The unusual tradition of drinking from a shoe, known colloquially as a 'shoey,' has a surprisingly rich and varied history, spanning across cultures, eras, and social contexts. From a scene in 2004's The Phantom of the Opera, where opera owners Messieurs André and Firmin appease their diva Carlotta by drinking champagne from her slipper, to more recent instances like Harry Styles performing a 'shoey' at a concert, this peculiar act has captivated and sometimes bewildered observers. This practice, while seeming bizarre, has historical roots in acknowledging talent, celebrating victory, and even as a symbol of extravagance.

One of the earliest documented instances of this trend is believed to have originated in late 19th-century Russia. Adoring fans of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow would receive the ballet slippers of their favorite dancers, which they would then fill with champagne or vodka and drink from. This act served as a profound acknowledgement of the ballerinas' exceptional skill and artistry. This Russian tradition is also thought to be the precursor to a unique Ukrainian wedding custom where guests drink from the bride's shoes. Simultaneously, during France's Belle Époque, or 'Beautiful Era,' cabaret dancers adopted a similar practice, offering fans champagne in their shoes as a testament to their hard work and dedication. As the Belle Époque progressed, this decadent ritual spread throughout Europe and eventually to the United States, becoming associated with wealth, glamour, and celebrity culture, famously embraced by figures like Tallulah Bankhead.

The practice also found its way into military folklore. Tales from the war era describe a Prussian general who allegedly promised his men that if they won an upcoming battle, he would drink beer from his boot. After their victory, the general is said to have commissioned a boot made of glass, likely to avoid drinking from a muddy, bloody, or sweaty actual boot. While lacking concrete evidence, this story is widely cited as the origin of Germany's 'bierstiefel,' or boot-shaped glass, a popular item at Oktoberfest. Other unverified accounts speak of German soldiers during World War I participating in similar rituals, drinking from each other's boots as a good-luck charm before battle or as a hazing ritual for new recruits. These stories, though largely folk tales, persist and are often shared among bar-hoppers enjoying a 'Das Boot' today.

In more modern times, athletes and sports celebrities have enthusiastically adopted and popularized the tradition of drinking from shoes, particularly as a victory celebration. Dr. Liz Giuffre of the University of Technology Sydney explains the sentiment behind this, noting that it embodies "the whole idea that I've just done this really hard thing and I'm going to drink out of the shoe that got me there." This practice gained significant traction, especially among Australian athletes, and was officially dubbed the 'shoey.' While 'doing a shoey' emerged in Australia around 2010, it achieved global viral status after Australian Formula 1 racer Daniel Ricciardo performed it for the first time in 2016 and continued the tradition in subsequent victories. Ricciardo, notably, preferred champagne to beer for his shoeys, humorously stating, "If the sparkling wine is cold, then it tastes good... If it's warm, then you might get the sweat through it, but the cold taste kills the bad stuff... so it's delicious." This diverse history illustrates that drinking from a shoe is more than just a quirky act; it's a symbolic gesture with deep cultural and historical roots.