Wooden shoes!

I have been pondering wooden shoes for some time.  They're in Aertsen's paintings...

Pieter Aertsen, Market Scene, 1561.

And I've read that they're still being produced and used in Holland and other places.  Our word 'sabotage' doesn't really come from wooden  that were hurled into machinery in protest, breaking it, and causing grief to the new industrialists, as much fun as this is to imagine.

So I've wanted my own pair to try out, to see if they are practical in the garden, and for my plaid kirtle and (someday) my green pleated kirtle.  They're not very expensive to order, but that seemed risky, fit-wise, and kind of silly, when I know lots of people buy them as tourists and then get rid of them later.

I hoped to find them in a thrift shop or antique store.  I saw a couple pairs of men's sizes in Southern Indiana, where the Dutch immigrant population is high, but nothing that would fit me.

The other day, when I bought a couple of candlesticks for my feast box, I mentioned that I was looking to the proprietress, and she remembered seeing TWO pairs about town, but couldn't remember where.

Yesterday, I stopped into one of the charity shops and there she was, and there was one of the pairs - and they fit!  En voila...

Aren't they great?  I'm wearing them with my Eastern European Knitted Footlets, which are rather thick, and the clogs don't flop at ALL.  They feel very secure, and totally able to deal with a shovel.  We shall see.

There's another pair in town that are smaller, but not child-sized, and I'm going to pick them up for Melbrigda, in hopes that they will fit her.  If not, perhaps I can resell them in the SCA community.

Comments

[Sienna]

I bought wooden shoes a couple of years ago at a fest in Germany. I've never worn them to an SCA event yet (as I do Persian) but I hope to in the future. Meanwhile, they are the perfect garden shoes, or for quick trips outside. My husband used to make fun of me for wearing them, but then I caught him borrowing them. I've gotten used to wearing them without a liner, and they are comfortable and I think pretty practical. Have fun with yours!