Who said if the shoe fits buy it in every color

This expression dates from the 16th century and was used in print by Richard Hooker in Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie, Which cloake sitteth no lesse fit on the backe of their cause, then of the Anabaptists.

The 'cloak' version of the phrase does suggest that the later 'cap' was a variant of 'cape'. As to 'if the shoe fits', that began being used in the late 18th century. Why should Mr. Vanderbeck apply a general comparison to himself? Let those whom the shoe fits wear it. The change from cap to shoe may well have been influenced by the Cinderella story, which has a snug-fitting slipper as the primary plot device.

Versions of the tale that include the 'lost slipper' scenario were well known in the USA and Europe by One of the stories, Cenerentola , is the basis of the Cinderella story as we now know it, complete with wicked stepmother, ugly sisters and a missing slipper. Many expressions, for example, ' toe the line ', ' get off your high horse ' etc.

Asked 6 years ago. Active 6 years ago. Viewed 2k times. Improve this question. Community Bot 1. Matthew Steeples Matthew Steeples 1 1 gold badge 2 2 silver badges 8 8 bronze badges. Have you done any research? Welcome to the Quote Garden labels it as 'author unknown'. There aren't too many examples on the internet, and the Google Ngram for "buy it in every colour" shows a flatline. It's probably better regarded as still a catchphrase rather than a new proverb. I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about the origin of a quote.

Asking about the origin of idioms or common phrases would be on topic but not "Who said this? I'd considered it admittedly loosely based on the etymology. I wasn't after who said it, I was more interested in when and how it came to be.

Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. If the shoe fits, wear it This article covers the meaning and history well This expression is often used when something derogatory is said about a person who then complains to a third party.

An example of that might be: Jack: Just because I've missed two or three sessions, my fitness trainer says I lack motivation. Improve this answer. Thanks for the pointers. I'd done some regular searches which had not yielded many results that weren't linked to purchasing a product, but hadn't considered book searches — Matthew Steeples.

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