and insole, and a
rubber-and-latex sole. The Kelsey ($159) is a suave leather
sandal in brown or beige with a covered heel that can be worn
up or down, open or closed. It has a toe thong, a leather sole
and upper, and a cushioned leather pad for comfort.
For hiking, trekking, and rock-climbing, Five Ten is a really
hot brand out of California. Notable are the Zlipper, the
Dragon, and the Sandbagger, ranging in price from about $100
to $200. The Zlipper is suitable for either rock-climbing or gym
sports. As comfortable as a slipper, it’s tough and resilient,
with a lined synthetic upper and an innovative, interlocking
zipper system. The brand-new Chinese-red Dragon has a
serpentine shape and is engineered to let you climb steep routes
securely.
The Sandbagger, coming out this fall, looks like a running shoe
but is built for hiking.You can buy its shoes at Mountain Equipment
Co-op (130 West Broadway), Altus Mountain Gear (137 West Broadway),
and Coast Mountain Sports (various locations), or visit its Web
site (fiveten.net/) to buy your shoes on-line. Similarly, if you’re
stuck because of the relentless transit strike, you may want to
buy your Fluevog shoes on-line, too (www.fluevog.com/).
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The Men of 2003
© Guy Babineau 2003-2004
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