wooden shoes

[uncletimcobleigh]

Has anyone ever worn wooden shoes at faire? It's just an idea I'm kicking around, so to speak. I'd think they would be period, and durable. How comfortable, though?  I seem to recall reading somewhere that wellmade wooden shoes provide good foot support, but I'd like to hear from someone who's actually tried it.

[Elennare]

Not worn them to faire, but my mom had an old pair of sandals that had a wooden sole that I wore around for awhile.  They were pretty comfy, but they don't flex at all, so my feet would get pretty tired from holding the sandal on, so I couldn't wear them for very long. 

[gem]

Are you thinking of the Dutch wooden shoes?

I know that wooden *overshoes* (pattens, clogs, etc) were commonplace in period, as were clogs (see here), but I'm not sure about everyday shoes being made of wood.

I used to recommend the clogs at LL Bean for period-friendly fairewear, but they've changed the design slightly to make them more streamlined and fashionable... and now they don't look period anymore.

[isabelladangelo]

I've worn wooden soles before and my feet did NOT thank me.     Wooden pattens/overshoes were worn but they wore leather/fur shoes around the house.  The pattens were for the sewage clogged streets.  Most cities had an open sewer system rather than an underground.  eww..

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Last spring at the Janesville RF (in Janesville, WI), there was a woman dressed up in a Dutch outfit.  It didn't look period, rather, it looked like something you'd find on a tourist dish towel or something like that.  She was wearing an actual pair of wooden shoes.  We didn't speak with her, so I don't know how they felt to wear all day long, but I probably would go with a pair of clogs instead of wooden shoes.  We do see several people at different faires wearing Birkenstock clogs or sandals.

[sealion]

If you are talking about wearing Dutch wooden shoes I would not recommend it! I live near Holland Michigan where they have a huge tulip festival with Klompen dancers every spring. The dancers layer several pair of wollen socks inside the shoes and still end up with blisters.
If you are talking about wooden pattens I suggest a hinged pair like the ones from Historic enterprises.
http://www.historicenterprises.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=226&c=40

[uncletimcobleigh]

I was thinking initally of Dutch style shoes. I got the idea in a roundabout way; I saw some pictures of fiddles made from wooden shoes, and as I was surfing around thinking about buying a wooden shoe to make into a fiddle, I got the idea of actually wearing some. I saw some pics somewhere of a style without the decorations and the pronounced point -- can't find it now of course. They don't look comfortable, but I thought I'd ask if anyone knew. It sounds like I shouldn't pursue that.

Gem, you do have me wondering about clogs, now.