During the Middle Ages, European fashionistas didn’t bother with high heels. Instead, they were obsessed with narrow shoes boasting long and unnaturally pointed toes, like this example made out of practical leather. Since courtiers were more likely to wear impractical versions made using velvets and satins, it probably belonged to someone middle-class. A craze for shoes like this, which to modern eyes look like precursors of the winkle-picker, swept the continent in the late 14th Century, when they acquired various names, including «crackows» (from Krakow) and «poulaines» (French for «Polish»). In order to keep their shape, the points were stuffed with moss. They were then curled upwards, to facilitate walking. Still, poulaines were hardly known for providing comfort: medieval wearers would have complained of bunions and hammer-toes.