SCA: Footwear Update

In February I purchased a pair of Hedeby-style leather shoes online, and have altered them just a bit since I got them. 

This is what they look like now: 

They were okay the way they arrived from the shop, although they were a bit too tight to get into - I had to undo some of the stitching in order to open them up enough to allow for my weirdly high instep.  

I also wove new laces for them to replace the plain leather ties they came with; and this week I dyed them a dark brown color and re-waterproofed them.  They were...orange...before...

 

after replacing the ties and altering the 
fit a bit, but before dyeing

ORANGE!  The new color is MUCH better.  

These shoes came with hard rubber soles on them, and I put nice thick gel insoles on the inside, so they walk really well outdoors, even on gravel roads.  Hooray for comfy feet! Like my old shoes (may they rest in peace - they lasted me nearly five years!), these are a unisex historical style, so I can wear them with whatever I want. 

a selection of Viking-age shoes at the Haithabu Museum

Above is a group of shoes displayed at the Haithabu (Hedeby) Museum in Germany.  The second-from-left on the top row is the same style as my new ones.  Note that the original shoes do NOT have a tablet-woven lace, hehe.  I know, it's not historically accurate, but I wanted them to be a little prettier. 

:P