Vintage Russian Hand Braided Lapti Shoes made from Bast Fibers for Sale

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Vintage Russian Hand Braided Lapti Shoes made from Bast Fibers For Sale

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Vintage Russian Hand Braided Lapti Shoes made from Bast Fibers:
$40.00

Laptiare the traditional bast shoes of the Russian peasants. The wordlaptiapparently originated from the word “lapa”, which meant “foot” in old times, and now means paw. Until the beginning of the 20thcenturylaptiwere worn in every Russian village, but nowadays one can hardly find anyone wearing them save for the special occasions, like celebrations or costume shows.

The popularity oflaptiwas easy to explain: they were very cheap, and not many peasants could afford other, better footwear. Even now, poor people are sometimes called “lapotniki” – “persons, who wear lapti” or “persons, who sell lapti”.

Laptiwere made of bast – a part of the tree bark, with the help of a wooden last and wooden or iron hook, a so-calledkochedik. Every family owned these simple instruments, and every man in every village could makelapti, while women usually did not have this skill. A woman, who could make bast shoes, was reputable among home-folks.