[maho]

Whenever I see pictures from the pre-WW1-era I marvel at the shoes people wore back then. From the outside they appear comfortable, sturdy, and elegant. I wonder which would be more comfortable to wear -- hand-made, customized shoes from a 1900's-inspired, experienced shoemaker, or modern, mass-produced sneakers (which are pretty comfortable to begin with).

[bcaulfield]

Yes, and the clothes. Okay, I know by many statistical measures we're wealthier now. But those clothes would cost a fortune now. Do they have fewer outfits? Are we only seeing the elite?

[jacquesm]

My grandfather was a tailor, and ended up employing a 100 people or so. Tailor made clothing was the norm, rather than the exception for anybody of moderate means and just about everybody that could afford it had a sewing machine or knew how to use one. Sewing machines were common wedding gifts, and were the equivalent in money of a small car today. Fabrics were of far better quality than the ones we have today and repairing stuff rather than throwing it away was normal. Fashion was as much a thing back then as it is now.

[ddalex]

I grew up in a house that still has a sewing machine. My grandmother knew how to use it, and my father does too - he still repairs some old pieces from time to time, but never touches anything made of newer fabrics, he says there is nothing that he can mend there. Funny thing, he's a civil engineer.

[dllthomas]

> Fabrics were of far better quality than the ones we have today

At a low confidence, I'd suggest that fabrics were often of higher quality, but even more often were simply sturdier. Our "better fabrics" often have a focus on being light weight at a cost to durability - which is a fine thing for some use cases and a poor fit for others.

[goodcanadian]

They almost certainly only had one or two outfits for going out. The ones strolling around might also be richer on average as the poorer would need to be working (either at a job or in the home).

EDIT: I suppose the photographer might have preferred better dressed subjects, too.

[oh_sigh]

We dress worse now than we did than because clothing is cheap and mass produced. If you look at a typical middle class family from 1880, much more of their paycheck would go towards clothing, and they would have far fewer options in what to wear.

[Fricken]

I wonder about that myself. Those are some elaborate outfits. Manufacturing the full outfit with first world labour by hand using natural fibres would cost 1000s of dollars in today's market.

One guy had a beaver pelt top hat. I read somewhere that at one time they cost as much as a Porsche in today's dollars, though you can only make a crude analogy between our money and theirs.

[Scarblac]

Nowadays, things that can be made by machine using little labour are cheap. Things that need a lot of manual labour are super expensive.

We are wealthy because so many cheap things exist now, so we can have a lot of things. But tailored clothes are still expensive.

[TomMarius]

Those clothes are mostly home made. It's not so hard once you know how to do it.

[summerdown2]

Both the photographer and his subjects are the elite. No-one in a top hat would tip it to anyone of a lower status.

[toyg]

On average, sneakers will always win. Making shoes by hand is hard.

On excellence, it's really about taste and task. A comfortable leather shoe is heavenly, but you still wouldn't run in it. They will smell less though.

This said, pre-WWI shoes were already mass-manufactured for the most part. Mechanization arrived in mid-19th century.

[bacon_waffle]

I have a pair of old-style hand made shoes from McKinlays https://mckinlays.co.nz/ - they are super comfortable (following a couple weeks of break in) and quite sturdy. McKinalys seems to mainly sell off-the-shelf shoes (as mine are), but they also do custom work.

[twic]

I recently bought a good pair of hiking boots - Lowa Renegade mids, to be precise - and as well as being supremely sturdy and looking pretty smart, they are the most comfortable things i have ever worn on my feet. They sort of grip my feet tightly enough to feel really snug, but not so tightly that they pinch. They'll probably be too hot in the summer, but until then, i'll be wearing them all the time.

[maxxxxx]

I don't know how the 1900 shoes but I much prefer good leather shoes over sneakers.

[samstave]

Same here. Must have a good leather sole as well. Finding that is hard. But I had a pair of shoes from a Spanish (Spain) brand whos name escapes me - but best shoes I have ever had. I had them re-soled twice as I loved them so much.

Also, watching vids of bespoke shoemaking is satisfying

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs3EJmuzAoA

Edit: I recall the shoe company:

Mezlan.com - they don’t make the shoe I had any longer, but the quality of their shoes is top notch for the price.

[criddell]

I'm the exact opposite. I often work at a standing desk and I can last a lot longer standing in sneakers than leather shoes.

The big reason though is that I'd much rather have 4 pairs of $100 sneakers than one pair of $400 leather shoes. I get bored of wearing the same shoes and being able to frequently swap them out for new ones is part of the appeal.

[Antimachides]

I'll take a nice pair of well-worn cowboy boots over the "comfort" of a sneaker any day.