Christian Louboutin celebrates 20 years in business whatever the style, high heels are a classic feature of female fashion. As we struggle along battling foot pain, risking falls and dodging grates and soft grass, do we ever stop to consider the history of these most iconic pieces of footwear?
The origin of high heels is contentious, though a lot of believe they originated in ancient Egypt, where the wearing of any shoes was a sign of power and wealth. The first precursors to what we now call stilettos had been discovered in an Egyptian tomb, dated to about 1000BC.Legend has it high heels Christian Louboutin had been introduced to European aristocracy in the 16th Century by Catherine de Medici in Paris. Betrothed towards the Duke of Orleans, who would later turn into the king of France, the diminutive 15 year old Catherine donned slippers with two-inch heels to increase her stature and command respect.By 1850, men had got in on the act, too, with nobleman and the "well-heeled" in England and France slipping into heels sometimes as much as 5 inches high.
It was a past time fraught with danger for Frenchman, however as those identified wearing heels greater than those worn by the King could uncover themselves thrown in jail. Christian Louboutin Rolando Hidden-Platform Pump..or worse.Thankfully, men's heels faded into obscurity during the French revolution as ideals of equality took more than from traditions of aristocracy and privileged. Along with the demise of men's heels, those for ladies also disappeared. Not everyone was happy with this of course, the Queen of France Marie Antoite reputedly went to the guillotine wearing two-inch high heels.Heels regained popularity within the late 1800′s and into the 20th century. Rising hemlines inside the 1920,s encouraged decorative footwear with a high heel, thus the introduction of the Louis heel into western culture. The post war era saw a revival of fashion inside the west, led in part by French fashion icon Christian Dior.
The sexy shoe, having a tapered heel, became recognized as the stiletto.High heels - supposed to give the impression of longer, far more slender legs - were crititsied by feminists in the 1960′s as a form of oppression, nevertheless significantly of that concern was fotten during the disco age of the next decade exactly where even stars like john Travolta got in on the act, wearing platforms in Saturday Night Fever.
Enjoy them or hate them, it seems high heels are her to remain and perhaps only an Australian revolution could ever see them lose their reputation again.
