The Victorian Era, the time during the reign of English Queen Victoria, could be called a time of ridiculously proper manners. The social and moral values as well as fashion were influence by Queen Victoria. These values included devotion to family life, public and private responsibility, and obedience to the law. Table legs were covered with skirts so as not to be too "arousing" and well-bred women could not even be considered to have anything as indecent as legs. Victorians were masters of euphemism and legs were referred delicately as the "lower limb". These lower limbs were kept completely covered by long skirts and crinolines and such was the pressure to conceal what was considered forbidden fruit that ankle boots came into fashion as a way to avoid accidentally revealing a glimpse of the forbidden.
Travel became a popular leisure pastime with the wealthy. Eastern fabrics and fashion fused with classic French design and became symbolic of one's sophisticated lifestyle and understanding of the world. Shoe styles had names like The Empress. Increased trade worldwide and better methods of transport brought delicate silk and cotton gauzes and other sheer fabric for dresses and of course, shoes were needed to match. The shoes were often decorated with beads, pearls, or rhinestones despite the fact that they were meant to be concealed. The fashion and social pressure to conceal women's legs and feet cause a surge of shoe and foot related pornography in London. Unsurprisingly it is at this time that Baron Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, from whence we originate the word masochism, wrote freely of experiences with his mistress in which allowed her to whip and walk on him before kissing the shoes that had caused him pain. Sacher-Masoch, a product of Victorian obsession with shoes and feet, wrote in his book Venus in Furs that his ideal woman was a cruel woman in furs and high heels.
Victorian life also generated an interest in sports and other physical activities. In 1891, James Naismith created the game of basketball to tame a crowd of unruly students at Springfield College during the harsh New England winters. With the birth of basketball came the birth of the Sneaker Era.
The word sneaker is traditionally defined a shoe consisting of a solid rubber sole attached to an upper made, usually, of canvas. While rubber soled shoes called plimsolls had been in use for some time for aristocratic lawn sports, and King Henry VIII was reported to have worn a sneaker-like shoe for playing tennis, the true life of the sneaker did not begin until American inventor Charles Goodyear patented the process for vulcanization of rubber. Until that time, the sneaker as we know it now, was simply not possible. The oldest sneakers used for basketball are thought to be the Converse All Stars, first produced in 1917, but the Spalding company produced shoes in 1907 specifically for the game of basketball. Still these are not the oldest sneakers. A discovery at an estate sale has led experts to believe that the first basketball shoes were produced by Colchester Rubber Company of Colchester, Connecticut who went out of business in 1893. While there is no significant evidence to point to the use of these shoes for basketball, it seems that shoes that were produced just a few miles from the birthplace of basketball just two years after the invention of the game would certainly have been used for basketball.
By the early 1900's, sneakers were being produced by small rubber companies who specialized in the production of bicycle tires. U.S. Rubber, a conglomerate of nine other rubber companies, introduced Keds in 1916 while Converse introduced the first mass marketed basketball sneaker in 1917 with their introduction of the Converse All Star . Other companies, including B.F. Goodrich and Spalding Co., were producing tennis shoes and smaller family-owned companies were manufacturing early cleated shoes. At first the market for sneakers was small and practically invisible, but after World War I, America turned to sports and physical health as a way to demonstrate moral fiber and patriotism. The market for sneakers grew steadily as young boys lined up to by sneakers endorsed by football player, Jim Thorpe and Converse All Stars endorsed by basketball player, Chuck Taylor. In the 1920's and 30's, manufacturers added traction to the soles of their sneakers and began marketing them for different sports. A major innovation of this time was the production of distinct models for boys and girls. Sneakers were known for comfort and used almost strictly for athletic endeavors. The revived Olympic Games provided exposure and heightened interest in sneakers and sports in general, leading to increased sales. It was at this time that the German sneaker manufacturer, Adidas would be founded in Herzogenaurach. German manufactured sport shoes would dominate the market until the late 1960's with the founding of current market leader, Nike.
World War II interrupted production of sneakers for the public as factories switched to produce items in support of the massive war effort and raw materials became scarce. After the cessation of hostilities, the slow rise in the popularity of sneakers resumed. Another major brand, Puma, was also founded at this time after Rudolph Dassler split with Adi Dassler in a feud. Rudi Dassler set up shop across town and the Puma brand was born.
