Because of the leathers that are often chosen (to conform to the foot) a moccasin generally has no aesthetic integrity...if the foot pronates, the moccasin pronates and stays that way. If the moccasin is worn wet, it is all too likely to stretch, irrecoverably, way out of shape.
Additionally the moccasin affords little in the way of easy refurbishment. When a sole is worn out, it takes nearly a rebuild of the moccasin to replace.
By contrast all of these attributes and the "fixes" for them, have been, over the centuries, addressed as the shoe has evolved. And certain standards of refinement, or aesthtics, as well as technique have also evolved, that far outstrip anything I have seen in primitive footwear.
I am well aware that countervailing arguments...and quibbles...can be made for all of this and certainly in certain circumstances and for some people a moccasin is not only a good option but maybe the preferred option. But you asked about evolution and the moccasin is a type of footwear designed for and more suited to, a far more rustic and casual lifestyle than most of us live.
Now having said all that, I must point out that I am in a fairly unique position (although there are certainly others on this board who share it) of having taught for 25 years; of having pursued footwear from sandal to shoe; of having achieved a certain level of "professionalism" and understanding, if not "mastery," such that I am sure I bring some ennui or even indifference to what others...less experienced...feel about this subject. I apologize if some of this leaks through.
But I have, in my time, apprenticed with people who were masters of the game. And the one thing I learned...and it is probably the most misunderstood or oft-forgotten precept in modern society...is that a student, to be a student, must suspend disbelief; must suspend objection; must even suspend personal opinion or they will never learn a dern thing. They have to literally sit at the teacher's feet...with all the implications of humility and self-deprecation...or it becomes a waste of both the teacher's time and the student's. It cannot be forced either. If the student cannot find it in themselves to do this the master cannot compel it.
The fact that I have been a student...and a good student at that...is the single most critical qualification to be a teacher. I am of the opinion that one of the most crucial factors in the decline of "traditional" Trades, or traditional knowledge is simply that unwillingness, by young moderns, to humble themselves and their opinions to another individual...even for a minute. They are all...16 to 60...trying so hard to establish credibility and respect that they never think twice about trying to "teach their old granny to suck eggs."
For me, credibility and respect is all in the results...period. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak and frankly, even though I will, in my position as Administrator of this forum, advance a thesis or prod a person who I totally respect for a more detailed answer (so that even the novices may learn) I have to admit to a certain indifference as to whether any one individual accepts my perspectives or not. If you ask me a question, I will do my level best to give you an honest answer...whether it be about moccasins or mukluks but if an individual does not like that answer, that's their lookout.
The point here is that even with the best of intentions (and that is required), what a student learns and where they go with their learning...where they want to end up...is totally up to them, not the teacher (although the teacher can be a critical factor); not the venue; and certainly not whether it is online or in a book or face to face.
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Nasser,
Very interesting. my only comments would be...first, imagine having to resole any of the first four?!; and second, the last two, although ostensibly a moccasin construction, are more shoe than moccasin. The name (moccasin) abides on all of these but the philosophical underpinnings are long since lost...
...to the pressure to evolve or die!
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Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC