Abstract: A ventilated article of footwear, such as a shoe, is provided with an outer sole of deformable material having a raised peripheral portion of enlarged thickness surrounding the entire periphery thereof. An inner sole of non-deformable material is mounted above the outer sole in normally spaced relation therefrom to define an air chamber between the soles. The inner sole is perforated with a plurality of apertures providing communication between the air chamber and the interior of the shoe. A compressible supporting material is located in the air chamber between the inner and outer soles and normally biases the deformable outer sole away from the inner sole to provide a relatively deep air chamber. When the wearer of the shoe applies his weight upon the outer sole, the latter deforms upwardly compressing the compressible supporting material and reducing the depth of the air chamber.