19Mar2015

Shoes and socks in a leading role! These museums will enchant you.

Written byRenata Jirasova19 Mar. 2015

1. Bata shoe museum – Toronto, Canada

Downtown Toronto at the corner of Boon Street and Saint George Street is a building resembling a half-open shoebox. Maybe it does not sound too appealing, but believe that it is architecturally interesting, and inside you will find true gems shoe creations from around the world - from ancient leather shoes through the Indian moccasins to products of fashion designers from the 2nd half of the 20th century.

The museum was founded by wife of Tomas Bata (1876-1932), a Czech founder of the Bata Shoes company, one of the world's biggest multinational retailers, manufacturers and distributors of footwear).

Chestnut crushing clog, France, 1800-1900

Ottoman qabâqib - wooden women shoes, worn in public bathhouses, probably Syrian, 19th century

Italian chopines, velvet luxurious shoes from the wardrobe of an upper-class woman, 16-17. century

2. Museu del Calcat - Barcelona, Spain

The obscure, small (just one room) but charming shoe museum del Calcat is located at a lovely courtyard in a Renaissance building that belonged to the Guild of Master Shoemakers in the 13 century. The unusual collection includes shoes from the Roman time (the 2nd century) to the Victorian ages (18th century) and also tools and leather used in the shoemakers’ trade.

3. Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, United Kingdom

Northampton Museum & Art Gallery houses the world´s largest shoes and boots collection. To visit this museum is a great ride through the history of shoemaking and shoe fashion. Carrie Bradshaw's from the TV serious „Sex and the City“ would be impressed: among examples of Salvatore Ferragamo and Vivienne Westwood, you can see there also designs of Manolo Blahnik!

Chinese children´s shoes with an embroidered tiger (a symbol of protection for the child and also his family)

A sandal from Bali with a Garuda bird (Indian eagel) on its front

4. Sock Museum – Tokyo, Japan

To move through the history of socks you will be able in Yokohama´s Sock Museum. The social and cultural changes of the past centuries are reflected in more than 20,000 pairs of socks.

Japanese traditional Tabi socks