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The famous American dancer, Fred Astaire, wearing spats (1930’s; private collection) Footwear accessories include a range of items such as spats, sock suspenders, shoe horns, boot horns, pairs of boot hooks, shoe/boot trees, shoe polish and brushes, shoe laces, shoe buckles, as well as decorative items such as anklets, toe rings, henna patterns, nail polish, tattoos and even piercings. Although the latter is not recommended as the skin on the foot is very thin and there is a high rate of infections and complications related to foot piercings.The term foot thong is sometimes used to describe a type of sole that covers the ball of the feet and is used by dancers, who perform many turns or pirouettes, to protect their feet. Decorative foot thongs are used to cover the upper part of the foot only and are believed to have originated in India and they become a fashionable items among some hippie groups in the 1960’s.They have remained part of the summer fashion scene since then.
Decorating the feet with henna goes back hundreds of years in the Middle East and Asia. Henna was also used by both men and women to harden the feet.
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A selection of henna templates for decorating the foot (TRC collection)
