Chrissy85 Posted June 27, 2008 Posted June 27, 2008 There was a posting about "what if men were the ones wearing high heels", and I thought that I would find out some history about heels. This information comes from Wikipedia. Shoes are considered to be high heels if they have heels that are 2.5 inches or more in height. Heeled shoes were invented in response to riders [of horses] whose feet kept slipping forward in the stirrups. Heels were added to shoes to allow riders to maintain a firm footing in the stirrups. Heeled shoes appeared in the 1500's and became more stylized in the 1600's. Men typically wore heeled shoes with heels that were between 3 and 4 inches. During the 1600's, high heels denoted stature and wealth in the community, thus creating the term "well heeled". In the 1700's, heeled shoes began to decline in popularity. The decline continued through the 1800's but regained popularity during the late 1800's. The popularity was exclusively amoung women. Men at the time continued to wear flat shoes. Cowboy boots are the only men's footwear to retain heels for their entire existance. Modest heels were popular in the 1960's and 1970's [according to the article; however I believe platforms, which some do not consider high heels, were invented in the 1970's]. Tall high heels became popular in the 1980's, faded in the 90's, and returned after 2000. I think that high heels won't go out of style again.
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