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Inch by inch ... beginning with the sixteenth century ... they grew. But they were not for women. Nay nay sweet boids of yute. They were for the guys. Their first purpose--for all things have a purpose you see--their first purpose ... keep the heel secured in the stirrup when riding upon one's mighty steed.
But as civilization grew ... so did the purposes of the manly high heeled shoe. We're in the Middle Ages. Sanitation is a tad lacking. Human and animal waste strew the streets. High-heeled shoes offer not only a modicum of protection against the possibility of sinking heel deep into a wretched pile of dung ... but that very protection also offers the wearer a degree of psychological well-being. In those days ... stepping into "it" was not considered good luck ... rather it was considered a bit inconvenient ... to say the least.
In fact--as an aside to high-heeled shoes--clogs were invented for the same purpose. In Germany--around the mid 1500's--a shoe came along called the Pump. It was a loose sort of slipper. It had a low heel. The sound it made as it hit the ground with each step was "plump, plump" which is how the shoe derived it's name ... for those of you who enjoy a little onomatopoeia. It is from this shoe that the more recent woman's slipper derived its name.
Then came the mid-1600's. King Louis XIV was running things. Male boots with high heels were the rage. As France attained its zenith of military power--a delusional illusion the French seem to foster within their culture to this very day--haute couture reached dizzying heights ... as did the growth of the heel. Louis's towering achievements--possibly a compensation for his rather stubby height--paralleled the inches he added to his heels in order to probably meet the gazes of his sub-lings eye to eye.
The world went crazy. They all wanted to emulate old Louis. And so the high-heel grew ... and grew ... till it reached the staggering height of three inches. This was known as the French Heel ... and the women of the world adopted this new craze. And it stuck. Interestingly enough ... as women's heels grew ... men's heels declined. By the 1920's, high heels became an alluring adjunct to the female arsenal of enticement. Put a high-heel together with a nylon stocking with the seam running up the back of the calf and thigh ... and you have every woman running neck and neck in the world of sexy with the likes of Marlene Dietrich. I know I know. I'm dating myself a bit here. But I'm a Dietrich fan from way back. Sing Lili Marleen to me and my eyes begin to cross.
So where does this all lead? Well ... it leads to a bejeweled high-heeled card-holder slipper. Quite attractive I think. A must-see.
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And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark
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