Footwear is created from a great variety of different substances like canvas, leather, vinyl, and other synthetic materials. The vast majority of footwear is mass produced but the highest quality shoes are those that are made by hand. Of course handmade shoes are as a rule more expensive than those made on an assembly line.

The use of footwear can be traced back to the ice age, about 5 million years ago. People, especially travelers, needed something to protect their feet in harsh weather conditions. Some other reports indicate that footwear was used at the end of the Paleolithic period, when early humans learned the art of leather tanning. The footwear during this period was in the form of wraps made from leather or grass. Eventually, the idea to shield the feet evolved into oval pieces of leather bound by a piece of strong leather thongs. This gave way to the flip-flop or sandal, believed to be the first crafted footwear.

When it comes to shoe-buying, most shoe manufacturers seem to make no provisions for individuals needing special-sized shoes. In their minds everyone possesses smaller, narrower feet. However, there are a number of individuals who have very large or very wide feet, without necessarily being any bigger weight-wise than those deemed to have 'normal' feet.

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