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In days of old, shoes were cloth
By Chen Zhaoxiong and Wang Jie |
June 28, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BECAUSE of their low living standards, few people could afford leather shoes in the old days. As a result, homemade cloth shoes, cotton-padded shoes and straw sandals were common. Jiading people, known for their simplicity and thrift, used to wear shoes with black or dark covers. Even small girls were seldom seen in shoes of any bright colors.
The sole of handmade shoes is the most difficult to make. It usually took a lot of time under an oil lamp which would burn late into the night. To save lamp oil, three or five girls living close together would come to work by one lamp, enjoying chats and gossip at the same time.
Fancy embroidered satin shoes might be made sometimes, but could only be worn by the bride at the old-fashioned wedding ceremony.
In rural Jiading in those days, people mainly wore straw sandals because straw was available anywhere and it took little time to make. However, the straw sandals would be easily worn out, usually in three to five days. In busy seasons, the farmers had no time to make straw sandals and would buy them from the shops on the street. Straw sandals were sold at very low prices at that time, just a few cents a pair.
In winter, "rush shoes" would take the place of straw sandals. People made rush shoes by themselves, or sometimes bought them from the street shops. The shops selling rush shoes were scattered around Xuhang, Jianbang and Malu, while the yellow grass slippers sold at Xuhang were most popular, according to some aged local people.
It rains more often in the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River than in other parts of the country. What would people put on during a rainy day, then? In the old days, rubber rain shoes were very scarce, while spikes and wood shoes were popular. Spikes were similar to cotton-padded shoes in style, but they had not any cotton inside the vamps and were covered with umbrella-shaped iron nails under the soles.
As people enjoy a much better life these days, leather shoes, sports shoes and other varieties fill the shelves of shoe shops. Even on rainy days, few people put on any overshoes. Colorful cloth shoes, embroidered satin shoes and yellow grass sandals, meanwhile, have now become decorative, or a reminiscence of those old days.
The sole of handmade shoes is the most difficult to make. It usually took a lot of time under an oil lamp which would burn late into the night. To save lamp oil, three or five girls living close together would come to work by one lamp, enjoying chats and gossip at the same time.
Fancy embroidered satin shoes might be made sometimes, but could only be worn by the bride at the old-fashioned wedding ceremony.
In rural Jiading in those days, people mainly wore straw sandals because straw was available anywhere and it took little time to make. However, the straw sandals would be easily worn out, usually in three to five days. In busy seasons, the farmers had no time to make straw sandals and would buy them from the shops on the street. Straw sandals were sold at very low prices at that time, just a few cents a pair.
In winter, "rush shoes" would take the place of straw sandals. People made rush shoes by themselves, or sometimes bought them from the street shops. The shops selling rush shoes were scattered around Xuhang, Jianbang and Malu, while the yellow grass slippers sold at Xuhang were most popular, according to some aged local people.
It rains more often in the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River than in other parts of the country. What would people put on during a rainy day, then? In the old days, rubber rain shoes were very scarce, while spikes and wood shoes were popular. Spikes were similar to cotton-padded shoes in style, but they had not any cotton inside the vamps and were covered with umbrella-shaped iron nails under the soles.
As people enjoy a much better life these days, leather shoes, sports shoes and other varieties fill the shelves of shoe shops. Even on rainy days, few people put on any overshoes. Colorful cloth shoes, embroidered satin shoes and yellow grass sandals, meanwhile, have now become decorative, or a reminiscence of those old days.
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