Possibly the weirdest shoes you will ever see

Hey everyone!

A while ago I purchased the most intriguing pair of shoes from a charity shop. They were so bizarre that I sent images to a shoe specialist in Russia:





The foot of the shoe inside actually starts at about where the eyelets are, creating the illusion that the foot goes to the bottom of the toe. It later occured to me that they were both left feet shoes, which helped a lot in working out their origin. Then my friend from the shoe museum sent my a picture which helped out a lot:



They match the boot pictured in the middle, c.1900. So yep, these are antique orthopaedic boots, which is pretty amazing! As they had very long skirts, the awkward shape of the shoe would be hidden, so as to create the illusion that they were just an ordinary pair. Quite sad that a lady would have to go to so much trouble just to walk though.

 

What an amazing find! And how wonderful that you now have the illustration from O'Connor Mfg. Co., to support it. Thanks for posting.

 

Fascinating--thanks so much for posting!

Though...for orthopaedic shoes, they look precarious to walk in!

 

My children's great-great aunt had polio as a teenager. She wore orthopedic shoes and braces thereafter. She was buried in gold slippers at her request. She wanted to dance in heaven without that heavy brace.
Marian

 

Wow shoes.
Love your story Marian.

 

Amazing shoes and incredible that you found that reference to them.