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The history of high heels can be traced back to Egypt, 3500BC
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Chopines, or platform shoes, were created in Turkey in the 1400s
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It wasn't until the 16th century when it is said that high heels were properly invented. It in 1533, Catherine de Medici decided to wear heels on her wedding day to Henry II, a Duke and the future King of France. She was 14 and quite short (not more than 5 foot), so asked a cobbler to make her shoes that would make her appear much taller on her wedding day.
She wore 2 inch heels to make her appear taller, It is claimed that she is the origin or the high heel as we know it. -
Heels were popular throughout Europe until the mid-1600s
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In the early 1700s, France's King Louis XIV proclaimed that only nobility could wear heels that were colored red and that no one's heels could be higher than his own
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The 18th Century saw heels becoming very controversial in America.
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In 1791, the King Louis high heels disappeared along with the revolution, and Napoleon banished high heels in an attempt to create equality between men and women.
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In the 1860s, heels as fashion became popular again
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Both the 30's and 40's were tough times, so the heel became more moderate, with lower and wider heels.
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The 50's and 60's revisited really high heels. Christian Dior invented the stiletto. Woo Hoo!!
Interesting fact: Stiletto in Italian means small dagger, with a slender, tapering blade. -
The modern high heel.
