Julianne's Fashion Sourcebook: Genealogy of the High Heel

It is believed that the first heels originated in Ancient Egypt around 3500 BC, as Egyptian murals and tombs display figures wearing wedge shaped shoes on the feet. The Egyptian upper classes most likely wore heels for ceremonial purposes and it is known that Egyptian butchers wore heels to keep from stepping in the blood and gore of slaughtered animals.[1]

In Ancient Rome, platform heels with wood or cork soles (called kothorni) were worn by actors to portray social status. It is also believed that Roman prostitutes wore heels to indicate their profession. During the Middle Ages, men and women wore wooden heels called pattens that attached to their shoes to keep them from walking in mud, dirt and street debris.[2]

Wearing high heels for fashion's sake is first credited to the short-statured Catherine de Medici, who married the Duke of Orleans, and later became the King of France. Catherine not only wore heels as a way to compete with the Duke's taller, cherished mistress, but also as a way to impress the nation of France. French aristocrats were enamored with Catherine's heels and by 1560, both French men and women of the noble classes were wearing heels. Due to the popularity of heels amongst the higher classes, people who had "authority or wealth" were regarded as being "well-heeled".[3]

The first image below is of Catherine de Medici (1519-1589). The second image is of King Louis XIV (1638-1715), who wore intricate heels up to 5 inches in height. Louis XIV ordered that only nobility could wear red heels, and no one could wear heels higher than his own. [4]

With the French Revolution, came the end of the high and well-heeled society, until the Victorian era when heels made a "come-back". Early 20th century heels once again became lower, thicker and more practical, and luxury materials were scarce due to two World Wars and the Great Depression. However, in the 1950's the advent of the "stiletto", credited to Christian Dior and Roger Vivier, brought about the revival of the high heel.[5]

The images above are two creations by Roger Viver and Christian Dior.

With the rise of the feminist movement and the hippie culture, the high popularity of the stiletto shoe was replaced by the popularity of the platform, as heels dropped and thickened once again. However, as the feminist movement waned in popularity during the 1980's, stilettos were once again all the rage, and designers such as Manolo Blahnik filled the catwalks with high heels. Today, high heels have taken on newer, greater heights, from stilettos to platforms, to the heel-less heel. Below are some designs from Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, and the heel-less boot worn by Victoria Beckham, created by Antonio Berardi.