Espadrilles - The Most Popular Kind Of Fashion Shoes In the Market

Today espadrilles are considered as the most popular kind of fashion shoes in the market. People love wearing these shoes because of its bohemian style and simplicity. These shoes were actually invented at some point of time in the 14th century. They came from Pyrenees mountain area in Europe. However, these shoes first originated in Spain. They were manufactured originally in Catalonia area of Spain. You can find a number of shops in this area manufacturing these shoes for more than a century. Although the shoe is of Spain origin but the name is French.

However, if you think that all espadrilles that are manufactured nowadays are made in Spain, you are wrong! There are many other countries from where these shoes come in. The name of South Asian countries and Bangladesh cannot be ignored when it comes to these shoes. Countries other than Spain uses jute instead of Esparto grass for manufacturing these shoes. Jute in fact has a distinctive white colour and this gives the soles of the shoes a bright white colour making them easily distinguishable from a mile away.

If you think that these shoes are very pricey, you are again wrong. They come at very affordable prices and are very comfortable. This style shoe is cheap because of a simple reason. These shoes are actually considered as poor person's shoes. Although these shoes have become the darling of cool and hip urban fashion victims but they were actually invented as hard wearing anc cheap footwear for farmers and peasants and all other people who worked in fields.

Espadrilles during those days were mainly popular for their soles. The soles were in fact made of cheap and abundant grass, which was actually native to that area. The grass popularly known as Esparto were shaped, braided and modeled into the shape of the sole. A cotton or canvas fabric upper is basically stitched into the sole and when needed rubber or wooden heels are glued on to it. These shoes came up in laces and also as slip on pairs. So, the cheap and plenty-full grass used as raw materials in these shoes made the footwear very cheap to produce. They were in fact just the perfect kind of shoes for villagers.

However, nowadays these shoes have caught on with the urban elite who wear them as fashion shoes. With the advancement of technology in shoes, these shoes are now no long of the same design and cut. A number of stylish cuts and designs have come up with these shoes. There are a number of footwear brands that manufacture these shoes at affordable prices. You can also find many local companies manufacturing these shoes using poor quality materials. Thus you must be very particular about the brand you choose to opt for when buying a pair of espadrille.

Less authentic versions of espadrilles are made with soles made of rubber or other synthetic materials, which are styles to look like rope soles. These shoes are then painted white in order to give that special espadrille look.