A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function but over time shoes also became fashion items. Some shoes are worn as safety equipment, such as steel-toe boots, which are required footwear at industrial worksites.
Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature.
A climbing shoe is a specialized type of footwear designed for rock climbing. Typical climbing shoes have a tight fit, an asymmetrical downturn, and a sticky rubber sole with an extended rubber rand to the heel and the toe. Different types of shoes can be better suited for different levels of technique and routes.
Clogs are a type of footwear made in part or completely from wood. Used in many parts of the world, their forms can vary by culture, but often remained unchanged for centuries within a culture.
Slippers are a type of shoes falling under the broader category of light footwear, that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors.
Sneakers (US) or trainers (UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but which are also widely used for everyday casual wear.
Regional vocabulary within American English varies. Below is a list of lexical differences in vocabulary that are generally associated with a region. A term featured on a list may or may not be found throughout the region concerned, and may or may not be recognized by speakers outside that region. Some terms appear on more than one list.
Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry, the common understanding is that a sandal leaves all or most of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them comfort in warm weather, economy, and as a fashion choice. Usually, people wear sandals in warmer climates or during warmer parts of the year in order to keep their feet cool and dry. The risk of developing athlete's foot is lower than with enclosed shoes, and the wearing of sandals may be part of the treatment regimen for such an infection.
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Skate shoes or skateboard shoes are a type of footwear specifically designed and manufactured for use in skateboarding. While numerous non-skaters choose to wear skate shoes as they are popular in fashion, the design of the skate shoe includes many features designed especially for use in skateboarding, including a vulcanized rubber or polyurethane sole with minimal tread pattern or no pattern, a composition leather or suede upper, and reinforced stitching to extend the life of the upper material. The most important aspect of skate shoes is that they have flat soles which allow the skater to have better board control.
Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Converse All Stars is a sneaker manufactured by Converse. Initially developed as a basketball shoe in the early 20th century, its design has remained largely unchanged since its introduction. The shoe consists of a stitched upper portion, and a toe cap and outsole usually made of rubber. Although Chuck Taylors are made of various materials such as leather or suede, the original and most widely known version is made from cotton canvas. The innovative detail of the original shoe was the "loose lining" of soft canvas that was intended to provide flexibility and prevent blisters.
Galoshes, also known by many other names, are a type of overshoe or rubber boot that is slipped over shoes to keep them from getting muddy or wet during inclement weather.
A sleeveless shirt is a shirt that is manufactured without sleeves or with sleeves that have been cut off. Depending on the style, they can be worn as undershirts, by athletes in sports such as track and field and triathlon, or as casual wear by both men and women.
A court shoe or pump is a shoe with a low-cut front, or vamp, with either a shoe buckle or a black bow as ostensible fastening. Deriving from the 17th and 18th century dress shoes with shoe buckles, the vamped pump shape emerged in the late 18th century. By the turn of the 19th century, shoe buckles were increasingly replaced by black bows, which has remained the contemporary style for men's formal wear, leather or patent leather evening pumps ever since. This latter style is sometimes also called an opera pump or opera slipper.
Wedge boots, wedgies, or lifties are shoes and boots with a sole in the form of a wedge, such that one piece of material, normally rubber, serves as both the sole and the heel.
A dress shoe is a shoe to be worn at smart casual or more formal events. A dress shoe is typically contrasted to an athletic shoe.
Volley, formerly known as Dunlop Volley is an Australian brand of athletic shoes manufactured by Brand Collective. Formerly, it was produced by Dunlop Sport (Australia), a sports equipment subsidiary of Pacific Brands, which separated the Volley brand into its Brand Collective which was sold to private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners in November 2014.
The Dunlop KT26 was a running shoe made by Dunlop Sport (Australia), from 1978 to 2012. Originally designed by Jerry Stubberfield for the Osaga shoe company in the 1970s, "KT" was short for "Kinetic Technology" and "26" represents the number of miles in a marathon. The shoe featured a light weight upper, wedge shape and wide flared sole to spread impact and increase traction and a hard wearing rubber sole with a tread pattern of "cantilevered" large deep lugs and voids which provided 360° grip edges and was relatively self-cleaning making it useful in wet and muddy conditions. In 2003, Dunlop Footwear calculated it had sold more than 5 million pairs since release.
Cleats or studs are protrusions on the sole of a shoe or on an external attachment to a shoe that provide additional traction on a soft or slippery surface. They can be conical or blade-like in shape and can be made of plastic, rubber or metal. The type worn depends on the environment of play: grass, ice, artificial turf, or other grounds.
Tisza Cipő is a brand of Hungarian sports shoes that existed in the Communist era, which has made a resurgence in recent years as a hip new fashion brand in that country. "Cipő" is Hungarian for "shoe," and Tisza is a river in Central Europe. The shoes in playful colors and designs are featured on the company's web site.
