Shoe Glossary

• Types of Shoes

Ankle Boots
Any boot that stops at the ankle - may be flat or high heeled and worn by men or women.

Ballet Boots
Extreme footwear that combine the look of an en pointe ballet shoe with a high heel. Usually intended as a fashion / fetish item rather than for walking in.

Ballet Pumps / Ballet Flats
Flat shoes with a flat, thin sole and rounded toe. Although based on ballet slippers, ballet flats are available in an endless array of styles and materials.

Beatle Boots
A style of menÔÇÖs ankle boot made popular by the The Beatles. Beatle boots have a pointed toe, Cuban heel and are tight-fitting. They are typically made in black leather.

Boat Shoes / Deck Shoes
Also known as topsiders, boat shoes have a leather upper and rubber sole with distinctive laces on the side of the shoe. Boat shoes were invented by Paul Sperry in 1935 and have a siping pattern cut into the soles for extra grip on a slippery boat deck.

Brothel Creepers
Lace-up shoes with a thick crepe sole, popular in rockabilly, punk, gothic, greaser, ska and Teddy boy fashion. Brothel creepers developed from suede boots with thick crepe soles used in the 2nd World War by soldiers based in harsh desert conditions.

Brogues
A traditional lace-up leather shoe with perforated and pinked detail. Usually made in untanned leather and traditionally worn as everyday menÔÇÖs country shoes.

Chelsea Boots
Close-fitting ankle boots with an elasticated section on either side of the ankle. Chelsea boots were used for horse-riding in the Victorian era before becoming popular again in the 1960s as part of mod culture. They are still worn for horse-riding.

Clogs
Shoes made predominantly out of wood. Traditional clogs are made entirely out of wood and are associated with Holland, Denmark and Sweden. Modern clogs often have a wooden sole with a leather or fabric upper.

Court Shoes (UK)
A classic closed-toe high heeled shoe. Court shoes usually have a mid to high heel and come in an endless variety of styles.

Cowboy Boots
Riding boots traditionally worn by cowboys and now popular as a fashion item. Cowboy boots were originally designed so that the foot could be pulled free easily if a cowboy fell off his horse ÔÇô to prevent a cowboy being tangled in his stirrups and dragged along by a runaway horse.

DÔÇÖOrsay Pumps
A shoe with a closed toe and heel, but cutaway sides that expose the sides of the foot.

Dancing Shoes
This usually refers to mid-height T-bar shoes with a closed toe and fairly flexible sole.

Elevator Shoes
Shoes with thickened insoles to make the wearer appear taller. To observers, the wearer appears to be wearing flat shoes ÔÇô typically worn by men.

Espadrilles
Summer shoes with a woven straw sole and a fabric upper. Espadrilles usually have ankle ties and come in both flat and wedge heel designs.

Flats
Any shoe with a flat sole and no heel.

Flip-Flops
Flat sandals held on the foot by a Y-shaped strap that passes in between the big to and 2nd toe.

Ghillies
Shoes where the laces are passed through leather loops rather than eyelets. Dancing ghillies are similar to ballet shoes and worn for traditional Scottish and Irish dancing.

Gladiator Sandals
Sandals with many straps running across the foot. Gladiator sandals were originally worn by Ancient Roman gladiators but more commonly refers to modern womenÔÇÖs sandals with many straps. Available in flat, high-heeled and knee-high varieties.

Jelly Shoes
Sandals or shoes made entirely from PVC or plastic. Jelly shoes were designed for beach wear but are often worn as a fashion item.

Loafers
A slip-on shoe without any fastenings.

Mary Janes
Flat round-toed shoes with a strap across the front of the foot. Mary Janes can also be found in high heeled styles and the strap may be buckled or elasticated.

Moccasins
Slip-on shoes or boots made with a leather sole and fastened with distinctive whip stitching. Moccasins were originally worn by various Native American cultures but are now worn around the world.

Mules
Slip-on shoes with a single piece of fabric or leather across the top of the foot.

Oxfords
Smart brogue-style lace-up shoes. Oxfords are smarter and more streamlined than country brogues. Also known as Balmorals.

Peep Toes
A shoe with an open toe. Peep toes may actually expose the toes or just have an opening over the toe area.

Penny Loafers
A type of slip-on leather shoe with a diamond-shaped slit over the instep where a penny could be placed.

Plimsoll
Athletic shoes with a canvas upper and a rubber sole. Plimsolls were originally designed for beachwear and may be known as sand shoes. Plimsolls are typically worn by schoolchildren for sports, but are also popular as a fashion statement.

Pumps (UK)
A flat cotton or canvas shoe with a rubber sole. May be similar to a plimsoll, or a slip-on design worn in the summer.

Pumps (US)
A high heeled shoe similar to a court shoe. Often with a pointed toe.

Saddle Shoes / Saddle Oxfords
Oxford shoes with a black ÔÇ£saddleÔÇØ across the middle of the shoe. The rest of the shoe is usually white. Saddle shoes were popular in the 1950s and remain synonymous with 1950s style.

Sandals
Any flat summer shoe with straps across or around the foot.

Slides
Flat sandals with a single piece of fabric or rubber across the top of the foot. Often made entirely of rubber for wearing at the beach or swimming pool.

Sling-Backs
A shoe with an open heel and a strap across the back of the heel. May be high heeled or flat.

Slip-Ons
Any shoe which is simply slipped onto the foot without laces or fastenings.

Slippers
Soft shoes designed to wear inside the house. Slippers are usually made from warm fabrics and come in a huge range of designs.

Spectators
An Oxford-style shoe made of two different materials or different colours. Typically the toe of a spectator shoe is of a different colour, often in black and white with perforated details.

T-Bars
Shoes with an ankle strap that is attached to a strap running up the length of the foot, thus creating a T-shape. May be flat or high-heeled.

Thong Sandals
Sandals with thin straps or leather thongs holding the foot in place. Usually worn as a more stylish / dressier alternative to flip flops.

Trainers / Sneakers
Athletic / sports shoes with a rubber sole. The term ÔÇ£trainersÔÇØ is more common in the UK and Europe, while ÔÇ£sneakersÔÇØ is used in the USA. Sneakers get their name from the wearers supposed ability to sneak around silently

Winkle Pickers
Boots or shoes with a long pointed toe, typically worn by rock ÔÇÿn roll fans from the 1950s onwards. Winkle pickers are so called because of their resemblance to the pins or pointed tools used for eating winkle snails in the UK.

Vegetarian Shoes
Refers to any shoe manufactured without any animal products. Some vegetarian shoes are specifically made without using animal products, while other may just happen not to use animal products, such as many canvas shoes.

• Types of Heels & Soles

Block Heels
A chunky squared-off heel.

Cone Heels
Rounded heels that taper at the bottom.

Cuban Heels
Cuban heels are short high heels worn by men. They feature on Beatle boots and in many Latin American styles.

Kitten Heels
Short slender heels set slightly in from the edge of the shoe.

Platforms

Shoes with thick soles that raise the toe off the ground. ÔÇ£FlatÔÇØ platform soles are the same height throughout the shoe, while platform heels combine a platform toe with a very high heel.

Prism Heels
A heel with three sides that tapers to a triangular base.

Spool Heels
A heel that is wider at the top and base than in the middle.

Stacked Heels
A chunky heel made from ÔÇ£stacksÔÇØ of wood.

Stiletto Heels
Very slim high heels named after their resemblance to the equally thin stiletto dagger. Stiletto heels are found on a wide variety of shoes, which are usually known simply as ÔÇ£stilettosÔÇØ.

Wedges
A heel which extends from the ball of the foot to the back of the shoe, creating a triangular wedge underneath the foot. Wedges can be found in any height from nearly flat to extremely high.

• Parts of the Shoe

Foot bed
The insole of the shoe where your foot rests. The term ÔÇ£foot bedÔÇØ is sometimes used to differentiate from insoles which can be removed from the shoe.

Foxing
A strip of rubber that joins the upper to the sole of a shoe. Usually seen on canvas sneakers and plimsolls.

Gore
An elastic panel on one side or both sides of a shoe that makes it easier to slip on and off.

Heel
The term ÔÇ£heelÔÇØ can be used to refer to both the area where the heel of the foot is placed, as well as the solid part of the shoe that supports the heel.

Heel Seat
The part of the shoe where the sole and the heel join.

Insole
A lining which runs the entire length of the shoe. The word ÔÇ£insoleÔÇØ is most commonly used to refer to removable insoles, which can be worn for comfort or improved fit.

Instep
The centre section of the foot and shoe, in between the toes and heel.

Laces
Cords or strips of cloth that are used to fasten a shoe.

Lining
The fabric that is used to line the inside of a shoe.

Lug Sole
A heavy rubber sole, typically with a textured tread for extra grip.

Piping
A decorative strip of fabric or leather that follows the seam of the sole. Typically in a contrasting colour to the rest of the shoe.

Pitch
The ÔÇ£pitchÔÇØ refers to the angle of the sole where it meets the heel.

Sole
The bottom of a shoe. The term ÔÇ£soleÔÇØ does not refer to the heel of the shoe, just the flat bottom of the shoe before the heel.

Tongue
A strip of fabric or leather sewn into the vamp of a laced shoe and covering the top of the foot.

Throat
The main opening of a shoe extending from the vamp to the ankle.

Upper
The term ÔÇ£upperÔÇØ refers to the fabric or leather top of a shoe, as opposed to the sole.

Vamp
The front part of a shoe upper that covers the toes and part of the foot. In a black and white saddle shoe, the vamp is the black section of the shoe.

Wing Tip
A wing-shaped toe cap as seen on Oxfords and brogues.