alt Hacker NewsMy prior understanding was that before the industrial revolution dramatically reduced the labor costs, clothing was expensive. Most people only owned two or three outfits, and replacing one would cost a month's wages sort of expensive.
How could one afford to throw away a perfectly good non-matching shoe?
they threw away the broken one after replacing it with a new one. they didn't replace the good one.
when shoes are hand made it makes sense to not make them only in pairs if only one shoe is needed