The word "绣花鞋" is formed from three characters: 绣 (xiù, meaning to embroider), 花 (huā, meaning flower), and 鞋 (xié, meaning shoe). The first two characters combine into the phrase "绣花" (embroider flowers), which functions as a modifier describing the third character "鞋", thus creating a compound noun that directly denotes a shoe decorated with embroidered flowers.