Jump to content

wearing heels since before the Renaissance!


genebujold

Recommended Posts

French Nobility - Plate 63

This was the late 1600s, folks, so the next time someone tells you that "men don't wear heels," just tell them "it's nothing new - men have been wearing heels since before the Renaissance!"

Although I've read reports where Frenchmen wore heels as early as 100 years before, I can't find any plates of it.

And even earlier, in Plate 56 (early 1600s), we see men of Dutch nobility begin to rise to the occasion.... http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/COSTUME10_INDEX.HTML#Plate56

Now - how long did it last?

Well, here's a plate from the early 1700s, where the fashion was catching on in Zurich: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE69AX.HTML

Here's one where the man still appears to be sporting a heel - and now the women are, too! http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE76AX.HTML

Alas, that's just prior to the revolution, and I cannot find another plate where men wore heels, and it was some years later that women's heels rose above an inch and a half.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


tell some of todays morons that. It was only today i overheard a convo in the staffroom where the women were saying they couldnt understand why men wanna wear womens stuff. if their husband dressed up in any womens clothes theyd be leaving them etc etc. mentioned heels and other things. I did pipe in that theyre just clothes which has nothing to do with sexuality etc, and that women wouldnt understand as they had the choice of both wardrobes. maybe i should take your pictures to work :roll: daz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only problem is, is that heels were high fashion in the 17th century but it isn't now. In those days they were men's styles but now they're not. In 1976 men were wearing 4" heels and at the time they were considered macho but not now. I could wear an entire outfit consisting of clothes that were or are fashionable for men in parts of the world but I would still look like a woman! :roll: My point is, if heels were high fashion they would not have even come into the conversation.

Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well it looks like thats what I had said some time back (I can not remember what post though) :roll: but generally that is the point that I made- that society has forgotten that MEN were the FIRST that wore HEELS, long BEFORE wormen!!! :) and if you made them (those women & others as well) AWARE of this fact & IF they have the common SENSE to UNDERSTAND you then you might be able to make some progress in EDUCATING them!! (but the way I see it, thats one hell of a big "IF") it is after all, totally MENTAL in the way people THINK about this kind of thing-it is amazing how they can perceive things in one way @ one time and quite the oppisite @ other times! (present example is that other post about that VERY stuck-up (@ quite nosey in my opinion) lady that tried to make a big deal about the guy that was in Las Vegas with his S/O & wore heels (along with her) while @ the Ventian & the security guards coming over to see what the problem was, I mean like GIVE ME A BREAK!!! LOL :rofl: Oh well, you have to EXPECT this kind of thing from VERY insecure people who just cant seem to let go of THEIR reality (the 1 that they brought up to belieive in) yours, Brad

men still look good with pants tucked into the right boots!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way I see it is when people see guys wearing women's clothing images of that guy being really feminate, and if thats the case they must be homosexual. I think thats how a lot of people make the corrilation, and I guess in its on right they high heel can be considered a sex symbol. (I see it in logos of strip clubs thery're various sexual phrases referring to high heels, some men get turned on by them etc... etc... etc...). So I do think their is some logic behind the coorilation between cloths and sex. Though when I wear high heels I personaly see me as being a guy who is just wearing shoes. Shoes that women normaly wear, but shoes none the less. At least thats the kind of thinking I've been trying to adapt as of lately. I don't know just my thought.

It's all good. ~Arron.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could wear an entire outfit consisting of clothes that were or are fashionable for men in parts of the world but I would still look like a woman! :roll:

Have you tried wearing Harley Davidson boots with a long jeans skirt, or even regular jeans?

Posted ImagePosted Image

Posted Image

Everything else is pretty much generic.

In fact, I've gone out this way several times, and no one has batted by eyelash. I've seen other guys in long skirts far more often than I've seen them in heels, but there's nothing wrong with wearing both.

The bottom line is this: how we appear, gender-wise is of our own-choosing. Even though I'm far less masculine looking than most due to a gonadal malfunction during puberty, and have long hair, I've worn heels on numerous occasions with my hair up and have been called "Sir." On other occasions, I've worn guy's shoes, guy's jeans, and a guy's shirt, but with my hair down, and have been called "Ma'am."

Go figure.

How others perceive your gender these days has less to do with what you wear, including heels, than you may realize.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way I see it is when people see guys wearing women's clothing images of that guy being really feminate, and if thats the case they must be homosexual. I think thats how a lot of people make the corrilation, and I guess in its on right they high heel can be considered a sex symbol. (I see it in logos of strip clubs thery're various sexual phrases referring to high heels, some men get turned on by them etc... etc... etc...). So I do think their is some logic behind the coorilation between cloths and sex. Though when I wear high heels I personaly see me as being a guy who is just wearing shoes. Shoes that women normaly wear, but shoes none the less. At least thats the kind of thinking I've been trying to adapt as of lately. I don't know just my thought.

Unfortunately, that connotation, "crossdressers=homosexual" is common, but patently wrong. Even a 10-year old CIA report acknowledged this fact. True, most men do get turned on by a high heel. That's one of the many reasons men wear them, but certainly not the only reason (and not to turn on other men!).

Your comment, "when I wear high heels I personaly see me as being a guy who is just wearing shoes. Shoes that women normaly wear, but shoes none the less," is perhaps the most succint, yet informative on this entire subject. One day women decided to wear shirts and pants. So what? It caused a lot of flap for a while, but we got over it. Same with men wearing heels.

So, yeah - good thinking! Good thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you tried wearing Harley Davidson boots with a long jeans skirt, or even regular jeans?

Posted ImagePosted Image

Posted Image

Everything else is pretty much generic.

In fact, I've gone out this way several times, and no one has batted by eyelash. I've seen other guys in long skirts far more often than I've seen them in heels, but there's nothing wrong with wearing both.

The bottom line is this: how we appear, gender-wise is of our own-choosing. Even though I'm far less masculine looking than most due to a gonadal malfunction during puberty, and have long hair, I've worn heels on numerous occasions with my hair up and have been called "Sir." On other occasions, I've worn guy's shoes, guy's jeans, and a guy's shirt, but with my hair down, and have been called "Ma'am."

Go figure.

How others perceive your gender these days has less to do with what you wear, including heels, than you may realize.

The point I was trying to make is the fact that time and time again women have hijacked male fashion and have called it their own. At the moment it's considered passe for men to wear cowboy boots in the UK because they are high fashion for women!

Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

gene you are right what you say about homosexuality and crossdressin. there was a discussion in the staffrooom as i mentioned bofore. one of the women was saying how the sex shop even does bigger stiletto shoes for men to wear etc. I had to get involved for the sake of their ignorance. I mentioned that what clothes people pput on the outside had nothing to do with sexuality. also they couldnt understand why men would want womens items, to which i put to them that they had the choice of both wardrobes, and therefore wouldnt understand why having half of them restriced it causes some people to clash and want to wear the other available stuff, however unlike a woman in mens clothes, a man gets slated and called gay etc. After batting down a few other comments a couple of them were open minded enough to agree with me, whereas a couple of the older women were still insistand that crossdressed men had smomething wrong in their head, and their husbands would be out if they did it. with that said, clothes these days in the name of fashion are designed to create an image or presentation of someone. Id say its logical that people will assume that a man in womens clothes eg skirt and heels is trying to somehow be a womsn or look like one (even if not the case) but in most cases if people ask and you set them straight i think they would be ok with it based on reactions during discussions. some people never think outside lifes usual guidelines until asked to.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good point daz!! :) its like I said before that if people use a little "common sense" then they can truly learn from those those that DO wear heels, that just because they do- does not mean that they are GAY!! :roll: the human mind is a strange thing when different kinds of thinkng go on in it and just HOW these different perceptions get started in the 1st place! ( I feel that its a lot of internal confusion about what these images are trying to TELL the human mind) all I know for a fact that we as a species (and a people) are not mind readers so with THAT being said, I could harldy CARE what ANY one may or may not think about WHY im wearing heels @ any one moment, life is just way too short to start worrying about it. yours, brad

men still look good with pants tucked into the right boots!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of the gay/tv/tg confusion is due to the media and classified ads. You will get a "girls looking for guys" and a "guys looking for girls" sections and then a "gay/bi/tv/ts/" all lumped in one section. So then TV/TS in everyones mind is linked with Gay. Just my take on things :roll:

He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes.

Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's ugly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

The point I was trying to make is the fact that time and time again women have hijacked male fashion and have called it their own.

True!

At the moment it's considered passe for men to wear cowboy boots in the UK because they are high fashion for women!

You've gotta be kidding me...!

Cowboy boots are still common wear throughout much of the western US, from the Mississippi on. Just look at the movie Twister. What was Bill Paxton wearing? And that in Oklahoma! Not only accepted, but largely the norm.

The last time I went to St. Louis was in 2003. I visited a bar recommended to me by a local. Not my style, actually (lots of college students) but most (>80%) of the guys were wearing cowboy boots.

Same as it's been since the 1700s!

What the hell is up with this "if women wear it, men can't" mentality???

If we continue to allow this atrocity, we'll be back in loinclothes and a pelt in no time!

I don't cuss, so I'll say this: **** the damned "passe" and wear whatever the hell you want to wear!!! Break new ground! Be the first on your block to go against the grain!!!

Posting your gripes on this or other boards will accomplish little. Go out and do something about it!!!

Please excuse me while I take a hike from the Stratosphere to Mandalay Bay on Las Vegas Blvd in my muted green skirt and Linea Paolo sandals (I've posted the pics before...)

And Firefox - when are you going to fix the problem I'm having with your server buddy so I can post again?

The rest of you need to take a hike, too!!! Preferrably wherever the fashion prissies are wearing their "female-only cowboy boots."

Sheesh!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted ImagePosted ImagePosted ImagePosted Image

No doubt cowboyboots are in fashion today!

At The Fashion Spot Forum there is a thread going with a man wearing low block heeled boots which are in the eyes of some women are too feminine and they advise .... cowboyboots and cuban heels.

In this thread and this thread you hear others talking about cowboyboots.

This picture is also in that forum.

I'm not fond of them myself, if they had a more rounded toe or if they weren't so pointy, maybe I'd give them a chance.

Robert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

tell some of todays morons that.

maybe i should take your pictures to work :D

daz

Excellent idea!

In fact, post a few on your cubicles. That way you can refer to them if asked, and it will probably generate positive conversation on their own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For any high heel wearing man that wants to wear heels in public and is apprehensive about it, these boots are the perfect pair. Masculine looking with higher than normal heels. With a pair of jeans covering about ½ of the heel, I believe people will take very little notice of them.

Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using High Heel Place, you agree to our Terms of Use.