Toe Caps Are Disappearing

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30056, 14 February 1963, Page 7

Toe Caps Are Disappearing

{From the London Correspondent of "The Press”] Toe-caps on men’s shoes have been disappearing during the last few years.

If some New Zealanders have been seeking—feverishly and, perhaps, without much success—for the toe-capped styles, only to find that lighter, slimmer shoes with a smooth line are more common, then they must reconcile themselves to the fact that the Dominion has become obedient to British and other overseas trends.

A representative of the British Footwear Manufacturers’ Federation told me that the trend in shoes for men for spring and summer in Britain this .year was towards ease in wear and in putting on. “The man about town,” he said, “will be wearing shoes with a smooth, unbroken curve from instep to toe except for the occasional style with stitching running in the same direction to emphasise this shallow line. For the coun-

try, the ‘brogue look’ is still right, but with a difference; it is now seen on the ever-popular gusseted shoe as well as on the traditional laced style. Here again the unbroken line is carried through, inasmuch as toe-caps are absent.” Catching Up Once you could look through overseas magazines and see advertisements for men’s clothes which seemed so far ahead of New Zealand fashions that they were laughable. Today nobody laughs, because their styles are our styles. Intense competition among New Zealand manufacturers, and the ease and speed of travel today, have combined to bring men’s fashions here right up to date. Shirts are an example. Not long ago shirt makers could turn out one shirt style all the time and be quite confident that it would sell and keep selling. Retailers ordered nine months ahead.

Today the makers are vieing with each other so much that they have buyers and spies constantly running back and forth to the United States, Australia, Britain and Europe. Instead of being at least a year behind American fashions, they can now show New Zealand retailers samples of shirts that are about to come out in the United States. Danger To Feet A significantly high proportion—about 90 per cent.—of a chiropodist’s patients are women, but this could easily change. According to a leading Christchurch chiropodist the new pointed styles of men’s shoes could lead to just the sort of foot trouble that has besieged women for ages. It is the shape of the toe that does most damage to the foot—not the high heeL The chiropodist says this is because the toes, if left alone, point straight ahead. When the shoe cuts in at an angle from the main joint on the inside of the foot, it bends the big toe in towards the other toes.

This can force the toe out of alignment to the extent of 30 degrees, and it exposes the surface of the main joint to friction with the side of the shoe. Pressure on the joint surface can result in bunions and enlarged joints. When the big toe is pushed over the tendon which operates it must pull obliquely, and the ligaments are. stretched. “But young people’s feet can stand a lot of abuse for many years,* said the chiropodist