High Heel History

By Tony Waza


High heel shoes hold a unique position in the realm of fashion that can't be humbled or driven off through the altering of fads. Unlike every other shoe ever worn, they've been around for 1000's of years and will probably never disappear. They're challenging just to walk in, make us take more compact steps, yet we still still love them. Nearly all women cannot imagine dressing for any special evening without a set of her favorite pumps, and can really match the outfit to her high heel shoes instead of the other way round. What exactly is it about extremely high heeled footwear that intrigues our imagination and fuels such a love for fashion? Though the high heel shoes is self-explanatory for most of us, it will help to have a look at just how they came into being to begin with.

Ancient Egyptian carvings dating back over 5000 long years in the past illustrate high status figures wearing shoes resembling heeled footwear. Only the finest fortunate could placed on these shoes which have been synonymous with the God of Existence, Ankh.

Other ancient cultures found in places like in Greece, Asia and Rome also had early versions of high heel shoes. Some were constructed of wood, while some were a mix of wood and leather that laced up. In nearly all cultures, high heel shoes were reserved in an attempt understand the differences between the upper class and the lower class. Throughout the Dark Ages, heels were worn by males and ladies. The heel was really a wide base that mounted on costly and inherently nicer footwear. The only reason for the wooden heel ended up being to suspend it from the ground with a couple of inches to help keep the costly footwear away from the dirty ground.

Catherine de' Medici, the reigning ruler of France from 1547 to 1559, invented the nearest form of present day high heel shoes at age 14. She was shorter then five ft tall, and made the footwear to provide her a few more inches of height. Her goal was ultimately to distract the King's curiosity about his taller mistress and master some positive attention from the people living in France. Though her dresses covered her high heel shoes, people observed the alluring method in which she walked, and interest quickly caught on. Soon, high heel shoes became a statement which was broadly used to show off inside the noble upper-class society.

High heeled footwear began being popular for every class with the invention of what is now referred to as the sewing machine. By the later 1860's they were a strong icon of womanliness, then the heels were elevated became more curved and slender. Stiletto high heeled footwear made their appearance early in the 1960's to glorify the bare foot as skirts were becoming shorter and tighter.

Today, heeled footwear allow us to walk in a large range of shapes and shoe types that cater support nearly to any fashion. Though heeled footwear continues to be mainly considered firstly used for wearing special evening attire, they are also being worn everyday by women who want to add extra fashion to casual clothes, for instance jeans and blouses.




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