Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for protection against the environment, and adornment. Socks and other hosiery are worn between the feet and the footwear, except for boots and flip flops (thongs). Footwear is sometimes associated with fetishism, particularly in some recent fashions in shoes and boots. Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer’s foot by straps or thongs passing over the instep and around the ankle. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometimes be blurry (as in the case of huaraches—the woven leather footwear seen in Mexico), the common understanding is that a sandal leave most or all of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them economy (sandals tend to require less material than shoes), comfort in warm weather, and as a fashion choice. People who practice the profession of shoemaking are shoemakers, cobblers or cordwainers.

The oldest known footwear was discovered in Fort Rock Cave in the U.S. state of Oregon; radiocarbon dating of these sandals woven from sagebrush bark indicates an age of least 10,000 years.

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