What Are Espadrille Shoes?

What makes an espadrille shoe? Well the most important part of any espadrille shoe that is to make any claim to authenticity is also the part that gives it the most distinctive visual look, the sole. Espadrille shoes or espadrilles as they are more commonly known, have soles that are made out of rope that has been moulded, pressed and braided into the shape of a sole and then a layer of rubber or even a wooden heel may be glued on or secured with more stitched rope.

To the top of this sole is stitched in the upper of the shoe which may be made out of canvas fabric or out of cotton. The soles of espadrilles when made out of jute as most are these days, are a distinctive white colour that makes them easy to spot from a mile away. Espadrilles come in many different styles but the most common one is without any laces, a slip on style that has a wedge shaped heel either with closed toes or with a cut out for toes. Due to this popularity of wedge heeled espadrilles, they are sometimes thought of by people who may not know any better as women's shoes.

This is not true as Espadrilles have historically been unisex shoes since the time they were first invented It is just that outside of Spain, their country of origin, their popularity has spread faster with women than it has with men as women are more apt to try new fashions specially when it comes to shoe styles. Espadrilles were first seen in the fourteenth century in an area of the Pyrenees Mountains in Spain and the origin of their name too has roots in this area. The original espadrilles and the most authentic ones to this day were made with the rope soles.

The rope in turn was made out of a strong and hardy grass called Esparto that was endemic to this region of Catalonia in Spain. The grass itself was also used for a variety of other handicraft and wicker work uses and its name is derived from the greek word for rope, Sparto. To this day shops in Catalonia make in small numbers, authentic espadrille shoes with soles made out of grass as they have been doing for more than a century now. The shoes were originally made as cheap and reliable foot wear for farmers, peasants and other rural poor folk and that is why even today they are so cheap and so chic.

Buy espadrille shoes in a number of lace up or slip on styles at Espadrillesshoes.co.uk

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