REAL LIFE NEWS: WHY DON’T MEN WEAR HIGH HEELS?
by Hazed
Because they are uncomfortable and impractical, you might say. But once upon a time they were not an item of female fashion, but a sign of masculinity!
A few weeks ago I told you about a study that showed how high heels made a woman appear sexier and more feminine. But that’s only a recent interpretation.
When high heels were first adopted they were very definitely a male fashion - and what’s more, they were practical. For centuries high heels were worn throughout the near east as riding shoes. Soldiers in Persia had to stand up in their stirrups in order to shoot their bows and arrows, and having heels on their shoes aided their balance.
In 1599 Persian fashions were adopted in Europe, and high heeled shoes were embraced by aristocrats who thought they gave them a virile, masculine look. As the wearing of heels filtered down to the lower classes, the rich responded by increasing the height of their heels. At this point they started to become impractical, but that just made them more of a status symbol, showing that the wearer didn’t have to work in the fields - or even walk very far.
It wasn’t until a hundred years later that women started wearing high heels, in order to appear more masculine, as was the fashion of the day. High heels didn’t become a symbol of femininity until they came back into fashion in the mid-19th century - thanks to the new technology of photography, in particular its use in postcards of naked women posing in nothing but high heeled shoes.
You can read more details of the fascinating history of the high heel, and how it moved from being menswear to women’s fashion, at the source link below.
