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Shock of the old: 10 pairs of filthy, fetishistic and fashionable shoes

Much historical footwear looks like torture – and extreme and unstable designs are still being made. Why can’t we all just be comfortable?

Photograph: Fine Art/Corbis/Getty Images It is still up for debate whether these high wooden platforms were supposed to be practical (for walking in wet and cold north-eastern China), a declaration of distinct identity from the Han footbinding, or designed to mimic the gait of women with bound “lotus” feet. Roll with it … Irene Clifford steps out in an unusual pair of sandals on her way to Ascot racecourse on 18 June 1947, Photograph: JA Hampton/Getty Images These pleasingly avant garde numbers look a bit like slap soles, a 17th-century invention to stop people sinking into mud. (Fun fact: men’s protective lower soles were left loose to make a sassy, slapping, “look at me” noise; while women’s were nailed to the upper and backed with felt to keep them quiet – a classic patriarchy move.)

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