Dress and care of the feet /

by John Lord Peck

We have been somewhat particular in description, for the sake of influencing the makers of lasts and boots, as well as for the comfort of those who are to wear the latter. When these principles govern in its manufacture, the boot will fit almost as easily at the first putting on as it will after a week’s wearing. The trouble of “breaking in” will be nearly abolished. It may also be promised that slipping at the heel will be of rare occurrence, and the callosities produced by it be got rid of with little difficulty. When once removed they will not be likely to come again, with a boot that causes no irritation.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] A measurement for such cases may be taken by drawing the strap-measure from the point of the instep around the heel, to give the size, while the distance between the same two points, in a straight line, should be taken by the size-stick, in the same way we take the length of the foot, to show how far forward the point of the instep ought to be located on the last. The measure around the foot at the latter place must also be taken.

CHAPTER VII.

Inclinations of the Feet—How to Make them Tread Squarely—Peculiar Lasts—Weak Ankles—Cultivation of Muscle—Turning in of the Toes.

There remains still one other defect to be noticed—that of treading upon the side of the foot. This is a very common fault, and seems to be a habit often acquired quite early. The feet appear to leave the old, upright way of getting through the world, and take a sidewise deviation. Having commenced losing their uprightness when young, they, unless speedily helped, seldom recover it entirely afterward. The individual who possesses such unfortunate inclinations never has the satisfaction of knowing what it is to stand up in perfect rectitude. Whether the physical leaning of the feet has any tendency to create a moral one-sidedness may be considered an open question. It is hardly safe to say that it does not, when we know that the whole carriage, attitude, and dress of the individual has an effect upon the condition of the mind. But leaving that to be settled as it may, we must see what can be done to straighten the feet up to their natural position.

Feet that tread upon the inside are, many of them, flattened somewhat at the same time. This latter fault may come from any of the influences previously pointed out, or from a natural weakness of the muscles and ligaments of the ankle, which condition frequently exists in children. When this is the case, the arch of the foot being turned, the weight of the body is improperly directed upon it—that is, the arch bears this weight slightly upon one side instead of directly over itself. This tends to break it down and make the foot flat. The flatness, if already existing, may tend to throw the foot still more toward the side. Either way, the first thing to be done is to counteract the flatness by a sufficiently long heel under the shoe, to support the arch. The shoe should also be made upon a flat-bottomed last, and one that will compel it to draw tight along the sides and ankle. Another requisite is that the counter shall be very stiff on the inside, while on the opposite side it should be weak. It should also be high as well as firm, sometimes very high, as when the ankle requires very much support. When, however, it reaches so high as to touch the prominences of the joint, it must be carefully thinned on the edge to prevent chafing the bone. If the weakness is but slight, the principal part of the stiffness may be near the bottom, where a good deal of it will do no harm.

All persons having feet thus turned should patronize the last maker before expecting to accomplish much toward correcting them. An ordinary last is, in these cases, good for nothing. It needs to be straight, or nearly so, on its outside edge, from heel to ball, and that part between the heel and instep—the back half of it—should be very full on the outside, while it should be much hollowed out on the inside. In other words without altering the general form of the front part, the bulk of the wood in the back and middle parts should incline toward, and be on, the outside. The bottom of the last, particularly at the heel, may then be thinned off at the outside edge of the sole, leaving it deepest, or thickest, relatively, at its inside. It then has the appearance of being inclined over outwardly. The shoe or boot made upon it would really be inclined outwardly, and possess a tendency to push the foot which wore it over in the same direction. This is its precise intention. The maker must not forget to see that the upper is lasted over equally on both sides, or more on the outside, if either. Then it is just such a shoe as would fit easily and comfortably a foot that treads outside; and for that very reason it is exactly such a one as ought to be worn by a foot that treads inwardly. All the force exerted by the stiffness of the counter, and the inclination of the whole shoe, goes toward righting up the foot and pushing it over outwardly. Still there is nothing that can hurt the foot—only a steady and gentle pressure in the right direction, which does not interfere with the use of the muscles.

In extreme cases a further precaution may be taken by building the heels more upon the inside than the other, and raising them a little the highest on that side, fortifying them still more by some large nails, while the outside is not guarded at all. The inside edge of the sole, if sufficiently thick, may be treated in the same way.

We have said the last should be flat. It ought to be quite as much so as the foot; and the long heel must not be forgotten. Of course if there is no flatness of the shank, as is sometimes the case, there need be none in the last.