Golden Age of Shoes?

[BoyLegs]

I had always considered the eighties to be a golden age for seeing shoes. A lot of women wore better shoes with higher heels than they have since. For example, I remember being in the arboretum outside of Chicago in the summer of '88 and seeing two women walking around in very high pumps. It was a weekday and they must have been on their lunch hour. I remember the '80s very fondly (not just for the shoes). There were beautiful pumps in a lot of colors, and often the heels were high. Yet choices of styles were limited. You seldom saw ankle-straps, and almost never mary janes. Now butt-ugly shoes are often seen. Many women who would have worn high heels to work twenty years ago feel no cause to dress up today. You see flip-flops and various ugly shoes all the time. Yet, for those women who still care, there are a great variety of styles available. Mary janes have been around all decade, and peep toes came back with a vengeance two years ago. After the puritannical fit of the '90s, colors are back; you can even see some yellow and bright blue now. Last year seemed like the Year of Patent Leather. We also saw a surge of plaform pumps with attractive proportions. The women who make the effort — you know who you are — have a variety of gorgeous shoes to choose from. So what do you think? Are we living in a golden age of shoes?

[fastfreddy2]

I think I may have come up with the definitive cause/effect of why 'the golden age' was then, and not now.... After all, current shoe technology allows us almost any style, shape, and most importantly, height.....

The epiphany that got me to thinking about this, was my own recent experience. As I acclimatize to wearing heels more and more in my daily life, I realise there are times when I don't want to wear heels, or they are just plain inconvenient to something I need to do.

The most notable example of this, was a recent visit to Luton. There's a place there where I've bought several pairs of boots. I'm welcome, and they know the boots are for me, a conclusion easily drawn because I've tried every pair I've bought from them before buying. The location is far enough from where I live to be borderline safe from people I know, and I have worn heels there before.

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity of walking around the Luton Arndale in heels with a (girl) friend, who also wanted to go there shopping. But time was short, so I walked around in flat shoes, because I was in a hurry.

This got me thinking .......

I can't turn back the clock and 'test' my theory, but I can (could and did) do a compare and contrast review against different cultures with both different lifestyles, and different attitudes to the pace of life. Those outside the (current) Western attitude of "everything needs to have been done yesterday" still have an interest in dressing up, and certainly make an effort to 'upgrade' their peacock appeal on Sundays. Put another way, there are still cultures around (maybe even most of them) that differenciate between work, and recreation times. Whereas we in the West, for the most part feel like it's all work? Even shopping needs to done at some pace. We now expect all our stores to be under one roof, and usually, not too far away either.

Wearing high heels to do anything, requires time. There's a sense of grace to wearing them.....

People these days want or expect to live life on a conveyor. They dress for comfort and function, not for (self) style or attraction. Well, not in my understanding of the words..... Calvin Klein under-garments hoisted high above a low waistband hold no attraction for me at all. Loose, grey coloured 'sweat' suits don't look any better when adored with a "designer" or well known brand name emblazened on them. These are clothes that are easy to find, and easy to wear.

It's not that people in Western culture don't have (or can't "make") the time to dress well..... They either can't be bothered (general malaise in our culture) or their energy is concentrated elsewhere. ie. Work.

I'm quite happy if readers here disagree. I'd welcome other views on my (in work) conclusion. So far, I haven't thought of a major crack in the theory.

.......

[Marcus]

It's not that people in Western culture don't have (or can't "make") the time to dress well..... They either can't be bothered (general malaise in our culture) or their energy is concentrated elsewhere. ie. Work.

I'm quite happy if readers here disagree. I'd welcome other views on my (in work) conclusion. So far, I haven't thought of a major crack in the theory.

How could I disagree? Holy words!

We (well, at least I) don't have time, simply. I'm only 18 and I really feel I don't have enough time to do what I want to do, coz I'm too busy: school, friends, shool, activities, school,...

That said, heels come last, sadly.

[Bubba136]

I agree that there are certain situations, times and places where my wearing heels isn't convenient, not appropriate or not feasiable. I like to wear womens shoes - period. And, I always have a few pair in my closet that I wear when the situation advises against heels. The pairs I wear on these occasions are the penny loafer style shoes with 2 or 2½" heels that aren't overly feminine in appearance. People really have to look very closely at my feet to decern that my shoes are women's shoes. Wedge heels also are a good substitute and are very inconspicious when worn with trousers that are just a bit longer than what you would normally wear. Take it from me. It works. I haven't worn a pair of men's shoes in over 10 years.

[fastfreddy2]

Take it from me. It works. I haven't worn a pair of men's shoes in over 10 years.

I'm envious and impressed, in equal (and in immeasurable) volumes. <super>

...

[RPMindy]

one fashion article agrees with you.. heels were worn a lot more in the 80's... the time of excess as some say it. however. average height is higher now than before. in the 80's 3 to 4 inch was the typical norm.. now.. up to 6 inch is seen in public. however less folks wear heels. the golden era of heels was prior to the 80's when the stilleto first came out (check the black and white pics of old). then.. the average was 4 to 5 inch typically worn!!! i miss the golden days. now.. focus is on getting there in a hurry.. no matter what that is or how un-important it is. but in terms of options. this era offers the most variety.. but folks don't use that as much RPM

[LailaLily]

i like the 50's glamour...and that pinup beauty..u know? now it seems like people wear flip flops to work,school,parties...etc i remember reading an article of some girls who got in trouble for wearing flip flops at an internship at the whitehouse.....people these days are getting toooooooooooooo comfy. its like heels are foreign to them i can understand if u wear heels to a special event and other places and u wear flip flops for variations...but some people's idea of heels are these ugly shoes with .030830 inch heel.

[Bootking]

As a boot fan, I must say that boots with heels are around much much more now in the 2000s than I can ever remember before - and in significantly greater variety too.

Now today, I was in Macy's and I heard the click, click, click of the heels - and there she was with knee high suede 3 1/2 or 4 inch stiletto black boots with a buckle over the instep, very form fitting and very sexy!

Well, you know where my eyes were....................

Therefore I would DISAGREE WITH THE SENTIMENTS OF PASSE.

[roniheels]

I notice many young female celebrities wearing high heels today, even moreso than yeateryear. Even mature women are wearing high heels today than years past. Although I do notice in the workplace the styles have become more casual in clothing and footwear. I don't see all that many women in the workplace wearing high heels as in years past. I do agree that the 70s was an erfor high heels for both men and women. And high heels seem to become popular again in the late 80s, early 90s. But there does seem to be a rebirth again of the high heels nowdays, especially by younger women. And many of the younger women don't care for men wearing high heels as opposed to the mature women who don't seem to mind.

[vector]

Wwweeeellllllllllll, I think both eras are right! Remember fashion tends to have a 20 (or so) year cycle. In the 70's into the early 80's high heels (with and without platforms) were all the rage for women (and men) and they came back right on time 20 years later. I've seen more high heels in the last three to five years than I've seen in the previous 20!!!

[Dr. Shoe]

Yes I'm with Roniheels on this one, this is definitely the age of the "vertiginous heel". In London of all the ladies making their way home about half are wearing heels way in excess of 4". Many of the remainder are wearing trainers and carrying their work heels in a bag. Meanwhile, the shops can't keep them on the shelves.

[pussyinboots]

I love the '80's style heels - and whenever I can try to root them out in Retro shops, EBay Auctions and other online sources. I think the attributes that set them - (and styles from the 40's and 50's) - apart - is the class, style, quality and elegance of the designs. Real materials not 'faux', rich and varied colours and patterns, curves not angles, thin heels not chunky, short points not winklepickers, low cut vamps with understated cleavage, heels not ridiculously high and in the case of strappies - subtle sexiness ... .....in other words.."less is more".

[fastfreddy2]

Yes I'm with Roniheels on this one, this is definitely the age of the "vertiginous heel". In London of all the ladies making their way home about half are wearing heels way in excess of 4". Many of the remainder are wearing trainers and carrying their work heels in a bag.

Meanwhile, the shops can't keep them on the shelves.

I'm not convinced. "one swallow does not a summer make".

Walk along Watford High Street any Friday or Saturday evening, and just about every girl there will be wearing heels. But is that any different to any Friday or Saturday night over the past 30~40 years? But these are not mainstream wearers these are younger girls out to meet men, maybe still wearing heels like they have for decades during their evening out.

My gauge is daytime wear in the suburbs. High Street or Main Street..... True there is the odd heel here and there, but certainly there is no mainstream wearing of them (yet). Seems to me there continues to be a great movement towards comfort .....

Maybe the padding we see more and more in heeled shoes will help bring about a change in direction? Certainly if the "well heeled" look of the celebrity gets to street level, it should.

Let's hope eh?

...

[HappyFeat]

Since I spent my "formative years" in the 1980's, I am in total agreement. In many ways I always thought the fashions of the 80's were a backlash against the fashions of the late 1960's and 1970's, which in turn were a backlash against the fashions if the 1950's and early 1960's. Think about all of those 1950's TV shows of the mother in a nice dress and killer pumps doing housework! And of course in the US, we had the Kennedy's as THE living examples of style. Even in Men's clothes, the styles of the 80's were great. The pastels, the prints, the cut of trousers, everything in men's clothes was wonderful in the 80's. Thinking about it, my collection of thin sole, soft leather loafers worn often without socks, was my first step toward heels. In fact, I bought my first heels, ( classic black pumps with a 3 inch heel) in 1988. One thing, especially in the mid to late 80's that I remember (and I may be wrong) was the distinct lack of open toe shoes and sandals, with the possible exception of peep toes which were not terribly common. But pumps of all shapes, heights, and COLORS, were everywhere. It was not uncommon for my female friends to have the same pumps in flats, low heel, medium and high heels. I agree with everything that has been posted so far about the devolution into fashion and convenience. But I would like to add that at least in the U.S. there has been a loss of retailers. Again, even in my small town in the sticks, we had at least 8 independent shoe stores and five different department stores, all with independent buyers, etc. If you drove to a large city, the variety and diversity of places to buy shoes was staggering. Today, there are fewer department stores (Macy's bought both chain department stores at my local mall) and virtually no independent stores anywhere. In addition to the mergers, etc. that wipe out variety, the shoe department at stores such as Macy's seem to be shrinking in many small markets. Once I could see 200 different styles in a shoe department, now is only 50. This movement to economies of scale simply reduces the number of options that many people can find. The internet has filled some of the void, however for me shoe shopping is a visceral experience. I like to touch them, try them on etc. The internet simply cannot fill that void. I do buy shoes online, however. Again in the 1980's you even had people who would help you find what you are looking for, etc. With today's mega corporations, market research, casual attitude, etc. it creates a limit of choices and at the very least a nonchalant attitude toward most everything, including appearances. My hope is that we are still a few generations away from matalic, unisex jumpsuits.....

[Dr. Shoe]

My gauge is in the city, that's where fashion starts. Last summer it was all flat sandals, this year...?

[fastfreddy2]

My gauge is in the city, that's where fashion starts. Last summer it was all flat sandals, this year...?

In many ways, you are lucky being able to enjoy either. [Even flat shoes often come with long legs? ]

I agree though. Where the City leads, we 'hicks' usually follow.

....

[sabotalot]

For me the golden age was the 70's. A guy could wear a

pair of 4" platforms, with no problem to obtain them. Now I go to the gals' department, at first a nerve-racking experience, but now it doesn't bother me; this is something legal to possess and I have the money, but I still don't try them on, but have seldom been unable to wear my purchase. Of course, in those days just out of high school, I couldn't afford everything I wanted. Today I must have over 60 pairs of shoes, either open-back clogs (my daily choice) plus 8 pairs of heeled open back clogs (I'd say they were "women's" but I own them so they are not a woman's). Wish I had bought a few pairs of the open-back "boot-look" mules that were in guy's stores back about 1978. I just responded to a message sent to me. If u got it, please write again; there doesn't seem to be any "feedback" that the message got to its destination. Also like "campus boots"; still have a couple of pairs from back then. They don't see too much wear because I prefer clogs.

[BoyLegs]

As a boot fan, I must say that boots with heels are around much much more now in the 2000s than I can ever remember before - and in significantly greater variety too.

Now today, I was in Macy's and I heard the click, click, click of the heels - and there she was with knee high suede 3 1/2 or 4 inch stiletto black boots with a buckle over the instep, very form fitting and very sexy!

Well, you know where my eyes were....................

Therefore I would DISAGREE WITH THE SENTIMENTS OF PASSE.

Boots are on a different track because, prior to about 1970, it was not acceptable for a woman to wear boots for fashion purposes in many situations. My high school, which was a public school, even had a dress code for the teachers in the '60s that proscribed boots in the classroom. Boots will have a place as long as the baby boomers are in charge.

[HappyFeat]

For me the golden age was the 70's. A guy could wear a

pair of 4" platforms, with no problem to obtain them.

An excellent point about the 70's, certainly for men's choices. About 5 years ago, I bought a pair of men's oxfords with a very round toe, a thick sole (not exactly a platform) and a bit of a heel (higher than most, but not too high) and thought they were reminiscent of the 1970's. Since then I have not seen many more like them.

The 1970's did have a lot more fashion freedom for men, but those styles only seemed to come back for women when "retro" became the buzzword.

[Bootking]

Boots are on a different track because, prior to about 1970, it was not acceptable for a woman to wear boots for fashion purposes in many situations. My high school, which was a public school, even had a dress code for the teachers in the '60s that proscribed boots in the classroom. Boots will have a place as long as the baby boomers are in charge.

Now, I'm a baby boomer (1952 version) and I can tell you about my junior high school teacher with the very tight black crinkle stretch boots.....ummmmmmm!!

[Dr. Shoe]

An excellent point about the 70's, certainly for men's choices. About 5 years ago, I bought a pair of men's oxfords with a very round toe, a thick sole (not exactly a platform) and a bit of a heel (higher than most, but not too high) and thought they were reminiscent of the 1970's. Since then I have not seen many more like them.

The 1970's did have a lot more fashion freedom for men, but those styles only seemed to come back for women when "retro" became the buzzword.

It's the "trouser tyranny" thing again, fashion only applies to women. The main reason why there was more "fashion freedom" in the 70s was because women were dressing their boyfriends.

[HappyFeat]

It's the "trouser tyranny" thing again, fashion only applies to women. The main reason why there was more "fashion freedom" in the 70s was because women were dressing their boyfriends.

Oh the gool 'ole days...I would never have trusted any of my girl friends to dress me. I always was the one dressing them. Maybe more guys should dress their girls today....

[fastfreddy2]

Oh the gool 'ole days...I would never have trusted any of my girl friends to dress me. I always was the one dressing them. Maybe more guys should dress their girls today....

"Snap".

While I don't quite 'cut a dash' in the same way I used to (not much hair and a bit more waist than I prefer), I still daren't let a woman choose my clothes. In fact I think I may have been about 40 before I let anyone else with an iron near them ...

I never minded being a girlfriends escort while thet shopped either. Some of them have had appalling taste, [going out with me being a prime indicator. ] or some at least some had a sense of style that may not have been consistent.... I know of at least one girl who dressed like her mother. Couple of months with me, and she became more confident with how she looked and a bit of a head-turner. Largely due to me putting her in clothes that showed 'her' off. 15 years later, she's still a stunner because she had found out what works and uses it. Sadly she just couldn't wear heels. Bit shallow on my part, but that was always going to be a problem longterm.... Not that she had much incentive as she was already taller than me. [Though a UK size 8 or small 10.]

That said, I saw her recently at a bar I work at from time to time. She was wearing 2" heels. Maybe her ankles weren't as "bad" as I had been led to believe ... she was a good 6" taller than me with those heels on. And still 'easy on the eye'.

....

[roniheels]

It's the "trouser tyranny" thing again, fashion only applies to women. The main reason why there was more "fashion freedom" in the 70s was because women were dressing their boyfriends.

And what was fun about the 70's, a couple could dress alike from head to toe and it was common place and accepted...and fun. Many of my dates and myself back then dressed in matching silk shirts, wide bellbottom pants, and platform high heels. Those were the days.