Did You Know? High Heels Shoes were first worn by Men

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Story by: Jeremy Cabral

Did you know long time ago, in ancient Egypt, men in authority wore heeled pair of shoes and sandals. There are several murals depicting this too. And the reason for this dressing was similar to why men wore jewellery to distinguish themselves from the poorer folk.

Heels were worn during ceremony and festive occasions. In fact, butchers wore them at work so that they don’t step on carcasses.

As it turns out much of the fashionable footwear of today – high heels, pointed toes, platforms – derives from medieval European or Asian precedents. The high heel origin has been traced back to the horse-men of ninth-century Persia whose high stacked heels helped hold their feet in the stirrups. The idea eventually caught on in Europe in boots for men on horses. So, actually men started wearing high heels before women did. The One-to-two inches high heels were introduced into female footwear only in the 17th century.

The highest heels at the time had the shoes of Louis XIV of France who was not tall at all, could not bear to be shorter than many of his court men and so wore 4 inches heels made for him by his personal shoemaker. The heels, still known as the Louis heels, had a concave curve that spread slightly at the base.

When you look at modern-day heels, it’s hard to tell that they were originally made for men as a sign of superiority. Over the years, heels gradually assumed the role of lending height to men; something we are quite aware of. Back then, they looked quite different too.

Somewhere in history, everything transformed and heels became a woman’s accessory. It’s amazing how times have changed!


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