Wooden Clog as an 18th Century Overshoe

If you ever get an opportunity to visit a living history museum like Colonial Williamsburg, you will get to know the 18^th Century American City. Besides the buildings from the colonial era, you can also get an insight of how women interpreted fashion at that time. This blog is about one such fashion trend which became an inspiration for the new age fashionistas. The streets of London back in 18^th century witnessed the most elegant shoe fashion in the American history. The curved heels and the toe-end embellished with beautiful silk lace were every woman’s pride and a symbol of status in the society. 

The shoes which are sitting in the history museums are actually not the ones which mingled with dust of the streets of London but were worn by the ladies with - in their wooden bungalows and cottages. American women were so cautious of their shoe that they sought out various ways to protect the sole (even for the few steps – from door to carriage) and this is how the sole savior overshoe came into existence.

Now comes the interesting part – the modern interpretation of this overshoe has topped the fashion bandwagon of modern America, clog sandals for women. The present day version of overshoe is indeed much lighter, appealing and yes, comfortable.

This overshoe was crafted with special wood and was embellished using the similar fabric and lace that was used in the shoe. However it covered nothing more than the sole and the toe-end part of the shoe. These could also be considered as an older version of wedge heels that proffered an extra arch support for comfortable steps. 

American women used to order the wooden clogs or overshoe for every new shoe they owned and for each order, the fabric or other embellishment augmented the shoe. Later on, these clogs were designed to cover the whole shoe for protection on rainy days. The later version of wooden clogs provided an extra cushion, snugness and arch support to women’s feet.