Shoemaking

Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cordwainers (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen, and apprentices (both men and women) would work together in a shop, dividing the work into individual tasks. A customer could come into a shop, be individually measured, and return to pick up their new shoes in as little as a day. The median price for a pair at the time was about one day’s wages for an average journeyman. The shoemaking trade flourished in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries but began to be affected by industrialization in the later nineteenth century. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or craftsmanship. Today, most shoes are made on a volume basis, rather than a craft basis. A pair of bespoke shoes, made in 2020 according to traditional practices, can be sold for thousands of US dollars. Shoemakers may produce a range of footwear items, including shoes, boots, sandals, clogs and moccasins. Such items are generally made of leather, wood, rubber, plastic, jute or other plant material, and often consist of multiple parts for better durability of the sole, stitched to a leather upper part. Trades that engage in shoemaking have included the cordwainer's and cobbler's trades. The term cobbler was originally used pejoratively to indicate that someone did not know their craft; in the 18th century, it became a term for those who repaired shoes but did not know enough to make them.