Fact vs. Fashion

“The lasts over which the footwear of civilization is shaped are rarely modeled in the spirit of truth that would make them conform to the contour of a normal foot. The whim of society and the manufacturers’ enterprise alone regulate their shape. Society, apparently, agrees that the human foot as formed by nature is coarse, vulgar and unsightly, and that its width, especially at the toes, is entirely too great. It regards the small, especially the narrow foot, as the beautiful one. The dictum of fashion has greater influence than reason.” — Dr. Phil Hoffmann, Conclusions Drawn From a Comparative Study of the Feet of Barefooted and Shoe-wearing Peoples, 1905