The mania for wearing expensive shoes, in 1588, was only exceeded in folly by the Tulip excitement at a later date in Holland. Large sums were expended in shoe decorations. The poet Taylor alluding to this extravagance thus writes of those who, “Wear a _farm_ in shoe strings edged with gold, And spangled garters worth a _copy hold_.” In the reign of Charles I., boots, which were made of elegant Spanish leather, of a buff color, were cut so large and wide at the top, that the wearer was obliged to stride so ridiculously, that it afforded much sport for the satirists of that age. In the time of Cromwell, large boot tops were worn by the Puritans, but were not adorned with lace. Upon the restoration of Charles II. came the enormous French boot, in which the courtiers of “Louis le grand” delighted to show their legs. [Illustration] The accompanying cut will furnish an idea of the amplitude of the tops. The boot is adorned with lace around the upper part, and that portion of the boot into which the leg is inserted was fitted with pliant leather; over the instep is a broad band of leather, beneath which the spur was fastened. The shoes in the following cut were such as were worn by the ladies during the reign of William III. [Illustration] The clog beneath the shoe on the left side, was simply a piece of stout leather, evidently intended to protect the feet from excessive moisture. The distinguishing mark of gentility in the reign of George I. and II., was _red heels_. The ladies preferred silk or velvet to leather, and the favorite shoe worn by the ladies of the court were made of figured blue silk with bright red heels and silver buckles. [Illustration] The above cut was the style worn in 1780. Ten years later a change occurred by which ladies’ shoes were made flat and low, like the slipper of the present day. A picture by Fores was published in 1791, of a shoe worn by the duchess of York. The shoe was made of green silk, ornamented with gold stars, and bound with scarlet silk; the heel was scarlet and shaped exactly in the modern style. Shoe buckles disappeared about the commencement of the present century, and were succeeded by the plain shoe string. In England the Prince of Wales endeavored to preserve the custom, by persisting in their use, in order to sustain the buckle-makers, but imperious fashion was too powerful for even the influence of the great. The accompanying cut represents a variety of shoes worn by females.