Ancient Egyptian heeled shoes
(Source: nimmafashionsource.blogspot.com) |
Ancient Egypt Dating back to 3500 B.C., early depictions of high heels could be seen on ancient Egyptian murals. These murals would depict Egyptian nobilities wearing heels to set them apart from the lower class, who would normally go barefoot. Heeled shoes were worn by both men and women, and most commonly for ceremonial purposes. However, high heels also served a practical purpose for Egyptian butchers who wore them in order to walk over the bloodied bodies of animal carcasses. During Egyptian times, heels were leather pieces that were held together by lacing to form the symbol of “Ankh”, signifying life. |
Ancient Roman & Greek Platform sandals called “kothorni” or “buskins” were shoes with high wooden cork soles worn during ancient Greek and Roman era. They were particularly popular among the actors who would wear them to differentiate the social classes and importance of each character. In ancient Rome, where sex trade was legal, high heels were used to identify those within the trade to potential clients and high heels became associated with prostitution. |
Kothorni / Buskins
(Source: nimmafashionsource.blogspot.com) |
Chopines
(Source: batashoemuseum.ca) |
Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, both men and women would wear “pattens”, which were wooden soles, attached to their shoes in order to keep their fragile and expensive footwear out of the mud and street debris. “Chopines”, or platform shoes, emerged during the 1400s in Turkey and became popular throughout Europe until mid-1600s. Rising up to about 30 inches above ground, women who wore them required the use of canes or servants to assist them in walking. "Chopines" had the same practical use as pattens did, but was exclusively for women. This marked a point where heels were turning into an aesthetic object, instead of the earlier practical use.
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Feminism and Sexuality The Venetians established the Chopines as a prestigious representation of wealth and nobility, predominantly embellished with gold laces, embroidery and decorative leatherwork. However, the restrictions these heels created for women caused many to believe that these heels were invented by husbands who hoped the restricting movement required would make illegitimate affairs difficult.
Women’s rights issues surfaced here as high heels were beginning to become associated with male domination and female restriction. Historians contemplate the use of heeled shoes as a shackle rather than for aesthetic purposes, evident within Chinese concubines and Turkish odalisques who wore heels, in order to prevent them from fleeing the harem.
Rise of High Heels as Fashion In the 1500s, shoes were made into two pieces, a movable upper piece attached to a fixed, stable sole. This new invention combined the heel to become part of the actual shoe rather than an attachable sole. The invention of heeled riding boots increased the mass popularity of heels within both male and female fashion. These “rider’s heel”, which ranged from 1 to 1 and a half inches, prevented riders from slipping off their stirrups. These simple heels soon evolved into more stylized heels that became thinner and higher during mid 1500s when Catherine de Medici made them more fashionable and functional.
Women’s rights issues surfaced here as high heels were beginning to become associated with male domination and female restriction. Historians contemplate the use of heeled shoes as a shackle rather than for aesthetic purposes, evident within Chinese concubines and Turkish odalisques who wore heels, in order to prevent them from fleeing the harem.
Rise of High Heels as Fashion In the 1500s, shoes were made into two pieces, a movable upper piece attached to a fixed, stable sole. This new invention combined the heel to become part of the actual shoe rather than an attachable sole. The invention of heeled riding boots increased the mass popularity of heels within both male and female fashion. These “rider’s heel”, which ranged from 1 to 1 and a half inches, prevented riders from slipping off their stirrups. These simple heels soon evolved into more stylized heels that became thinner and higher during mid 1500s when Catherine de Medici made them more fashionable and functional.
1533 saw the first women's heel designed to lengthen the legs. The invention of high heels as a fashion statement could be accredited to the rather petite Catherine de Medici who was engaged to the Duke of Orleans at the age of 14. The Duke, who later became the King of France, was quite tall in contrast to de Medici’s small stature. She felt insecure in comparison to the Duke’s favorite mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who was relatively tall. Knowing that she would have to compete with his mistress for attention in an arrange marriage she did not feel comfortable in, de Medici had to look for ways to astonish the Frenchmen and counterweigh her lack of beauty and aesthetic appeal. The future French Queen remedied this by donning two inches heels that gave her a higher physique and a captivating sway when she moved. These heels became a success and soon became associated with wealth and privilege. Mary Tudor was another royalty who pursued heels that would allow her to appear more towering. Fashionable heels were popular for both sexes by 1590, and a person who had authority or wealth was often referred to as "well-heeled".
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Catherine de Medici
(Source: madameguillotine.org.uk) |
By Chayanit Pitakwongroj and Napat Nutchanart
References
"Dangerous Elegance – A History of High-Heeled Shoes." Random History. 2012. Web. 9 November 2012. <http://www.randomhistory.com/1- 50/036heels.html>. Griffiths, Andrew. "Website Content Sample Two – High Heel Shoes as a Symbol of Class, Gender and Sexuality." Articles on History. 2012. Web. 9 November 2012. <http://www.articlesonhistory.com/high-heel- shoes.php>. Elder, Briauna. “High Heels Origin.” Granite Bay High School. February 23, 2012. Web. 11 Nov 2012. <http://www.thegrrronicle.com/high-heels- origin/>. “The History of High Heels.” November 27, 2004. Web. 11 Nov 2012. <http://www.heikes-heels.com/english/history-shoes/1.htm>. |
Photo Sources
"Genealogy of Heels." 15 July 2009. Web. 12 November 2012. <http://nimmafashionsource.blogspot.com/2009/07/genealogy-of- heels.html>. "Chopine." The Bata Shoe Museum. March 2009. Web. 12 November 2012. <http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/podcasts/200903/index.shtml>. "Catherine de Medici." 2012. Web. 15 November 2012. <http://madame guillotine.org.uk/2012/03/06/catherine-de-medici/>. |
Damerow, Harold . 'Louis XIV Outline.” 10 October 2009. Web. 17 November 2012. <http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/louis_xiv.htm>. Pandey, Swati. “The High Heel - and its Purest Form, the Stiletto – Have Deep Roots.” 31 March 2012. Web. 17 November 2012. <http://www.thedaily.com/page /2012/03/31/033112-opinions-history-high-heels-pandey-1-4/>. |
© This website is part of Online Information Searching and Communication Class
Semester 1 Academic Year 2012
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
Semester 1 Academic Year 2012
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University