Pt 2 – Seven basic styles:
Style is something very precise. It specifies a one-of-a-kind category, such as a pump, a boot or a sandal. In all history there have been only seven basic footwear styles: the moccasin, pump, clog, oxford, mule, boot & sandal. The oldest style is the moccasin & the newest the oxford, dating back about 350 years. There hasn’t been a new style since.
Fashion is an adapted style. Designers create a new footwear fashion by playing off one of the seven basic styles. A pump, for example, can have hundreds of different material or variation (high or low heels, dressy or casual). However, a pump is always a pump.
Now what about all those other categories such as loafers, slingback, platforms, sneakers. Aren’t they new styles? No. Again, they are simply adaptations of the original seven basic styles. A loafer stems from the moccasin, the sneaker from the oxford, the slingback from the pump and the platforms from clogs.
Fads are the offensive offspring of fashion. They appear from nowhere and disappear just as suddenly. Fads are often referred to as street fashion, the throw-away look that is in today & out tomorrow.
