did anyone seriously try to draw texture-based shoes back in the day?

[Quarrel Kukulcan]

Looking at the system/BoM UV map and wonky foot sliders, I can't imagine it was anything but a nightmare.

[Fritigern Gothly]

Yes, that did happen. I used to have several system shoes but the only one that I actually used were Greek/Roman style sandals.
These system shoes stopped being used as standalone shoes, but instead they became shoe bases for use with prim shoes, later sculpted shoes and later still mesh shoes. Many shoebases would get a texture to match the shoe they were being sold with, so that if part of the foot were to poke through the shoe, it would not be too noticeable.

Do note that the practice of putting textures on shoe bases were only useful for system bodies, it wouldn't do much, if anything, for mesh bodies. Well, not until we got BoM and suddenly we would notice that some shoe bases were textured, LOL.