Dress and care of the feet /

by John Lord Peck

One other reason is, very probably, lack of development. The calf of the leg is but partially developed in some races of men, and only comes to its full growth in conditions of civilized society that call for the use of all its muscles. So it is confidently believed that all those steps and motions which give lightness, grace, ease, and elegance to the movements of the body, such as occur in most varieties of the dance, and particularly such as demand the use of the toes, have a tendency to develop and strengthen the foot’s arch. As its full development tends to create easy, light, and graceful movements, so these in turn help it to grow into full strength and beauty. Hence the well-developed calf, the well-arched foot, and the graceful step will almost invariably be found to go together.

There may be yet other and unknown causes of this deformity; but enough have been noticed to account for the great majority of cases. While it is already very common, the influences that have produced it are still producing and confirming the wrong shape. Of course the longer the fault is established the more difficult it is to make a change; but there is believed to be a partial remedy, at least, in the case of young persons. It consists in simply supporting the back part of the arch as nature does in her own way; that is, in supporting the whole under-surface of the calcaneum, or heel-bone, as is done when the bare foot is pressed upon the ground. A long heel—one extending under the sole far enough for its front edge to support the front part of the bone—is the thing required. When the foot rests upon such a heel, the whole weight of the body acts as a force to compel the forward part of the bone to push itself upward into its true place, because, being a quarter of an inch—more or less—lower than it ought to be, it cannot be perfectly at ease until it gets back where it belongs. The weight of the body, then, is just as influential in restoring the arch to its natural form when the long heel is worn, as it is in breaking it down when the short heel is the only support. There is reason to think that a large number of the flat feet could be corrected by this simple expedient. The long-standing cases might require considerable time, and even prove too obdurate for this remedy; but the law which compels all parts of the system to adapt themselves to circumstances would tend constantly and strongly to bring about the effect desired. In those cases where the feet have not grown into a positive, settled distortion, we doubt not the result would be decided and very gratifying; and if the children wore these long heels—if, in short, the whole people were educated to see the necessity of wearing them, when any at all are worn, the instances of flat-foot would be far less common.

A few years since, Dr. Plumer (before referred to) patented a style of boot, of which the long heel is one characteristic. This is, in fact, the best thing about his invention, and should go far to make it popular, even if it has no other recommendation. The fashion has been considerably introduced in some places, and has also had some effect in increasing the length of heels in work not made after that style, and thus may indirectly have saved many from having the arch of their feet broken down. For this it is deserving of praise, though we attach less importance to its other peculiarities.

The old-fashioned way of making heels leaves them from one-fourth to five-eighths of an inch too short. The whole tendency of such heels is downward, in a double sense. The more they are worn the farther downward goes the foot, not only in form, but in character—in beauty, gracefulness, and strength.

The long heel, on the contrary, tends to raise the foot upward in shape, and also to restore its strength and grace. As a means of prevention, it should be adopted for all children, to preserve the shape of feet that are still natural.

The Plumer heel has frequently been carried to an extreme, and in such a way as to make its shape appear clumsy and inelegant. For this there is no real necessity. A heel that will extend under the foot half an inch farther than the generality of short ones, can be made, by pitching it well under behind, to appear only slightly longer than common at the top, (or bottom,) and be tasteful in every particular. The form may be that of the most approved, and there is no demand for greater width. If the counters or stiffenings be of the right kind, the heel may be made sufficiently narrow to look well, and correspond with the general appearance of an elegant boot, without danger of its treading over. This latter kind of trouble comes mainly from counters that are too weak, though, of course, a heel that is too small relatively—which is not handsome—or that is built inclining to one side, will be likely to produce the same result.

A high heel has an influence in encouraging this false condition of the arch by throwing the foot forward, thus creating the same effect as a shortening of the heel itself. This is not so great a cause as some others, it is true, but, as one thing tending to the same general result, it should be considered and guarded against.

It is claimed that a necessity exists for a heel of some kind in order to prevent the stubbing of the toes in walking; and the fact that people of Eastern countries turn up the toes of their shoes seems to countenance the claim. Yet, it is doubtful. Although Nature did not put anything under our heels, it cannot be supposed that she intended us to go about constantly stubbing our toes. If there had really been a need of raising up the heel, she would have raised it. It is more likely that by wearing heels we have got the foot into a false habit of pointing the toes downward more than is natural, and hence our inclination to stub them when the artificial heels are not under us, if such is the fact. The heels must be decided (described) as unnatural as they are unnecessary. Still, a moderately high one is not so obnoxious as to be worth disputing about. If the height were limited to an inch for the heels of a lady’s boot, and an inch and a quarter for those of gentlemen, as a general rule, in both cases, the disadvantage of such heels would be so trifling that they could hardly be objectionable, provided the length was sufficient. But a short heel, however low it may be, is a villainous thing.

Another great means, both of preventing the fall of the arch, and of restoring it afterward—one hardly inferior to that of the heel—is the exercise and development of the muscles of the under side of the foot. These are chiefly concerned in the use of the toes. They act whenever we spring upon the forward part of the foot in walking, leaping, or dancing. Their exercise not only strengthens them, but it strengthens all the other parts also; the ligaments and bones, as well, being made more dense, firm, and enduring, according to the law that the proper use of the muscles of any part of the body draws blood, vitality, and strength into the surrounding or contiguous parts. As these muscles extend in a general lengthwise direction, their strong and firm condition tends directly to hold the ends of the arch as near together as they naturally belong, or in other words, prevent their separation. And as they must separate before the arch can sink, it is seen that here is a powerful influence naturally exerting itself to restrain the foot from flattening; a view which can be sustained by good anatomical and medical authority.

The ladies of Spain are said to possess the finest feet of any race of women in the world. The fact can hardly be disputed; and to account therefore it is only necessary to take into consideration the general prevalence of their national habit of dancing, which, by all its movements and exercises of the foot, tends directly toward strengthening the toes and raising the arch. A person who can support the weight of the body on the tips of the great toes, either naturally or by cultivation, must possess not only strong muscles in the toes themselves, but a strong arch, and strong foot throughout. We will risk the reputation of this book on the assertion that a broken-down arch cannot be found in the whole dancing profession.