Children's Evones shoes. Red leather with white trimming and black sole. Pom pom is white, red, and blue. The shoe's opening is embellished with nine sequins.

Tsarouxia shoes are typically made of several pieces of stiff leather hand-sewn together and have a characteristic pointy nose, usually covered by a large woolen pompon. The latter was a relatively late addition, originally a way of making the shoe nose waterproof, but increasingly became an essential feature for their decoration.

Their origin is obscure and goes back to Byzantine times, with influences from styles imported by neighboring tribes, including the Turks. Originally, there were various types of similar shoes worn all over the Balkans, but Tsarouhia is mainly associated with the Greeks. They were the most common footwear worn by urban and rural Greeks; this style was mostly worn by men but also by women.

After the Greek Independence in the early 19th century, their use was limited to isolated rural areas and nomadic populations, seen by Westernized urbanites as a sign of uncouthness and backwardness. In a version with reinforced soles, they remained the issue boot for the Evzone units well into the 20th century, though after the First World War, they were gradually replaced in active service by the standard laced boot. Tsarouxia provided a clear link between the origin of the Evzone uniform in the traditional Greek costume and the fact that Evzones were largely enlisted from rural mountainous regions of Greece. Nowadays are almost exclusively used by the Presidential guard and in various traditional festivals and dances along with other traditional Greek garments.

The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.

Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy.

For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact [email protected]