<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10988851/?claim=h7x4ca2jzh5">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
"...the human foot, a masterpiece of engineering
and a work of art!"
-Leonardo
da Vinci
One
of the most powerful-some would argue the
most powerful-parts of a woman's wardrobe is a fitting pair of heels. And by
'fitting' I mean the heel is the right heel in color, size, shape, and purpose.
Purpose, especially, is very important: Are you wearing wedges simply for a
little added height? Are you trying to captivate an audience with a six-inch
stiletto? Are you the boss lady sporting a pair of black pumps? There are many
different kinds of heels out there from kitten heel to the platform stiletto,
which recently took over the feet of the models in the Fall/Winter runway
shows. A beautiful outfit gets a tremendous power boost with a pair of heels,
and the wearer also gets a boost: Heels make you stand differently-your breasts
jut out, along with your bottom, hips get thrown around, and your body takes on
a sultry, ready-to-mate stance that drives guys crazy.
But
where did the idea of heels first come from? How long have they been around?
Don't you people ever think about this stuff??
Let's
start with the definition of 'heel'. Dictionary.com defines 'heel' as: (noun) a solid, raised base or support of
leather, wood, rubber, etc. attached to the sole of a shoe or boot under the
back part of the foot. Merriam-Webster defines it as: "solid attachment of
a shoe or boot forming the back of the sole under the heel of the foot."
Before
'heel', however, had to come 'shoe', right? One of the earliest ancient peoples
to develop a variety of footwear was the Chinese. Woven and stitched straw
shoes date as far back as 5000 b.c.e. Tanned leather footwear with elaborate
stitching dates back to around 2000 b.c.e. China has a variety of climates, so
straw sandals were more in keeping with the warmer climate regions, while thick
leather shoes and knee high boots were used in the colder mountainous parts.
Another culture of skilled shoemakers was the ancient Egyptians; their murals
and tombs started depicting sandals around 1500 b.c.e. While footwear was
largely unnecessary due to the warm climate, when they did appear, the sandals
were woven of either reeds or leather pieces (the latter more for the wealthy).
If the sandals were held on with straps, the straps were wrapped around the
calf in the shape of the "ankh", the symbol of life.
Eventually,
all soles were no longer created equal, and platforms and heels were
introduced.
Ancient
Romans wore platform peep toe sandals or "cothurns" to lift their
feet out of the mud and garbage in the streets. These high platforms had either
wood or cork soles. Different heel heights represented different social
standing. Either high class or butcher-wore platform shoes to walk all over the
"offal"
Heels
have been worn by both sexes over the centuries; one of the earliest recorded
instances of men and women wearing an elevated shoe comes from Hellenic times.
Two thousand years ago on the Greek stage male actors wore heels for a more
commanding presence on stage. Ancient Chinese, Turkish, Japanese cultures made
use of heels for both sexes. In Asia heels were mostly reserved for the upper
class, courts and concubines.
Heels
were proven useful for riding horses, as they kept the rider's feet in the
stirrups. Mongolian horsemen took advantage of this, while the Knights of
Richard the Lionhearted simply wore "sollerets", or downward curved
pointed shoes.
In
the mid-1500's heels, the "Chopin" platform shoe became popular. The
height of which was between 6-16", even sometimes 30", involved the
use of walking sticks and help from servants.
Another
patron of the heel was Catherine de Medici, some might call her the mother of
the high heel. The de Medici family was extremely powerful and ruled over
Florence while creating powerful unions through marriages all around Europe. At
14 years old, Catherine was set to wed the Duke of Orleans, who was to become
the next King of France. Catherine would be their Queen, and she was extremely
intimidated by the French court. She sought out a friend, (who also happened to
be a cobbler) and confided her worries to him. His solution? He took out the
clunky wooden soles from her shoes and replaced them with padded four inch
heels. With added inches and a new swagger, Catherine dazzled the courts and
the love of heels flourished.
It
wasn't just height-challenged Queens that sought out the advantage of false
height; in 1660 shoemaker Nicholas Lestage designed high heeled shoes for Louis
XIV. Some of the heels were higher than four inches, and most depicted battle
scenes. They shoes went on to be nicknamed "Louis heels" or
"pompadour heels".
After
the Renaissance (post 17th century) heels spread down to the lower
levels of society and heels were no longer worn just by the wealthy.
However,
in France during the French Revolution, heels were associated with opulence, a
look people were trying to avoid at the time. Heels were mostly eliminated from
the market.
Post
World War II, Rosie the Riveter turned feminine, when baby making was on
everyone's minds. Also at this time, a few changes in the design of the heel
helped spur its popularity. For instance, a steel core replaced the breakable
wood heel, making new heights imaginable.
And
along came the Queen of height: the stiletto.
Beautiful dagger! There is an unfounded theory that Leonardo da Vinci was the
very first designer of the killer heel. I wouldn't have trouble believing that,
seeing as the guy thought of the helicopter.
A key contributor was Roger Vivier, a French designer credited with the
aforementioned steel-inside-wood model. In 1954, Vivier presented the stiletto
to the house of Dior.
Heels
have captivated both men and women since their arrival. Women lust after them
and men lust after the women inside of them. There are many different kinds of
heels such as the flat heel, low heel, chunky heel, kitten heel, stiletto heel,
cone heel, spool heel, and the wedge. Take your pick! Or as June Swann, shoe
historian, puts it: "it's like the circus. You can learn to walk on
anything if you put your mind to it."
