Why did people prefer shoes with curved noses in the East
Nowadays, the strangest details of the wardrobe can be explained by fashion trends. But once everything was different, and even the most bizarre things had practical significance. This was exactly the case with shoes, which are popular in the East. It seems that the curved noses of shoes and boots are just an eccentric invention of court fashionistas. But this is not so, and such a style of shoes appeared for a reason.
Historians claim that shoes with sharp curved noses appeared among Buddhists, either in China or in Tibet. Soon the fashion spread to India, Mongolia and Eastern Siberia. Later , such shoes began to be worn in the Middle East and in Egypt.
Curved noses were primarily of practical importance. Sand got into such shoes less when walking. In addition, such shoes did not cling to carpets that were so loved in eastern countries. And pointed noses allowed riders to easily get their foot into the stirrup. The high heel complemented the rider's boots and shoes well, adding stability.
There is an interesting version of the origin of such shoes, proposed by fashion historian Wolfgang Brun. In his book "The History of the costume from antiquity to the present day," the scientist writes that shoes with pointed curved noses and soft soles were invented by Buddhists in India.
Such shoes allowed walking on the grass, causing minimal damage to it, which was very important for believers. The author writes that some even attached bells to their shoes to scare away insects and other small animals. All this was very much in the spirit of Buddhism, which highly values the life of any beings.
Later, when shoes and boots with sharp curved noses spread to large areas of Asia, it became a sign of the high position of the owner. Only a rich man could worry about not tripping over carpets and confidently getting his foot in the stirrup. Poor people didn't have such problems.
In the Middle Ages pointed shoes got into Europe. First it appeared in the Balkans, which were under the Ottoman yoke. Later, European nobles began to wear it, sometimes bringing the length of their noses to the point of absurdity. Appreciated the fashion and on Russia — many ancient images confirm that the nobility loved boots with curved and even twisted socks.