Moccasins have been around for almost four hundred years. The name comes from a Native American language in the 1600s. These are soft leather shoes and used to be made from deer hide. They were first worn by traders and the natives of America even before immigrants form other countries settled there. Since they are soft shoes they are quiet and do not make a lot of noise like most other shoes today. The traction provided by these shoes is also good and that prevents people from slipping.
When the natives of America first started wearing these shoes, they would paint on them designs that depicted the profession that they were in. One of the most popular embellishments on these shoes were beads and shells. These were popular among many tribes in the region. It was also a way of knowing the tribe a person was from. It helped distinguishing him form others since each tribe wore a different colour of footwear. Indians from different tribes also preferred different styles for their shoes. Not everyone liked decorating the shoes. Some preferred bright beads while others like them simple. Some even liked their moccasins pointy and long while others wore them thin.
As mentioned earlier, appearance of each shoe changed with each tribe. There were certain styles that were meant for certain occasions while some meant especially for hunting trips into the wild. The simple hunting shoes were just a little strip of leather that was tied around the foot and the heel. The ornate ones were saved for special occasion like weddings or on their birthday.
Moccasins too were of two main types. Some of the shoes found today have soft soles while others have hard soles. The hard soles were made from many layers of leather stacked up together to form a strong base. The hard soled soles were meant for walking on hard terrain. These were supposed to protect the feet from getting scathed and they did their job really well. The Apaches had simple shoes. The only shoes that they mainly wore were made from two simple pieces of leather joint together. The moccasins with soft soles were, on the other hand, made with just a single strip of leather. These were just meant for coverage and comfort. They were meant to slip on easily without any difficulty. These were preferred by tribes who lived on the Plains and also tribes around the North West pacific.
The shoes with soft soles from the North West were single leather piece shoes but were even simpler than other moccasins. They were measure around the foot and simple sewed together where the edges met. Even though there were meant types of shoes, they all had one aim that nothing should ever penetrate through it. Some were bigger than the others bit with time the shoes got a lot more complicated.
Shoes were to stand out. They never had a form that was fixed. Some made them inside out. The seams at the bottom were towards the inside so that they did not rip. The seams were then trimmed and padded with wool. And that is how the first moccasin was born and is still very popular all over the world for its comfort and versatility.
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