It sounds hard to imagine. Have you ever thought about life without shoes?

Experts in archaeology and paleontology have suggested that shoes were invented around the Middle Paleolithic, approximately 40,000 years ago. But it wasn't until the Upper Paleolithic period that people consistently wore footwear; that is, it became part of their daily routine.

The first shoe prototypes were soft, made of wraparound leather, and their shape was very similar to what we currently know as sandals or moccasins.

In contrast, the first examples of modern footwear date back to the early Baroque period in Europe, when women's and men's shoes were very similar, although fashions and materials differed between social classes.

For the common people, heavy black leather heels were the standard, while aristocrats wore the same shape but made of wood.

In the early 1800s, women's and men's shoes began to differ, primarily in style, color, heel, and toe shape. Cloth-upper shoes appeared during this time, and boots became extremely popular. This was also when the standard for a man's heel was set at one inch.