"Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?" Bernice Fitz-Gibbon.
This started out to be a blog about creativity...but the above quote stirred my curiousity and away I went on a tangent. First I wanted to know who Bernice Fitz-Gibbon is. Or was, actually. She was an American advertising executive who became a pioneer in the retail industry, and who was inducted into the Advertising Hall of fame in 1982...the year she died. Typical that a woman would have only been honored after she was dead....sigh...but, I digress.
So, after finding out who she was, then I felt confident that she probably knew what she was talking about when it came to the right/left shoe thing. I did some research and was amazed how many websites there are that are devoted to the history of shoes! Since I love shoes,(sneakers, actually) I can completely understand the fascination. As late as the 1830's all shoes were made straight - no allowance for right/left - and were in two widths: slim and fat...sometimes called stout -which I find is equally offensive...who wants to be told they have stout feet? Breaking them in had to be quite an uncomfortable chore.
By 1841, the U.S. military was using left/right shoes, and by 1851, most shoes could be ordered this way. Except for ladies shoes, which were still straight as late as 1880. Again...typical. Couldn't let the men have feet that hurt. And, dear God, whose idea was it to make high-heels??? That requires research for another day.
I have quite a collection of sneakers...every kind and color...high-tops, mostly. So I was interested in the history of sneakers...and guess what??? There are sites for that bit of info, too! In 1908, Converse shoe company was started and produced shoes for professional atheletes...and in 1917, Keds, owned by Goodyear, had the first mass-marketed atheletic shoes. But, it wasn't until the 1950's that sneakers became the preferred footwear of teenagers and the symbol of rebellion. Fashion officially sanctioned the sneaker when James Dean was photographed wearing Levi's and white sneakers. Thank you, James Dean.
Now - all of that had nothing to do with creativity...but maybe it did. I think I read a quote that said the creative mind is seldom tidy. Creativity requires curiousity..and sometimes letting your curiousity roam free among the fantastic realms of the internet, you can come up with great ideas.
I bet you look at your shoes a little differently after reading this. And - I, for one, am grateful that I have a right shoe, and a left shoe...and not one of them is listed as "stout".
No comments:
Post a Comment