new_look Posted July 4, 2004 Posted July 4, 2004 I often look at fashion sites or informative sites on heels etc, and if i get a pound for every time i saw a daft phrase, id be so rich, but sometimes the phrases are downright annoying. eg, heres a couple i recently read 'To make women feel vulnerable men invented bras, girdles and high-heeled shoes' Heels are what men enforced on women to make them more helpless and inferior by limiting their movement. who thinks of these things. Obviously some obsessed feminist daz
Robert Posted July 5, 2004 Posted July 5, 2004 On the homepage of Special Feetures http://www.specialfeetures.com/ : If you are a woman with narrow feet, or long feet, congratulations! A few lines down: (sorry, if you aren't a woman with narrow or long feet, our lovely shoes just won't fit you!) Aaaargghh, ggrrrrr Well, I wouldn't buy anything from them Robert Boots, fascinating footwear http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i103/Boots_1956/
genebujold Posted July 5, 2004 Posted July 5, 2004 I often look at fashion sites or informative sites on heels etc, and if i get a pound for every time i saw a daft phrase, id be so rich, but sometimes the phrases are downright annoying. eg, heres a couple i recently read 'To make women feel vulnerable men invented bras, girdles and high-heeled shoes' Heels are what men enforced on women to make them more helpless and inferior by limiting their movement. who thinks of these things. Obviously some obsessed feminist daz Obviously. And obviously one who hasn't a clue as to fashion history, either. If she would, she would have known it was men who began wearing heels around 1500, and continued doing so as a fashion norm for about 330 years! Women didn't begin wearing heels until around 1530, when a short queen decided to have her husband's cobbler make her a pair to help increase her height, as well. Evidently, they were fashionable, for women have been wearing high heels ever since.
new_look Posted July 5, 2004 Author Posted July 5, 2004 curious of your history timeline gene, why did heels for men go 'out'. Also what happened with the platforms era for men in the 70's. why didnt that continue?
genebujold Posted July 6, 2004 Posted July 6, 2004 Hi, Daz. It appears the 300+ year history of men-wearing heels died at the same time as the nearly 300-year history of women-wearing heels died, during the French Revolution, when the French populace revolted against the establishment, the vast majority of who could afford to hire a cobbler that would make them high heels (and the vast majority of the uprising, of course, which could not afford such extravagance). By the 1920s, heels were once again the fashion, but only for women. Thus, we've had 300+ years of men in heels, and only recently, about 90 years of women in heels. Admittedly the styles of heels for the vast majority of the wearers was significantly different, but high heels they were, both men and women, for longer than women have been wearing heels alone.
Dr. Shoe Posted July 6, 2004 Posted July 6, 2004 Hi, Daz. It appears the 300+ year history of men-wearing heels died at the same time as the nearly 300-year history of women-wearing heels died, during the French Revolution, when the French populace revolted against the establishment, the vast majority of who could afford to hire a cobbler that would make them high heels (and the vast majority of the uprising, of course, which could not afford such extravagance). By the 1920s, heels were once again the fashion, but only for women. Thus, we've had 300+ years of men in heels, and only recently, about 90 years of women in heels. Admittedly the styles of heels for the vast majority of the wearers was significantly different, but high heels they were, both men and women, for longer than women have been wearing heels alone. Actually, women's high heels never really died out. The victorian women used to wear some amazing heels up to 8"! I quote from a ladies' periodical circa 1880: "I happened across some devine shoes at Henry's, they had 7 inch heels and I purchased them at once! My husband had to support me for the first few days of wearing." Who or what Henry's was I don't know but I think this establishment would have been top of my list of favourites. Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.
chris100575 Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 My favourite often seen on eBay: "Boots with three inch heels, size 8. Worn once, too high for me." Chris
genebujold Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 curious of your history timeline gene, why did heels for men go 'out'. Also what happened with the platforms era for men in the 70's. why didnt that continue? French Revolution. Heels were synonomous with wealth, power (and it's abuses), so post-revolutionary France had a disdain with anything that reminded people of the opulence of the pre-revolutionary rich. More one the social factors leading up to the French Revolution: http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap1a.html More on the wear of heels prior to and after the French Revolution: http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/shoesections/baroque.html And begin here for the beginning of heels for both men and women: http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/shoesections/mediaeval.html (use the links at the bottom to navigate)
genebujold Posted July 7, 2004 Posted July 7, 2004 Actually, women's high heels never really died out. The victorian women used to wear some amazing heels up to 8"! I quote from a ladies' periodical circa 1880: "I happened across some devine shoes at Henry's, they had 7 inch heels and I purchased them at once! My husband had to support me for the first few days of wearing." Who or what Henry's was I don't know but I think this establishment would have been top of my list of favourites. Actually, they did die out beginning the last decade of the 1700s, and remained dead for more than 50 years. Read this: http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/shoesections/baroque.html And this: http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/shoesections/victorian.html But you're right, Dr. Shoe, my memory of when they returned was off by about 40 years!
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