I feel so Imeldefic at the Bata shoe museum

in #travelfeed5 years ago (edited)

IMG_20190830_211922.jpg

Nestled at 327Bloor Street West is Toronto's shoe museum. So yeah this is the shoe lovers paradise.

IMG_20190830_212118.jpg

The museum collect shoes from around the globe and anything about shoes. So you can expect an interesting array previously owned b by royalties, astronaut, celebrities etc. as well as to its accessories like stockings socks and ornaments.
IMG_20190830_212249.jpg
Can you guess what materials are these socks made of?
IMG20190830191439.jpg

As you can see shoes comes in various shapes, sizes, materials as well as functions not just as fashion statement as we commonly know these days. IMG_20190830_212552.jpg

They had been objects to symbolise ones rank in the society, to mark a celebration be it religious or otherwise, used for protection when doing particular task not just a simple fashion item.

Various religions have their specifications as to what shoe design befits their leaders.
IMG20190830184920.jpg

IMG20190830184909.jpg

IMG20190830184853.jpg

IMG20190830184836.jpg

IMG20190830184903.jpg

IMG20190830184810.jpg

IMG20190830184828.jpg
Shoes even then had inspired a lot of artisan and was a subject of interest in many of our household items be it the vase, the plates, paper holder or the clothes we were in.

IMG_20190926_061720.jpg

IMG20190830192528.jpg

IMG20190830192623.jpg

IMG20190830192646.jpg
SHOES as I discovered speaks much of the country where they are produced. Their values and traditions are reflected in these pairs be it in the quality of craftsmanship or the substance and the painstaking process of which they were made. IMG_20190830_213118.jpg

There were materials that were common to these days and others that were unimaginable in matters of comfort. But then again if that served them well who am I to say it was inappropriate.

To cite a few
A. Metal shoes
IMG20190830190507.jpg

IMG20190830192810.jpg

IMG20190830184647.jpg

IMG20190830190458.jpg

B. grass shoes
IMG20190830194336.jpg
C. Fur shoes
IMG20190830191412.jpg

IMG20190830191405.jpg

IMG20190830191631.jpg

D. wooden shoes

IMG20190830194648.jpg

IMG20190830194730.jpg

IMG20190830193804.jpg

IMG20190830191607.jpg

IMG20190830192259.jpg

IMG20190830192227.jpg
E. Leather shoes
IMG20190830190644.jpg

IMG20190830195049.jpg

F. Silk shoes

IMG20190830184802.jpg

IMG20190830190831.jpg

IMG20190830192905.jpg

IMG20190830193037.jpg

IMG20190830184941.jpg

IMG20190830193049.jpg

I must say I was blown away by those painstakingly beaded and embroidered with gold threads be it a sandal / flat ,high heals or boots

IMG20190830190614.jpg

Lady Gaga out of this world fashion wasn't too ahead of her time if I consider the symbolism and embellishments of those in display

IMG20190830192351.jpg

IMG20190830192337.jpg

IMG20190830192243.jpg
All this limitless selection was made possible by the development of materials as well as the specialized tools .

IMG20190830185035.jpg

IMG20190830191246.jpg
IMG_20190926_061603.jpg
The museum did inform me that the Cinderella Story isn't confined to the British or European .In contrary across oceans shoes was used to enhance once attractiveness to the opposite sex.

IMG_20190830_212616.jpg
While in many culture like China and Europe, shoe binding was the epitome of female beauty I am 100 percent glad that this practise of downsizing the feet size by surgery or meticulous restrains had been banned as I find it unimaginable to enjoy my active lifestyle had this been the case. IMG_20190830_213429.jpg

IMG20190830194249.jpg
Neither do I want a giant size like this of Toronto Raptors,2019NBA champions. As it will be hard to find a fit and most often than not it and to be customized.Silly thoughts came rushing to my mind as I gazed at these temporary collection. Hint, back home we have this adult joke about the parallelism of the shoe size to the ones in the loins. Lol. IMG_20190830_213914.jpg
Shoes is a vital business. According to this museum, the depression would have been worst had it not been to the thriving shoe business. Indeed,it creates lots of jobs and enriches those with skilled workmanship and vivid imaginations. IMG_20190830_214639.jpg
So many famous shoe brands had been household named and gosh their prices are sometimes irrationally pricey. IMG_20190830_213707.jpg

But to a collector, each item is priceless as it in a manifestation of designer's energy and time.The fact that they are rare and very very old is just bonus IMG_20190830_214639.jpg

IMG_20190830_215006.jpg

IMG20190830190408.jpg

IMG_20190926_064129.jpg
Among many fashion items I love shoes the most as they are very personal to the wearer. One can pretty much get a good impression on someone simply just by looking at the shoes they wear. For example, if it's clean or not, is he after the brand or the practicality of things those sort of stuff. IMG20190830184547.jpg

One cannot really fathom how shoes have evolved through the years. Yet we all can agree that they were designed to suit the needs of the times .
IMG20190830192259.jpg

IMG20190830191831.jpg
Close inspection of them would tell us clues of how people lived at such era also.

IMG20190830193356.jpg

IMG20190830190515.jpg

IMG20190830194336.jpg

As I examine closely, I can't help think would this people choose the materials had they known it would endanger animals? Or would it even made a dent if we do our shoes by hand than mass produced them only to end up as trash after the season. IMG20190830191607.jpg

IMG20190830194238.jpg

IMG20190830193114.jpg
If you have time do check this out and be caught wide mouth with their unique collection IMG20190830185854.jpg

IMG20190830191733.jpg

I still long to own a famous brand of couture shoes as they say it in the Sex in the City "shoes takes you to places"but I still have to save up and turn off my frugal side of the brain for that. IMG20190830194126.jpg

As much as I want to splurge and boost the shoes economy I need to hold on to each penny for a while especially that I am jobless here in Toronto. IMG20190830192844.jpg

I need to remind myself how I'm blessed to be in my comfy running shoes than in gold and bejewelled shackles. IMG20190830192426.jpg

IMG20190830184639.jpg

Centuries back they would be fond of this embellishments but nowadays we associate it with shackles. So you see nothing is ever permanent in this life.. who knows maybe in the near future this perception will change also. IMG20190830190355.jpg

IMG20190830190749.jpg

Sort:  

Congratulations! Your high-quality travel content was selected by @travelfeed curator @elsaenroute and earned you a partial upvote. We love your hard work and hope to encourage you to continue to publish strong travel-related content.
Thank you for being part of the TravelFeed community!

Did you know that you get larger upvotes when posting through TravelFeed.io? That is not all, we are also giving away a ticket to Steemfest to one lucky TravelFeed user. Make sure to read the announcement and opt in! Also, thanks to the travel writing contest by @invisusmundi you can now earn up to 100 STEEM on top of the post rewards when posting through our new platform TravelFeed.io! Read the contest announcement for more information on how to participate.

We are continuously working on improving TravelFeed, recently we introduced EasySignUp and EasyLogin, our first step to make TravelFeed ready for mass adoption.


Learn more about TravelFeed by clicking on the banner above and join our community on Discord.

Congratulations @gratefulayn! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.30
TRX 0.12
JST 0.034
BTC 63750.99
ETH 3130.22
USDT 1.00
SBD 3.95