You are sitting on a couch while enjoying your favorite drink from Starbucks. Then this lady, out of nowhere, passed by in front of you wearing a really exquisite dress which she matched with a nice pair of red bottoms. What do you think would your first impression be? Would you just look at her outfit for an entire minute, or would you just stare at her shoes and think, “Wow, this lady knows her style.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but there are times when we tend to look at what shoes people are wearing. Why shoes? Well, having a nice looking footwear makes the whole outfit complete, and obviously stand out from the rest. For some women, wearing high heels can make them feel good about themselves.
According to the famous fashion designer, Christian Loubotin, “High heels empower women in a way.” This, without a doubt, is true especially in our generation. However, in the earlier centuries, heels were not used to empower women. Instead, it was actually intended for men to wear. Egyptian butchers back in the ancient times used heels to walk above the blood of the animals that they have slaughtered (Andonovska). Heels were also formerly “an instrument of war, rather than of seduction” (Wright). During the war, heels greatly helped horse riders secure their stance before they shoot arrows to their enemies.
Heels were not only used by men for those things, it was also used by male aristocrats show the people that they have wealth. An author named Staci Lehman said that in the 16th century, heels became a great status symbol. She also said that men tend to extended the heels more to make them look taller. This means that men did not only love wearing heels because of its powerful image, it was also because they simply adored the way they looked wearing them.
After a while of just watching men wear high heels, women started wearing those too. At first, like men, women started wearing high heels to make themselves look taller. The number of women who were using high heels during that era incredibly increased. It became really popular that it went to the point when both genders were wearing it almost everyday.
One of the most famous females to have worn high heels around this time was Catherine de Medici. She was a petite lady who was engaged to the Duke of Orleans, who later became the King of France. Catherine was jealous of how her husband was so fond of his mistress named Diane, who was taller than her. And because of that, Catherine decided to wear high heels in order to give her the figure of a higher physique.
By now, you are probably wondering why men stopped wearing high heels. Would it not be really interesting to see men today wearing high heels while casually walking around our campus? Well, that would have been a great scenery. The reason why men stopped wearing high heels was really simple. It was just because they thought that those were effeminate, and that wearing high heels would make them look foolish.
For a while, the number of women wearing high heels back in the days also declined. Women thought that this footwear was really impractical so they stopped wearing it. However, when photography became popular back in the 19th century, women started becoming more and more attracted in using high heels again. When women were captured wearing bathing suits while on their high heels, it resulted to the idea that wearing this footwear would make women look really attractive and more feminine.
Also, women were seen wearing high heels for “their own pleasure since they gave them a sense of height, authority, and power” (Mikar). This is the reason why women today, especially those of higher positions, wear it. According to Lisa Wade, a sociology assistant professor at Occidental College, “When women wear high heels, it’s a way of elevating themselves to men’s level”. It basically gives them the feeling of jurisdiction without even saying or doing something just to convince others of their capability.
It is so amazing to know that what women sometimes wear on their two feet have a vast history. It has a remarkable story which was a lot more than what we really expected. Heels, even in the past, has done a tremendous impact to the person who was wearing it. From a footwear that was made for men to wear to something that women now love, the beauty of heels is not just a plain accessory. It is an object which helped develop our wonderful past in a very distinctive way.