Some Feat - A Shoe Museum Clogs Its Shelves

THE SUNDAY AGE

Sunday January 17, 1993

Hazel Edwards

EVER thought why you wear those shoes? Status? Comfort? Fashion? Shoes are so ordinary, that I didn't expect a Canadian museum devoted to shoes to be so interesting.

Recently opened, the Bata Shoe Museum collection in Toronto at 131 Bloor Street West is a ``must visit" destination. More than 450 shoes and related artefacts are on display.

Did you know the word ``sabotage" comes from the ``sabots" or wooden clogs thrown to stop the factory machinery during the Industrial Revolution?

Did you know that the ``Just Married" old shoe tied on a wedding car symbolises the transfer of property?

The moment I walked into the Bata Museum, I became foot and shoe- conscious. I have size 10 feet which are large for a woman. And yet footwear has been adapted to suit the needs of different people based on their environment, activities and traditions.

My favorite exhibit was the 15th-century ``poulaine". This had a very long toe which curled up sometimes even 45 centimetres beyond the foot. It was totally impractical. Only those of high status could afford to wear such a shoe. In fact, historically the most impractical high heels and toes were social statements that the wearers could afford not to work manually.

Beside the satin ``gien lin" which were Chinese shoes for bound feet, my size 10s looked enormous.

Frankly, I'd never previously considered reasons such as status, performance improvement, protection, decoration and religious or cultural significance for the wearing of shoes. Mine were just comfortable coverings.

In the Bata Shoes Museum Collection, there are three major exhibitions: shoe discovery, highlights gallery and feature exhibitions. They are well worth a two-hour visit.

The Shoe Discovery Centre identifies various types of shoes and illustrates how they are made. Visitors can touch the skins from which different shoes are made. Shoes designed on a CAD computer are demonstrated.

The Highlights Gallery has historical, ethnological and culturally significant artefacts. These include the Peruvian Chimu shoes worn by a young boy at a sacrificial ceremony. Special footwear such as French chestnut-crushing shoes and boots for walking on the moon are included. Famous people's footwear is also on display, with shoes worn by Pope Pius IX, Queen Victoria and Elton John's platform soles.

The Feature Gallery is a space for changing exhibitions. ``Stepping out in Style" is a historical look at footwear fashion in the Western world. Some exhibits are accompanied by well-researched and fascinating anecdotes and facts. Witty signs such as ``Shoestring Trivia" point to fact such as: The ``foot" measurement was developed in 1320 in England by Edward II, whose foot measured 36 barley corns. Each barley corn was one third of an inch, which added up to 12 inches or one foot.

In the Middle East, loosening the shoe is a mark of respect.

To avoid bad luck, actors never place shoes on the dressing table.

Think about the role of shoes in many stories such as `Puss in Boots' and the glass slipper in `Cinderella'.

Did you realise how many sayings are related to feet or shoes?

Shoetalk includes sayings such as ``well-heeled", ``pulling up by the boot straps", ``being a square" or ``putting your best foot forward".

Videos of dancers, sports people and others talking of their favorite pair of shoes are running continuously at the Bata Shoe Museum. It is open from 11am until 6pm daily except Mondays. Admission costs $3 adult, $6 families and $1 seniors.