Dress shoes are categorized by smooth and supple leather uppers, leather soles, and narrow sleek figure. Casual shoes are characterized by sturdy leather uppers, non-leather outsoles, and wide profile.
Some designs of dress shoes can be worn by either gender. The majority of dress shoes have an upper covering, commonly made of leather, enclosing most of the lower foot, but not covering the ankles. This upper part of the shoe is often made without apertures or openings, but may also be made with openings or even itself consist of a series of straps, e.g. an open toe featured in women's shoes. Shoes with uppers made high to cover the ankles are also available; a shoe with the upper rising above the ankle is usually considered a boot but certain styles may be referred to as high-topped shoes or high-tops. Usually, a high-topped shoe is secured by laces or zippers, although some styles have elastic inserts to ease slipping the shoe on.
Men's
Men's shoes can be categorized by how they are closed:
- Balmorals: (American English), Oxfords (British English): the vamp has a V-shaped slit to which the laces are attached; also known as "closed lacing". The word "Oxford" is used by American clothing companies to market shoes that are not Balmorals, such as Blüchers.
- Bluchers: (American), Derbys (British): the laces are tied to two pieces of leather independently attached to the vamp; also known as "open lacing".
- Monk-straps: a buckle and strap instead of lacing
- Slip-ons: There are no lacings or fastenings. The popular loafers are part of this category, as well as less popular styles, such as elastic-sided shoes.
Men's shoes can also be decorated in various ways:
- Plain-toes: have a sleek appearance and no extra decorations on the vamp.
- Cap-toes: has an extra layer of leather that "caps" the toe. This is possibly the most popular decoration.
- Brogues (American: wing-tips): The toe of the shoe is covered with a perforated panel, the wing-tip, which extends down either side of the shoe. Brogues can be found in both balmoral and blucher styles.
There is a large variety of shoes available for women, in addition to most of the men's styles being more accepted as unisex. Some broad categories are:
High heels may be shoes with heels 2 inches (5 cm) or higher. They are often seen as having more sex appeal than low heels (see article for discussion) and are thus commonly worn by women for formal occasions or social outings.
Kitten heels are low high heels from about 1.5 to 2 inches high, set in from the back of the shoe.
- Sneaker boot and sneaker pump: a shoe that looks like an athletic shoe, but is equipped with a heel, making it a kind of novelty dress shoe.
- Wedge Sandals are sandals but have the ankles higher as if wearing a high heels shoe.
- Mules are shoes or slippers with no fitting around the heel (i.e. they are backless)
- Slingbacks are shoes which are secured by a strap behind the heel, rather than over the top of the foot.
- Espadrilles are casual flat or high-heeled fashion sandals of a style which originated in the Pyrenees. They usually have a cotton or canvas upper and a flexible sole of rope or rubber.
- Pumps are known in the US and UK as ballerinas, ballet pumps or skimmers, are shoes with a very low heel and a relatively short vamp, exposing much of the instep. They are popular for warm-weather wear, and may be seen as more comfortable than shoes with a higher heel.
- Platform shoe: shoe with very thick soles and heels
- Clog
- Moccasin: originated by Native Americans, a soft shoe without a heel and usually made of leather.
- Sandals: open shoes consisting of a sole and various straps, leaving much of the foot exposed to air. They are thus popular for warm-weather wear, because they let the foot be cooler than a closed-toed shoe would.
- Saddle shoe: leather shoe with a contrasting saddle-shaped band over the instep, typically white uppers with black "saddle".
- Loafer: a dress or casual shoe without laces; often with tassels, buckles, or coin-holders (penny loafers).
- Boating shoes, also known as boat shoes and deck shoes: similar to a loafer, but more casual. Laces, if present, are usually simple leather (often two-tone) with no frills. Often made of canvas or featuring a white sole. They have soft soles/heels to avoid marring or scratching a boat deck. The first boat shoe was invented in 1935 by Paul Sperry.
- Boots: Long shoes (covering the ankle) frequently made of leather. Some are designed to be used in times of bad weather, or simply as an alternate style of casual or dress wear. Styles include rubber boots and snow boots, as well as work boots and hiking boots.
- Slippers: For indoor use, commonly worn with pajamas.
Men's and women's athletic shoes and special function shoes often have less difference between the sexes than in dress shoes. In many cases these shoes can be worn by either sex. Emphasis tends to be more on function than style.
- Sneakers/trainers (also called gym shoes or tennis shoes): general purpose athletic shoes; made out of rubber, cloth, and/or plastic to be lightweight, flexible, and have good traction. Special varieties are available for basketball or tennis.
- Running shoes: very similar to above, with additional emphasis on cushioning.
- Track shoes lightweight; often with plastic or metal cleats.
- Cleat: a type of shoe featuring molded or removable studs. Usually worn while playing sports such as shoes: intermediate style between ordinary dress shoes and athletic shoes. They have harder rubber soles/heels so as not to damage bowing alley floors. They are often rented or loaned at bowling alleys.
- Climbing shoes: a shoe designed for rock climbing. They typically have a close fit, little if any padding, and a smooth sticky rubber sole with an extended rubber rand.
- Hiling shoes or boots: usually have a high somewhat stiff upper with many lace eyelets, to provide ankle support on uneven terrain, with extra large traction on the sole.
- Walking shoes: have a more flexible sole than the running shoe, lighter in weight than the hiking boot, may have air holes, may not be water proof.
- Skating shoes: typically called skates. They have various attachments for skating on the bottom of the shoe portion.
- Roller skates
- Ice skates
- Inline skates
- Ski boot: a large, thick plastic boot specially designed for attachment to the ski.
- Skate shoes: specifically designed for use in Skateboarding, the shoes are maufatured with flat soles as to allow a skateboader to have better grip when riding a skateboard. They are very wide and have extra layers of padding to protect the skateboarders feet.
- Cycling shoes are equipped with a metal or plastic cleat to interface with clipless pedals, as well as a stiff sole to maximize power transfer and support the foot.
- Snowshoes are special shoes for walking in thick snow. In temperate climates, snowshoes are used for mostly recreational purposes in winter.
- Wrestling shoes are light, flexible shoes that mimic bare feet while providing additional traction and protection.
Orthopedic
Orthopedic or "comfort" shoes are made with pedorthic and anatomically-correct comfort qualities, such as padded removable footbeds, wide toe boxes and arch support are made especially for those with problematic feet.
Dance
- Pointe shoes are designed for ballet dancing. These have a toe box that is stiffened with glue and a hardened sole so the dancer can stand on the tips of their toes. They are secured by elastic straps and ribbons that are tied to the dancer's ankles.
- Ballet shoes are heel-less slippers made of canvas or leather, with either continuous or two-part sole (also called split-sole). The sole is typically made of leather, with thicker material under the ball and heel of the foot, and thinner and thus more flexible material under the arch so that the foot can be pointed to its utmost. Ballet slippers are usually secured by elastics that cross over the top of the foot. They are most commonly pink, white, black, or pale tan, although they may be made in specialty colours such as red or blue.
- Jazz shoes typically have a two-part, rubberized sole (also called split-sole) to provide both flexibility and traction, and a low (one inch or shorter) heel. They are secured to the foot by laces or elastic inserts.
- Tango and Flamenco shoes are used for dancing the tango or flamenco.
- Ballroom shoes fall into two categories: Ballroom and Latin American. Both are characterised by suede soles. Mens' ballroom shoes are typically lace-ups with one-inch heels and patent leather uppers. Ladies' ballroom shoes are typically court shoes with two-inch heels, made of fabric that can be colored to match the dancer's dress. In contrast to the low Ballroom heel, which evenly distributes weight across the foot, Latin American shoes have higher heels designed to shift weight onto the toes. Latin shoes are also more flexible than ballroom shoes. Men's Latin shoes typically have 1.5- to 2-inch high, shaped heels, while Ladies' Latin shoes have 2,5-inch to 3-inch heels. Ladies shoes are typically open-toed and strapped.
- Dance sneakers. Also known as dansneakers, these are a combination of a sneaker and a dance shoe, with a reinforced rubber toe.
- Character shoes have a one to three inch heel, which is usually made of leather, and often have one or more straps across the instep to secure it to the foot. They may come in soft-soled (suede) or hard-soled varieties. They may be converted to tap shoes by attaching taps.
- Dance paws are known by various names depending on the manufacturer, including dance paws, foot thongs, foot undies, and foot paws. They are slip-on, partial foot covers that protect the ball of a dancer's foot from skin abrasions while executing turns. From a distance, flesh colored foot thongs give a dancer the appearance of having bare feet.
Work
Work shoes are designed to stand heavy wear, to protect the wearer, and provide high traction. They are generally made from sturdy leather uppers and non-leather outsoles. Sometimes they are used for uniforms or comfort by nurses, waitresses, police, military personnel, etc. They are commonly used for protection in industrial sentings, construction, mining, and other workplaces. Protective features may include steel-tipped toes and soles or ankle guards.
Historical
Footwear has been worn for tens of thousands of years. Shoes of the past include:
- Turn-shoes: A method by which the shoe is constructed inside-out, wetted, and turned — the finished side of the leather flipped to the outside. Such footwear was common from the Middle-ages until modern shoes was developed in the Tudor era. Because of their construction, turn-shoes cannot simply be re-soled, unlike most modern shoe types.
- Espadrilles: these sandals, which are still worn today, are found as early as the 14th century.
- Patten: a European wooden overshoe used to keep a person's feet dry outdoors. First worn in the middle ages, they continued in use even into the early 20th century. Peoples such as the Dutch, Flemings, and some French carved similar, fully enclosed wooden shoes.
- Poulaine: a shoe with a long-pointed toe, popular in Europe in the 1400s.
- Moccasins: the historical shoe of many North American Indian tribes.
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