Crepe boots have a different type of sole than normal boots. This crepe sole is more shock absorbent and more comfortable to walk and stand in than leather soled boots. They are also more lightweight and flexible.
Thicker soles protect from larger sharp objects, are more resistant to burning and melting, and act to isolate feet from extreme temperatures. Stand on ice with thick soled boots for an hour; then switch to thin soled boots or tennis shoes and notice the difference. Same idea, just backwards.
NO
They would often wear leather, calf or knee height boots. They would even wear soled stockings so they wouldn't need to wear any other shoes.
The old tap dancers used solid wood-soled shoes, so I suppose the answer is yes.
A good leather-soled slipper will sting much more.
Horse-Racing!
He's 6 feet 4 inches tall. Seagal has claimed 6'5" in the past, but perhaps with large soled boots on.
The homophone for sold is soled.
The basic outdoor shoe was the calceus. It was hobnailed and covered the whole foot. It was secured with leather thongs. The senators wore a special type which was secured with four black thongs, and those worn by emperors had red thongs. A slightly lighter outdoor shoe was the crepida, which covered the sides and the back of the foot. Winter shoes were usually cork-soled. There were several types of indoors shoes. The solea was a light wear sandal with a hobnailed sole and was the most common one. It was made of leather or woven papyrus leaves, and had a single thong between the toes and a hobnailed sole. The soccus was a loose leather slipper. The sandalium, was worn by women. It was similar to the soccus, but it had wooden soled and had softer and finer leather. There were several types of boots. The cothurnus was a high and ornate and was worn by horsemen, hunters, and people in authority to show their status. The gallicae were adopted Romans from the Gaul. It was a rugged boot for work and for cold weather. The soldiers wore the Caligae (singular caliga), which resemble modern sandals, but were marching boots. They were heavy-soled hobnailed military boots. They the upper was openwork so that the foot could be aired, thus reducing the chance of getting blisters while marching. Slaves were often barefoot and were not allowed to war the Calcei (plural of calceus). Prisoners were often made to wear crepidae, which were made of wood and were heavy, making it difficult to walk.
The basketball court can be extremely slippery, and leather soles quickly collect dirt and dust off the floorboards, transforming the shoes into a traction-free dustmop. Whereas the rubber sole doesn't attract particles, and are also easier to wipe down during the game. That is why you see players sliding their hands under their shoes to remove excess dust, dirt, etc.
Sock hop is an informal sponsored dance at American high schools. The origin of the word came from the dancers who were required to remove their hard-soled shoes to protect the varnished floor of the gym.