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First high heels
The origin of high heels is debated. Some think they evolved from chopines. Others say they arrived from the Near East, from male equestrian footwear meant to straddle the stirrup. -
Men's and women's
Men’s and women’s shoe styles were roughly the same until about 1660. After that point, men’s shoes tended to be more practical, while women’s shoes became more ornate, with silks, brocades, braids and velvet. -
The red heel
Heels covered in red Morocco leather or painted that color -
Pompadour heeel
This style spread from Paris across Europe. An 18th century satirical poem noted, “Mount on French heels, When you go to the ball — ’Tis the fashion to totter and show you can fall.” -
Going flat
Perhaps spurred by revolutions in America and France and the rejection of royalty, the heel on women’s footwear became lower and lower at the beginning of the 19th century, until it disappeared altogether. -
Return to heels
After the slipper fad died out, heels started to creep back up, to 1/2 inch in 1851 and 21/2 inches by 1860. Brass heel pieces began to appear in the later half of the 19th century, which supported even higher heels. -
The stiletto
Shoe designer Roger Vivier, who worked for Dior, took credit for inventing the stiletto heel, using plastic innovations to create a slender heel of incredible strength — which he called “the needle.”
