High Heeled shoe
High heels are a type of shoe in which the heel, compared with the toe, is significantly higher off the ground. They make the wearer appear taller, accentuates the muscle tone in their legs and makes their legs appear visibly longer. There are many types of high heels, which come in different styles, colors and materials, and can be found all over the world. They have significant cultural and fashionable meanings attached to them, which have been largely shaped by historical contexts over the past 1,000 years. Wearing high heels is associated with some health problems.
History
Pre-1700s
High heels have a long history, dating as far back as the tenth century. The Persian cavalry, for example, wore a kind of boot with heels in order to ensure their feet stayed in the stirrups.
Furthermore, research indicates that heels kept arrow-shooting riders, who stood up on galloping horses, safely on the horse. This trend has translated into the popular 21st-century cowboy boot. Owning horses was expensive and time-consuming, so to wear heels implied the wearer had significant wealth. This practical and effective use of the heel has set the standard for most horse-back riding shoes throughout history and even into the present day. Later, in the 12th century in India, heels become visible again. The image of a statue from the Ramappa Temple proves this, showing an Indian woman's foot clad in a raised shoe. Then, during the Medieval period, both men and women wore platform shoes in order to raise themselves out of the trash and excrement filled streets. In 1430, chopines (Venetian platform heel) were 30 inches (76 cm) high, at times. Venetian law then limited the height to three inches—but this regulation was widely ignored. A 17th-century law in Massachusetts announced that women would be subjected to the same treatment as witches if they lured men into marriage via the use of high-heeled shoes.
1700s
Modern high heels were brought to Europe by emissaries of Abbas the Great in the early 17th century. Men wore them to imply their upper-class status; only someone who did not have to work could afford, both financially and practically, to wear such extravagant shoes. Royalty such as King Louis XIV wore heels to impart status. As the shoes caught on, and other members of society began donning high heels, elite members ordered their heels to be made even higher to distinguish themselves from lower classes. Authorities even began regulating the length of a high heel's point according to social rank. Klaus Carl includes these lengths in his book Shoes: "½ inch for commoners, 1 inch for the bourgeois, 1 and ½ inches for knights, 2 inches for nobles, and 2 and ½ inches for princes."” As women took to appropriating this style, the heels' width changed in another fundamental way. Men wore thick heels, while women wore thin ones. Then, when Enlightenment ideals such as science, nature, and logic took hold of many European societies, men gradually stopped wearing heels. After the French Revolution in the late 1780s, heels, femininity, and superficiality all became intertwined. In this way, heels became much more associated with a woman's supposed sense of impracticality and extravagance.
Typical 18th-century shoe
The design of the high French heels from the late 1600s to around the 1720s placed body weight on the ball of the foot, and were decorated with lace or braided fabric. From the 1730s-1740s, wide heels with an upturned toe and a buckle fastening became popular. The 1750s and 1760s introduced a skinnier, higher heel. The 1790s continued this trend, but added combinations of color. Additionally, throughout all of these decades, there was no difference between the right and left shoe.
In Britain in 1770, an act was introduced into the parliament which would have applied the same penalties as witchcraft to the use of high heels and other cosmetic devices.
1800s
Heels went out of fashion starting around 1810, and then in 1860 they returned at about two and a half inches. The Pinet heel and the Cromwell heel were both introduced during this time. Their production was also increased with the invention and eventual mass production of the sewing machine around the 1850s. With sewing machines, yields increased as machines could quickly and cheaply "position[n] the heel, stitc[h] the upper, and attac[h] the upper to the sole." This is also a prime example of how the popularity of heels interacts with the culture and technology of the time.
1900s
With the 1900s bringing two devastating world wars, many countries set wartime regulations for rationing almost all aspects of life. This included materials previously used for making heels, such as silk, rubber, or leather; these began to be replaced with cork and wooden soles.[12] Another one of the numerous outcomes of these wars was an increase in international relations, and a more proliferate sharing of fashion through photography and films, which helped spread high heel fashion as well. Examples of this were the brown and white pumps with cutouts or ankle straps combined with an open toe. Their practicality yet professional look appealed to the new, fast-paced lifestyle of many women.
Meanwhile, World War II led to the popularization of pin-up girl posters, which men would often hang in their bunks while at war. Almost all of these girls were pictured wearing high heels, leading to an increase in the relationship between high heels and female sexuality. The tall, skinny stiletto heel was invented in 1950, strengthening the relationship between women, sexuality, and appearance. There was a weakening of the stiletto style during both the late 1960s through early 1970s and also 1990s when block heels were more prominent, followed by a revival in the 2000s.
With the 1900s bringing two devastating world wars, many countries set wartime regulations for rationing almost all aspects of life. This included materials previously used for making heels, such as silk, rubber, or leather; these began to be replaced with cork and wooden soles.[12] Another one of the numerous outcomes of these wars was an increase in international relations, and a more proliferate sharing of fashion through photography and films, which helped spread high heel fashion as well.[8] Examples of this were the brown and white pumps with cutouts or ankle straps combined with an open toe.[12] Their practicality yet professional look appealed to the new, fast-paced lifestyle of many women.
Meanwhile, World War II led to the popularization of pin-up girl posters, which men would often hang in their bunks while at war. Almost all of these girls were pictured wearing high heels, leading to an increase in the relationship between high heels and female sexuality.[3] The tall, skinny stiletto heel was invented in 1950, strengthening the relationship between women, sexuality, and appearance.[9] There was a weakening of the stiletto style during both the late 1960s through early 1970s and also 1990s when block heels were more prominent, followed by a revival in the 2000s.
21st Century
The intricate and complex history of high heels has led to a variety of cultural thoughts and lenses through which people view them today. Firstly, it is very exclusively gendered in the sense that few men wear high heels in present times. Secondly, magazines like Playboy, as well as other media sources portraying women in a sexual way, often do so using high heels. Paul Morris, a psychology researcher at the University of Portsmouth, argues that high heels accentuate "sex specific aspects of female gait", artificially increasing a woman's femininity. Respectively, the arching of a woman's back facilitated by wearing high heels signals a woman's willingness to be courted by a man. Keeping this sexual undercurrent in mind, heels are considered fashionable for women in most cases. It could be semi-formal with a "button down silk blouse…jeans and high heels." Or, it could be formal with a dress or pants suit. Finally, 20th and 21st century cultural values have dictated that high heels are the norm in professional settings for a woman. Some researchers argue that high heels have even become part of the female workplace uniform, and operate in a much larger and complex set of display rules. High heels are considered to pose a dilemma to women as they bring them psychosexual benefits but are detrimental to their health. The 21st century has introduced a broad spectrum and variety of styles, ranging from height and width of heel, to design and color of the shoe.
Types
- Stacked heel – usually layers of leather 5 mm thick stacked together and trimmed to match the shape of the heel. These are commonly known as block heels.
- Continental heel – 7.5 mm, with the upper part of the chest of the heel spreading towards the center of the shoe.
- Setback heel – similar to the continental heel, but the surface of the back of the heel is straight, forming a right angle.
- Cuban heel – similar to the continental heel, but not curved, generally medium height
- Pantaloon heel – "similar to pantaloon pants: the top lift part of the heel is spread out as it extends to the bottom part of the heel, and the waistline of the heel curves inward naturally."
- Angle heel – "the surface of the base of the heel is straight until reaching the waistline, and it looks like the shape of the Korean letter ¬"
- Pinet heel – straight and skinny
- Cromwell shoe – based on Oliver Cromwell with heel up to 170 mm (6.5 in).
- Bar style – had jewelry or other decorative aspects to go along with flapper culture.
- New Look in 1947 – a slim, elegant heel, newly created by putting steel in the heel. This enabled the heel to be skinny without snapping.
- Annabelle – 7-cm platform heel
- Stiletto – tall, skinny heel; first mentioned in a newspaper in September 1953.
- Wedges – popularized by Salvatore Ferragamo, who introduced this in the Italian market in the late 1930s.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:High_Heeled_shoe ]
More information on Wikipedia
- 2.1 Materials
- 3 Health impacts
- 3.1 Injury and pain
- 3.2 Bunions
- 3.3 Balance control of the body
- 3.4 Postural effects
- 3.5 Vein swelling
- 4 Legislation
- 5 Feminism
- 5.1 Dress codes
- 5.2 A Mile in Her Shoes
- 6 Children
- 7 Dancing
- 7.1 Styles of dance that use heels
- 7.2 Injuries
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