When is a shoe not a shoe?

That's a question that we should be asking whenever we go shopping for shoes.

Just take a careful look at the merchandise available in shoe stores, department stores, and online shopping portals. There are many types of shoes offered for a wide range of purposes. To start with, there are three main categories: Women's, Men's, and Children's. Some typical functional categories of shoe types are: Fashion, Casual, Walking, Running, Training, Fitness, Tennis, Basketball, Junior, and so on.

There are sub-categories too. For example, the sub-categories of Running shoes range from Motion-control, to Cushioned, to Track. 

The variety of shoes for children is also wide! There are shoes for infants, shoes for toddlers, and shoes for children. The footwear for infants could be booties or soft shoes for "pre-walkers" or tiny sandals for tiny feet.

Interestingly, there seem to be almost as many types of toddler shoes as there are types of shoes for adults. There are shoes for toddlers that could could easily be categorised as: Fashion, Casual, Running, Training, Tennis, and so on.

Would you think all the shoes available are a result of clever marketing strategies? Or are these shoes available because they can satisfy our actual footwear needs?

My view is that our feet (which support the weight of our bodies) should be shod in suitable shoes. For instance, shoes meant for a stroll in the city shouldn't be used for a game of badminton, even if it's just a casually-played game. You might end up with a foot-related injury.

Children's shoes need to be carefully chosen too. Toddlers should wear shoes with good lateral stability and good traction over all kinds of surfaces. For instance, some toddler shoes are better off for walking on a park trail than for running about in a mall (malls have tiled floors).

So when is a shoe not a shoe?

Well my answer is, "When the shoe doesn't fit my foot, the shoe might as well be a doorstop."