History of Espadrilles
We see the truth of the words of political economist Francesc Roca, "shoemaking is one of the poor cousins of historical memory", in the history of the espadrille, there is more than one story surrounding its origin, I will tell you the most valid ones, but let's start the history of the espadrille with cinema.
Espadrilles gained their greatest popularity among Hollywood goddesses. Rita Hatworth wore them in the film The Lady from Shanghai (1947) and Lauren Bacall wore them in the film Key Largo in 1948.
Lady from Shanghai Rita Hayworth
We saw Grace Kelly with Cary Grant in espdrille in the 1955 film To Catch a Thief.
The American president also adopted espadrilles
There's more. And here are the espadrille obsessive artists
Humpry Bogart, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Jane Birkin
Let's look at its etymology;
In your opinion, is "Espadrille" a Spanish or French word?
Espadrille is a French word, derived from the Spanish Occitan espardenya or esparteña, from the Catalan word spart "a grass, reed used for making rope". The Catalan word is a loanword from the Ancient Greek spárton σπάρτον "twisted rope, twine".
Before moving on to the history, I would like to give information about the base material Jute.
Jute: A rope born from history and cultures.
Sandals made of grass have been discovered at Egyptian, Roman, and Native American archaeological sites, and were traditionally worn throughout much of Africa and Asia. However, the most historically and internationally recognized are the Spanish espadrilles. In their simplest form, a jute sole (originally made from esparto rope) is folded, wrapped, and sewn onto a fabric upper, creating a flexible, breathable, and comfortable shoe that is both biodegradable and recyclable.
Jute is a type of fiber produced from Corchorus species. Jute used in trade is obtained from two types of plants, Corchorus capsularis and Corchorus olitorius. These plants reach 2-4 meters in height within a year.
There is evidence that jute was used in textile production by the Indus Valley Civilization between 2200-1900 BC. It began to be cultivated in China and Malaysia. Colitorius was also recognized and cultivated in the Mediterranean. It reached America in the 1870s. It is produced in the states of Texas and South Carolina in America.
Almost all of the world's jute production belongs to India and Bangladesh, followed by China, Uzbekistan and Nepal. One reason why production is high here is that labor is very cheap. Jute is very difficult to collect. The plant becomes mature in three months. It should be collected when it blooms. The crop that coincides with the seed period is heavy, but the fibers are thick and hard.
The collected jute plant is baled and thrown into the pools. The pools are covered with forest plants and even animal manure and kept waiting. In this dirty and airless water, the jute shells rot and open. The fibers are removed from the shells and spread out to dry. The next processes are continued with machines in the factories. As in the production of cotton yarn, it is cleaned by combing, completely separated into fibers, and wound on bobbins as yarn. Yarn thicknesses vary according to the purpose.
The primitive traces of the espadrille were found in an Andalusian cave and date back 4,000 years. It only entered written history in 1322
A pair of espadrilles found in the Archaeological Museum of Granada dates back to 2000 BC.
This lightweight sandal, made of jute rope or braided hemp and linen fabric, was worn by the foot soldiers of the King of Aragon in the 13th century. But the only thing that is certain is that all the theories about the famous jute or hemp-soled shoes are connected to Mauelon, a small town perched in the Pyrenees that maintained an undisputed monopoly on espadrilles for many years. Its inhabitants emigrated to Argentina and South America, where espadrilles began to spread throughout the world under their own Basque name, “alpargata”.
Espadrilles have been made for generations in the Basque Country, in southwestern France. The first to wear them were Catalan-Aragonese soldiers, followed by priests.
Around 1880, most espadrilles were sold to mine workers, but they were also exported to South America. Traditionally, the alpargata was either black or in its natural raw colored fabric (the lighter ones were worn on Sundays and the darker ones during the week), and each region made the alpargata in its own way. Over time, different Spanish regions developed their own unique styles of espadrilles; some were woven with ribbons down the front, others with pom-poms and contrasting embellishments. They were worn by both men and women, but they managed to transcend their everyday image thanks to the Sardana, the national dance of Catalonia. Dancers wore espadrilles with red hats, wide skirts, and ribbon ties around the legs.
Between 1850 and 1880, the method of production moved from traditional to pre-industrial. From 1880 onwards, espadrilles were manufactured in factories using machines that were adapted over time. At the turn of the century, espadrille manufacturers enjoyed a period of great prosperity. The market was driven by demand from the mines of Northern France, where each miner would need a new pair every week. There were not enough local people to do all the work, so the factories hired seasonal workers from Spain, particularly from Navarre and Aragon, two Basque regions on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. The number of workers making espadrilles in Mauleon rose from 537 in 1896 to 1,585 in 1911.
After World War I, the industry began to struggle. Conditions in the mines changed. To prevent explosions, the mines were kept wet, and the rope soles of espadrilles were not suitable for this. As a result, espadrilles were modified by adding rubber soles. After a dark period, espadrilles suddenly exploded as a desirable fashion item: they became fashionable in the 1940s in the United States. As I mentioned in the introduction, Lauren Bacall's character in the 1948 film Key Largo wore espadrilles with ankle straps. They also became a symbol of the political scene of the Peron-era labor movement in Argentina.
In the 1960s, an espadrille with a heel that had never been made before was created by Mr. Yves St-Laurent.
In the 80s, fashion was revived as a result of the success of the US television series “Miami Vice”, in which Sonny (Don Johnson) and Rico (Philip Michael Thomas) wore espadrilles.
Mauleon is still the center of the espadrille industry today.
Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo may be credited with elevating the espadrille to streetwear chic. Trade embargoes on Italy in the 1930s and ’40s led to shortages of materials, including high-quality leather. Ferragamo made creative use of raffia, cork, and textiles, and in 1937 he introduced a style with a wedge heel wrapped in braided rope. Forty years later, Yves Saint Laurent ignited the trend.
I often say; you don't have to be Cinderella to feel the connection between happiness and shoes, just have a pair of espadrilles
