The shoe world has been a part of humanity since its first steps. In pre-history, men started to feel the need to protect their feet. And, since shoes were yet to be invented, they had to look for what was in hand to protect themselves, like straw or wood.

As time went by, the ancient Egyptians added papyrus and palm tree fibber to protect their feet and, of course, kings had their shoes ornamented with colourful jewels. In ancient Greece and Rome, shoes had different models and colours for the different social status of their population. Later, in the 16^th century, high heels came to life as a mark of ostentation and wealth. But curiously they were used only by men.

With the industrial revolution a lot of shoe factories started to pop up, which decreased their cost, making them affordable to everyone. It was only in the 20^th century that synthetic materials, like rubber, originated the shoe world as we now know it.

Buying shoes online

Besides needing to have something resistant to protect us when necessary, we started to look for comfort. This search translated into sneakers, originally for the practice of sports, which are more and more an indispensable item on our lives.

Nowadays, fashion has already adopted sneakers and almost every day are created new and iconic models that join the great fashion designers collections on catwalks. With an increasing number of brands, the search for what could be different also arose as well. But unfortunately there are many items we cannot find on a traditional street shoe store.

With the rising technological boom, internet became a doorway for all the things we can’t easily find on a street store. This gave way to online stores. And shoes haven’t strayed from this trend. Surely there’s nothing better than picking the model we want, the size, fill in the form and… click! That’s it! Now we just have to wait for them to arrive!

Of course, there’s not an assistant next to us advising us and bringing us different shoe sizes. But, today, online customer care is just as evolved, or even more so, than direct costumer care. Hop on over to our site EscapeShoes.com! You can chat with us, contact us by email, give us a phone call or asks us something by Facebook or Instagram. There’s always someone there to help you.

3D shoe printing

With online shopping comes technology innovation, like 3D printing. There are a lot of brands and designers that have dabbled on the creation of 3D printed shoes. But even though it may be extremely practical and innovative there are always some doubts.

What are they made of?

The first models were made of thermoplastic polyurethane, the plastic we already know from cell phone cases or sneaker shoe bases. So, we already know they are flexible. With the evolution of this system there came the possibility of textile printing, for example, but that can only be achieved by the biggest brands and at a high cost.

Are they comfortable?

These kind of shoes are supposed to be as comfortable as any other shoes. But, considering the fact that it would be printed in only one kind of material, instead of the different ones used in a normal pair, will they really be comfortable? Wouldn’t the materials cause damage to our feet? Those are questions yet to be unanswered.

How much will they cost?

Well, even though they are something apparently fast and practical, production costs are quite elevated. Being that the cost of one unit can get to the double of its usual store price. Well, it is obvious that they will be very pricey.

3D printing came up as a way of trying to please a younger audience that is always on the look to stand out from the crowd. If there’s a chance for them to create a unique model to their liking, that would be unreal!

There are fashion designers that give out their models online for free download and 3D printing. But these printers aren’t available everywhere and the printing costs are still high.

Still, 3d printing is an open window to the future of the shoe world, especially online.

And here come the big questions. Will online shoe stores cease to have shoe boxes pilled in warehouses and start printing on demand? Or will there be a day when the customer buys an item that will be digitally sent for him to print in his house?

Unfortunately we don’t have answers to these questions. But we know a lot about other shoes. Click on EscapeShoes.com and take a peak!

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