In the 1920s, a rubber sole was added to create the jika-tabi, a durable work shoe still worn in Japan today. The transformation of tabi from functional wear to high fashion is largely credited to ...

First the socks were worn with thong sandals, and later, starting in the 1920s, a rubber sole was added to create a work shoe called a jika-tabi. Shown at the Café de la Gare in Paris’s Fourth ...

Tabi shoes, originating in 15th-century Japan as ... By the early 20th century, the tabi evolved further with the invention of the jika-tabi, a sturdier version with rubber soles.