In the past men frequently wore high heals below is an interesting article on the history of this and an answer to perhaps why we no longer do. Should men and heals make a come back? Apparently its inevitable but no one knows when....such is fashion. Perhaps ravers could lead the way we care little for fashion... What do you think lol?
For generations they have signified femininity and glamour - but a pair of
high heels was once an essential accessory for men.
Beautiful, provocative, sexy - high heels may be all these things and more, but
even their most ardent fans wouldn't claim they were practical.
They're no good for hiking or driving. They get stuck in things. Women in heels
are advised to stay off the grass - and also ice, cobbled streets and posh
floors.
And high heels don't tend to be very comfortable. It is almost as though they
just weren't designed for walking in.
Originally, they weren't.
"The high heel was worn for centuries throughout the near east as a form of
riding footwear," says Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto.
Good horsemanship was essential to the fighting styles of Persia - the
historical name for modern-day Iran.
"When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel helped him to secure his
stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more effectively," says
Semmelhack.
At the end of the 16th Century, Persia's Shah Abbas I had the largest cavalry in
the world. He was keen to forge links with rulers in Western Europe to help him
defeat his great enemy, the Ottoman Empire.
So in 1599, Abbas sent the first Persian diplomatic mission to Europe - it
called on the courts of Russia, Germany and Spain.
A wave of interest in all things Persian passed through Western Europe. Persian
style shoes were enthusiastically adopted by aristocrats, who sought to give
their appearance a virile, masculine edge that, it suddenly seemed, only heeled
shoes could supply.
Louis XIV wearing his trademark heels in a 1701 portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud
As the wearing of heels filtered into the lower ranks of society, the
aristocracy responded by dramatically increasing the height of their shoes - and
the high heel was born.
In the muddy, rutted streets of 17th Century Europe, these new shoes had no
utility value whatsoever - but that was the point.
"One of the best ways that status can be conveyed is through impracticality,"
says Semmelhack, adding that the upper classes have always used impractical,
uncomfortable and luxurious clothing to announce their privileged status.
"They aren't in the fields working and they don't have to walk far."
When it comes to history's most notable shoe collectors, the Imelda Marcos of
his day was arguably Louis XIV of France. For a great king, he was rather
diminutively proportioned at only 5ft 4in (1.63m).
He supplemented his stature by a further 4in (10cm) with heels, often
elaborately decorated with depictions of battle scenes.
The heels and soles were always red - the dye was expensive and carried a
martial overtone. The fashion soon spread overseas - Charles II of England's
coronation portrait of 1661 features him wearing a pair of enormous red, French
style heels - although he was over 6ft (1.85m) to begin with.
In the 1670s, Louis XIV issued an edict that only members of his court were
allowed to wear red heels. In theory, all anyone in French society had to do to
check whether someone was in favour with the king was to glance downwards. In
practice, unauthorised, imitation heels were available.
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