17 Shoes So Uncomfortable That We Feel Lucky We Don’t Have to Wear Them

If you choose comfort over anything else when getting new shoes, then some of the photos you will see below will perplex you. It is hard to imagine how to wear these strange shoes made of wood or metal, with incomprehensible details, bells, and huge platforms.

1. Padukas are 5-thousand-year-old sandals that are still worn in India. They — even their footprints — are considered sacred in Buddhism and Hinduism.

2. These Egyptian sandals for children are 3,000 years old.

3. Namakshin is a kind of ancient rubber boots. It’s Korean footwear for rainy days made of wood and known since 220-280 C.E.

4. A chopine was a sign of high social status and reached a height of 19 in. These shoes were called “vulgar,” but this fact hardly affected their popularity. Venice, 15th century

5. Turkish bath clogs helped people not to slip on a wet floor and reflected the high social status of their owner. Because of the rattling sound they made, they received the name qabqab. Turkey, 1800-1850

6. Lotus shoes fit in the palm of the hand. They were worn by Chinese women whose feet were bandaged from infancy, preventing them from growing. The natural size of the foot was considered unaesthetic. China, 1800-1943

7. Two hundred years ago, women rode only in a side saddle, as riding in a regular saddle was considered indecent for a lady. And stirrups in the shape of shoes without heels were used as footrests. Peru, 18th century

8. Clogs with bells designed to wear at home. They belonged to an Armenian woman who emigrated to Syria. End of the 19th century

9. Button boots. Sweden or Germany, late 19th century

10. Yes, this is footwear. These wooden sandals may have belonged to the sultan of Witu, Fumo Omari. Kenya, 19th century

11. Klompen are traditional Dutch wooden clogs. They are still worn by some farmers and gardeners. Netherlands, 1948

12. Ichigi are thin-soled leather boots worn at home by both men and women. Kazakhstan, 1900

13. Loafers embroidered with gold thread. Pakistan, 1900-1930

14. Men carved these clogs from a single piece of wood and gave them to their girlfriends as a symbol of fidelity. It was believed that the longer the point, the stronger the feelings. France, early 20th century

15. Embroidered shoes by Jean-Louis François Pinet, France’s most famous shoemaker. End of the 19th century

16. Men’s wedding boots, South Moravia — territory of the present-day Czech Republic

17. Sandals with giant pompoms, traditional footwear of the Wayúu indigenous people of northern Venezuela and Colombia, 1980.

What’s your favorite pair of shoes? We’d love to see it!