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Concept
Espadrille
Summary
Espadrilles (Spanish: alpargatas or esparteñas; Catalan: espardenyes; Basque: espartinak, French: espadrilles) are casual, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made of esparto rope. The esparto rope sole is the defining characteristic of an espadrille; the uppers vary widely in style.
Espadrilles are a typical form of Spanish summer footwear, with strong historical ties to the regions of Catalonia, Aragon, and the Basque Country. The word derives from the Catalan "espardenya" and refers to esparto grass, a plant indigenous to the south of Spain that is used to make ropes and basketry. Although they are still widely manufactured in Spain, some production has moved to Bangladesh, the world's largest jute producer.
Originally peasant footwear, they were popularised throughout the 20th century by many cultural figures including Picasso, Salvador Dalí and later John F. Kennedy and Yves Saint Laurent.
The existence of this kind of shoe in Europe is documented since at least 1322, when it was described for the first time with its current Catalan name.
The term espadrille is French and derives from the word in the Occitan language, which comes from espardenya in Catalan or alpargata and esparteña in Spanish. Both espardenya and esparteña refer to a type of shoes made with esparto, a tough, wiry Mediterranean grass used in making rope. Its name in the Basque region is espartina.
Espadrilles have been made in the Basque Country, Catalonia and roughly all over Spain as well as the Occitania region of France. They were the usual peasant footwear since the 14th century at least, and are still being produced as from old. The oldest, most primitive form of espadrilles dates as far back as 4,000 years ago. Traditional espadrilles have a canvas upper with the toe and vamp cut in one piece and seamed to the rope sole at the sides. Often they have laces at the throat that are wrapped around the ankle to hold the shoes securely in place.
Official source
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