Comments by "Iain Mc" (@iainmc9859) on "What Irish Working Women Wore in the Late 19th Century | I Made the Clothing of My Irish Ancestors" video.

  1. There's a simpler answer to the bare feet. Shoes were still relatively expensive for the working classes. If you were 'at home' the familiar ground would already be trodden down and flattened, thus no need for shoes; consider if you have a garden then going barefoot into it isn't likely to result in injured feet. If you were going into 'town' then the shoes would be worn as you were walking further on a surface you'd be less sure off. There's also probably a matter of pride at not going un-shod amongst strangers. Although I'd agree that a 'well heeled' photographer could have possibly chosen bare feet to ruralize the sitters. The truth is that men also tended to get the 'shoe money' before the women, and the women before the children. Children may not have gotten a proper pair of shoes until their feet stopped growing.
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  2. I took a deep dive into any photo's on the internet of Ireland between the 1880's and 1930's specifically looking at shoes. Frustrating how often from the knee down is just out of shot or hidden under a skirt. Here's an overview - Everyone that could afford a laundered shirt/blouse shod. If its a paved street - everyone shod (apart from one wee tyke). Unpaved lane or rural - all males shod (apart from one sitting outside a cottage). Women shod in 70% of cases. Boys over ten shod, boys under ten about 50% of the time, indoors or out. Women shod 80% of the time. Young women under 20 about 50% of the time. Girls under ten barefoot 80% of the time. Boys under five barefoot 80% of the time. The most obviously rural poor the percentages for barefoot increased by about 25%. Over time the incident of wearing shoes increased until by the 1930's everyone baring the youngest children were shod. I discounted any photo's that looked over-romantised or anything that involved getting wet feet, eg collecting water or at the sea-shore. I'm sure its not exhaustive and each observation is merely very general, more of a straw poll than a scientific study:
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