Today, news and media blasts about women racing marathons in stilettos for charity and the latest super stiletto are front and center in fashion news, but it wasn’t always that way. In the mid 1800s, the world saw social and economic change, women joining the industrial workforce, and women’s suffrage. This rapid shift changed the face of women’s footwear. Women began to exercise their rights as individuals and exorcise constricting fashion. Broad-heeled, no nonsense shoes, like the saddle shoe, the brogue, flat lace-up sport boots, the ghillie, and of course, the oxford became a favorite of women on protest marches. When Katherine Hepburn began to wear them, however, the common sense shoe went from common, uninspired, and determined to mysterious, fashionable, and daring, landing the oxford and other men’s footwear styles for women into the book of fashion classics. Today the oxford flat has returned and it’s even better than ever. Here are a few of our favorites:

Become a fan of The Shoe Dish on Facebook! and Follow The Shoe Dish on Twitter.

Came straight to this page? Please visit The Shoe Dish for tons more.

Have questions or suggestions for shoedish? Please email shoedish@gmail.com.

In need of an additional shoe fix? Visit Fantastic Toe today to join the network of the shoe obsessed, create a membership, and share your shoe collections and stories with other like-minded individuals. Fantastic Toe members get lots of yummy discounts and can be automatically entered to win great prizes!! Enter the promotional code, Shoedish, when you join.