Wedge boots, wedgies, or lifties are shoes and

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is cle ...

s with a sole in the form of a wedge, such that one piece of material, normally rubber, serves as both the sole and the

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

. This design dates back to ancient Greece. Greek Actors used to wear these shoes to signify status. These were crucial so the audience can be able to identify who is of importance in stage plays. According to the Kennedy Center, "tragic actors would don shoes called 'buskins', or raised platform shoes, to symbolize their superiority over comic actors, who would wear plain socks."

Women

Wedges for women are more common and often have a sole that is much thicker at the back than at the front, making them high-heeled boots or shoes. Wedgies for women were popularized by Salvatore Ferragamo, who introduced the design to the Italian market in the late 1930s.Bergstein. Pages 20 to 22. The evolution of wedge heels became more and more colorful and outrageous through the 1970s-1990s.

Men

Men's wedge boots, usually called "wedgies", typically have low heels. Men's boots of this kind became popular during the 1970s. Some forms of wedge boots, called

platform boot Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with an obvious thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of bot ...

s, have thick soles throughout. There are many styles available under the wedges footwear category; the most common styles are low wedge, t-straps wedge, ankle straps wedge, platform wedge, and closed-toe wedge.

High fashion

In the high fashion world, Ferragamo invented the cork wedge shoe in the 1940s due to the economic sanctions against Italy. Ferragamo could no longer afford to purchase steel for traditional heels. He experimented with pieces of Sardinian cork. It was glued and trimmed until the entire space between the sole and heel was solid.

References

Bibliography

* Boots 1970s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion {{clothing-stub