Since the year 1850 cobblers in Serbia manufacture three types of peasant shoes called “opanak”:
- red shoes or crvenjase
-shoes ”kapicare”.

Crvenjase - Jovo Cvijanovic from Uzice is the first one who started tanning leather and producing them. They were made from semi-tanned red-colored cowhide. Their name origins from their color,, since red in Serbian is “crvena”. They consist of a sole, face, cord and a belt to fasten them around one’s leg. The top is small, wide and bent. They were worn over socks and knitted toe-warmers during winter time and on bare foot during summer time. They were a part, at the beginning of festive, and later of daily folk dress.

The other type of peasant shoe, built shoes, were first made in 1870 by a slipper maker Filip Mitrovic from Sabac. They were made from tanned leather and have completely replaced peasant shoes from semi-tanned leather. They were mainly worn by peasants, but also by townsmen – students, tradesman, craftsman, clerks.  There are several types, named after the place where their production began, their look of the front, wideness of the sole, shape and top size:

Sabacki – wide front part, wide sole, small top.

Sumadija type – narrow and shallow front, narrow and rounded sole, long and towards the leg bent top.

Morava type – high front, wide sole with a plum-shaped top cut acute.

Kolubara type – narrow front, tiny stitches, higher soles. The top is cut acute and a little bit bent towards the leg.

Uzice type – very similar to the Kolubara type. The only difference is that the top is more bent towards the leg.

Peasant shoes kapitsare – they were brought into Serbia from abroad. The domestic cobblers were making them since 1920. These peasant shoes are being names banatske, shvapske, lubashi. They were made from factory tinned cowhide of light or dark brown or black color. They were characteristic for Pannonian inhabitants. Between the two world wars they were also worn in bordering areas of north-western Serbia and along the Danube rivers.

Rubber peasant shoes – they looked as the kapitsari’s, but were rougher and simpler. They were worn by peasants and presented their working shoes, also worn during rainy weather. Around the year 1935, a special branch of cobblery developed whose craftsmen – cobblers of rubber shoes were producing only this sort of shoes.

According to folk belief, Saint Sava has tought the people how to tin leather. This is why the cobbler’s Slava (Family feast) is celebrated on January 27th, on Saint Sava’s day.