at9

I saw a rather faded print of a painting by Frank Moss Bennett: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Moss_Bennett It showed a historical scene with all the men wearing heels, as they might well have done at that time. The period he specialised in was the 1700s and 1800s, so rather after the Carolingian period mentioned by @Shyheels in another thread. I can't find an online reproduction of the print I saw, where the heels are more prominent and perhaps a little higher than in the example on Wikipedia. Since FMB had clearly researched his period, I think we can believe his representations are accurate. They show that men's heels spanned several centuries, before dying out in late Georgian or Victorian times.

Sounds like marketing hype to me too. I use a 31 year old washing machine (Bosch in case you're wondering) and it has a button marked "Fuzzy logic". No idea what it really does. The machine is clever enough to try and redistribute the load to give a smooth spin. If it fails, it spins more slowly so as not to wreck the machine. It never argues with me either:)

I've heard stories of climbing Helvellyn (just over 3000 feet) in stilettos for a dare. Coming down again in heels sounds truly daft. At least this woman in Colorado changed into trail shoes for the descent.

This portrait? He was certainly well heeled.

I was in my teens back in the early 1970s. Modest heels for men were quite common then. I bought 2 pairs of boots (high ankle or mid calf) with approx 2" heels. I think from Dolcis, now long gone. I still have one of the pairs, black patent with a gold ring decoration. They're rather fragile now but I still wear them occasionally.