High heels are viewed as a fashion must, a complement to any outfit, and a vital fashion accessory. Shoes are no longer a practical item, but a wardrobe essential, and women will pay extremely high prices to have the best, most stylish shoes around. But how did we get here? Were high heels always a part of society or are they simply a fashion that will eventually die? The truth is, high heels have been around since ancient times, and it is doubtful they will ever go out of style.
Ancient Times
In ancient Egypt, most of the lower class walked barefoot. However, according to murals that date back to 3500 B.C., upper-class men and women wore an early version of high heels, most likely for ceremonies and events. Greeks and Romans also wore a type of platform heels; actors used the increase height to symbolize a higher social status or importance. Ancient Roman prostitutes also wore heels to identify themselves.
Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, men and women were known to wear pattens, a lifted shoe attachment that protected expensive shoes from street muck. In Turkey in the 1400s, chopines were invented, another overshoe that resembled an early platform shoe; they were worn exclusively by women. Women were known to wear chopines that were anywhere from 7 to 30 inches tall, and the wearers sometimes required a cane or the assistance of a servant to walk around. The Venetians turned chopines into a status symbol, with a higher heel meaning the woman held more wealth and power than someone with a lower heel.
In the 1500s, two-piece shoes were being made, and high heels began to take on a more fashionable quality. Because manufacturers had difficulty making right and left heels that mirrored each other, they began to make shoes that could fit either foot. The distinction between right and left shoes didn't return until the 1800s.
Invention
Catherine de Medici is credited with making high heels an item of fashion. In 1533, she was engaged to the Duke of Orleans at the age of 14. Because she was under 5 feet tall, and somewhat plain looking, she began to wear 2-inch high heels to make herself stand out against the duke's favorite mistress and seem more powerful in her rule as the queen of French court.
The trend caught on quickly, and heels became associated with privilege. By 1580, heels were worn as fashion pieces by both men and women. In the early 1700s, the king of France, Louis XIV, wore elaborate heels that had drawings of battle scenes on the heels. They were referred to as "Louis heels" and could be 5 inches tall. High-heel laws soon followed, with the king only allowing nobility to wear red heels, and making it illegal for anyone's heels to be taller than his.
Banishment
After the French Revolution, Napoleon banished the Louis heel in a push for equality. However, when Marie Antoinette was taken to the guillotine, she wore 2-inch high heels. In the 1790s, heels lowered in height to 2 inches, and eventually an even shorter wedge heel, which was called the spring. It was around this time that right and left shoes returned. From this time in history until the 1930s, there were four types of heels worn: the spring, the stacked, the knock-on and the Louis.
20th Century
It was in the 1920s that high heels became a fashion focus again. The high hemlines and bold fashions of the "roaring 20s" called for equally bold foot fashions. However, the Great Depression brought about more practical, low and wide shoe fashions, and during World War II shoes turned higher with thick heels while materials were rationed.
It was Christian Dior's collaboration with shoe designer Roger Vivier in the 1950s that led to today's pointy-toed stiletto heel. This style dominated the 1960s, when the stiletto heel became popular on tall boots and were often paired with mini skirts. The 1970s gave way to the platform shoe, which again was worn by both men and women. High heels returned in the 1980s and '90s, when designers like Manolo Blahnik brought high-heeled, trendy shoes to the catwalk, to Hollywood and eventually, to the everyday woman.
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