All About Sandals
Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer’s foot by straps or thongs passing over the instep and around the ankle. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry (as in the case of huaraches-the woven leather footwear seen in Mexico), the common understanding is that a sandal leave most or all of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them economy (sandals tend to require less material than shoes), comfort in warm weather, and as a fashion choice.
Usually, sandals are worn in warmer climates or during warmer parts of the year, because feet stay cool and dry. The chances of developing athlete’s foot is lower than with enclosed shoes, and wearing sandals may be part of the treatment for such an infection.
History
The oldest known sandals (indeed, the oldest known footwear) were discovered in Fort Rock Cave in the U.S. state of Oregon; radiocarbon dating of the sagebrush bark from which they were woven indicates an age of at least 10,000 years.
The ancient Greeks distinguished between baxeae (sing. baxa), a sandal made of willow leaves, twigs, or fibres worn by comic actors and philosophers; and the cothurnus, a boot sandal that rose above the middle of the leg, worn principally by tragic actors, horsemen, hunters, and by men of rank and authority. The sole of the latter was sometimes made much thicker than usual by the insertion of slices of cork, so as to add to the stature of the wearer.
The ancient Egyptians wore sandals made of palm-leaves and papyrus. They are sometimes observable on the feet of Egyptian statues. According to Herodotus, sandals of papyrus were a part of the required and characteristic dress of the Egyptian priests.
Construction
A sandal may have a sole made from rubber, leather, wood, tatami or rope. It may be held to the foot by a narrow thong that generally passes passing between the first and second toe, or by a strap or lace, variously called a latchet, sabot strap or sandal, that passes over the arch of the foot or around the ankle. A sandal may or may not have a heel (either low or high) and/or heel strap.
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source Wikipedia
