Something many people may not know is that heels were created for men. But why did men stop wearing them?
At the end of the 16th Century, Persia's Shah Abbas I had the largest cavalry in the world. He was keen to forge links with rulers in Western Europe to help him defeat his great enemy, the Ottoman Empire. In 1599, Shah Abbas sent the first diplomatic mission to Europe, which called on the courts of Russia, Germany, and Spain. Persian heels were seen on the feet of aristocrats because they wanted to give their appearance a masculine look that heeled shoes provided. Because people ranked lower in society began to adapt to the heeled shoes, the aristocracy began to increase the height of their shoes to seem more powerful. This is how high heels began.
In 1673, King Louis XIV introduced shoes with red heels and red soles to the French court. He supplemented his stature by a further 4in with heels, often elaborately decorated with depictions of battle scenes. Louis XIV made an order that only members of his court were allowed to wear red heels. Royalties across Europe began to follow the trend and red heels became fashionable. Charles II of England's coronation picture from 1661 shows him wearing a pair of enormous red, French-style heels. Red heels showed privilege and dominance.
During the Enlightenment Era, men's fashion became more practical and efficient. In England, aristocrats began to wear simplified clothes that were linked to their work managing country estates. This was the beginning of the Great Male Renunciation, in which men wore less jewelry and bright colors but wore more dark colors. The clothing began to differentiate between genders. Heels began to associate with non-practicality and femininity. By 1740 men had stopped wearing them altogether.
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