in fourteenth－century france，phillip the fair forbade dukes ，counts ，barons ，and their wives to own more than four gar-ments；unmarried women could only own one dress，unless theywere heiresses who had inherited castles.his edicts did notmention shoes，however，and they became a symbol of elegance .named after its inventor，the poulaine was a shoe whose tip was aslong as two feet for princes and noblemen，one foot for rich peopleof lower degree ，and only half a foot for common people.suchshoes proved a hazard among the french crusaders at thebattle of nicopolis（1396），when they had to cut off their tips inorder to be able to run away.
toward the end of the fifteenth century，men's shoes had asquare tip，like a duck's beak ，a fashion launched by charlesⅦ of france to hide the imperfection of one of his feet，whichhad six toes .
十四世纪的法国，美男子腓力禁止公爵、伯爵、男爵以及他们的夫人拥有四件以上的服装。除了已经继承城堡的继承人外，未婚女子只允许拥有一件连衣裙。但是他的命令没有提及鞋子，于是鞋子成了高雅的象征。有一种以其发明者命名的普兰靴，其鞋尖有各种不同的长度。王子和贵族们穿的鞋尖长达两英尺，富人和级别较低者穿的鞋尖长达一英尺，而普通人穿的鞋尖只有半英尺长。法国十字军穿的这种靴子在尼科泊利斯战役（1396年）中成了累赘，为了能够得以逃跑，他们不得不把靴尖割掉。
15世纪末，男人的鞋子都是方头的，象鸭嘴一样。那是法国国王查理八世为了掩饰自己的一只脚有六个脚趾的缺陷而设计的式样。