Did the shoemaker put taps on your shoes?

In the 50's, my shoes went to the shoe cobbler & he put "cleats" on the heels, as that's what they were called way back then. They protected the heels from wearing down. When I was younger, I loved the sound my shoes made when I walked.My sister took tap dance lessons & she had "taps" put on the toes & heels of her black patent leather shoes. Can you imagine the noise from all of those tap shoes on a wooden floor?

Putting Taps On Shoes

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RE:

Did the shoemaker put taps on your shoes?

To save the heels

Our cobbler put rubber taps on our shoes but within days they'd get snagged on some carpeting or something and yank off our shoes. I haven't taken a pair of shoes to the shoe store for a very very long time, if my shoes get worn down I just toss the out and buy a new pair--and we have a very nice cobbler shop in the neighborhood that has been around for 40 or more years, was handed down to a younger cobbler who trains the next master. They've expanded to mending leather purses and bags, satchels, anything leather actually and I'm glad they are able to stay in business. I kind of feel bad I don't have shoes I can take in just to support their small business.

Sometime, in the late 50's early 60's. both metal and rubber taps/ pads were being used as I had a few pairs. But, you had to have the right shoes. In my case they were the pointy-toed black men's shoes that didn't have shoelaces but had a metal spring loaded tongue on the shoe.

Used to call the shoes cockroach killers or fence climbers. Thinking back, they were a forerunner of" Beatle Boots". Beatle Boots were just higher with a side zipper but were still pointy-toed with the same type heel and profile.

Metal taps, although cool sounding at the time, did not work well on marble floors in school. Too easy to bust your butt when running with those on.

Wow....this really takes me back in time. Us girls had those instant stick on taps so we could dance all over the house. lol Now, I dislike clackety shoes. One day some office ladies came in the store with loud heels. I thought it sounded like a herd of cattle heading for the barn as they wandered around the place.

Years ago when I worked at checkout at a large supermarket, a girl about 8 yrs old came in with her mom and the girl literaly tap danced her way all thru the big store. It was so cute and made everyone in the place smile. What a treat!

Yup. Mom got me these shoes and had the little steel taps on the heels.

One day, I was playing outside with friends. I was kneeling on the steps, with my shoe bottoms behind me. A neighborhood boy saw these taps, so he took his jackknife out of his pocket, and pulled these little taps out of my shoes. I first noticed it when he was throwing the taps into our garden. I asked what he thought he was doing. He said he was getting rid of the taps before my mother saw them. He was sure she would not approve of them.

Mom was pretty mad at him for that. But she was mad at me, too, for not noticing in time to stop him from doing this. After all, she had spent good money on those taps.

I remember my parents taking my eldest sister's leather shoes to the cobblers for putting taps on. How prudent people were back then! :)

By the time I started wearing leather shoes the trends had changed....

No, because I did not want to sound like a tap dancer, even though I always wanted to be one! We had real tiles on the school floor, and those things are also slick.

No, when I was a kid there was a cobblers last in our home and I would hammer shoe-tacks all over the soles of my boots allowing me to slide along the ground causing sparks to fly.