The Surprising Military Origins of High Heels
High heels, often seen as a symbol of femininity and fashion, have a surprisingly masculine origin. The first high heels were not designed for women but for 10th-century Persian soldiers. These early heels served a practical purpose: they helped cavalrymen secure their feet in stirrups while riding horses, allowing them to stand and shoot arrows with stability. The innovation was purely functional, but it also became a status symbol, as owning a horse was a sign of wealth and power.
From Battlefield to European Aristocracy
In the late 16th century, Persian Shah Abbas I sent diplomats to Europe, and European aristocrats quickly adopted the heeled shoe style. For European men, high heels became a symbol of masculinity, military prowess, and social status. The impracticality of walking in heels on muddy streets was a deliberate display of wealth—it showed that the wearer did not need to work or walk. King Louis XIV of France, who stood at 5 feet 4 inches tall, wore heels up to four inches high to boost his stature. In 1670, he decreed that only his favored court members could wear red-dyed heels, a precursor to the modern red sole popularized by Christian Louboutin.
The Shift to Women's Fashion
Women began wearing high heels in the 18th century as part of a broader trend to adopt male clothing as a symbol of equality. For a time, heels were unisex. However, by the 1730s, men abandoned heels to distance themselves from femininity, opting for broader, flatter shoes. Women's heels became narrower and higher. The French Revolution in 1789 caused a temporary disappearance of heels, as they were associated with aristocracy. When heels returned in the mid-19th century, they were almost exclusively for women, evolving into the stilettos we know today. The original riding heel survives in the design of cowboy boots.
