"Mutavit calceos" is the expression used by Cicero to describe the change in social status of the character Asinius (Phil. XIII, 13.). This phrase, referring to the change in footwear, suggests that shoes were not only connected to practical and aesthetic factors but also carried social and political meanings.

Historically, the invention of shoes served the functional purpose of foot protection, as evidenced by the footwear discovered in the Areni-1 cave in Armenia, dated by ORAU and UCIAMS between 3627 and 3377 BCE, or other findings from the Chalcolithic period, particularly in Israel and the Alpine arc, such as the model belonging to the Similaun Man.

However, with the development of early civilizations, footwear gained communicative value, signaling both an individual’s role within the community and the ideological foundations of the society itself.

In Greek civilization, for example, it was possible to distinguish the flute player, identified by the krupetzion, the theater actor by the kothornos, and the warrior by the endromis.

A peculiar case is represented by women's footwear, strongly tied to matrimonial and sexual spheres. Young brides wore nymphides, wedding shoes symbolically representing the transition from the domestic environment to social inclusion as a wife. This is similarly found in ancient Egypt with the story of Rhodopis, which inspired the modern Cinderella tale. Additionally, Greek prostitutes were easily recognized by the nails attached under their soles, leaving the imprint akolouthei, meaning "follow me", on the ground. Even Lysistrata and her companions, in the Aristophanes' comedy of the same name, swear not to lift their shoes off the ground in the presence of their husbands, meaning they would avoid any seductive attempt.

From a social ideology perspective, in democratic Athens, wearing particularly extravagant shoes was seen as an act of hubris (consider Hermes' winged sandals) and a sign of social inequality. For the same reasons, even slaves were not allowed to go barefoot.