Give a woman a pair of good shoes and she will conquer the whole world!
Marilyn Monroe
The first shoes appeared only in the 15th century AD, and were soft shoes closed in front and behind with thin soles. Their predecessors were sandals made of reed leaves and attached to the foot with straps made from the skin of wild animals.
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Oddly enough, the pioneers of modern high-heeled shoes were men's closed shoes in the mid-16th century. Horseback riding and hunting were the main entertainments of noble people at that time. To conveniently fix the foot in the stirrup, shoemakers weighted the heel with a piece of wood, thereby creating the primary semblance of a modern heel.
Ladies' shoes of that era were made of satin, silk, velvet and high-quality leather. Long raised socks and flat soles were in fashion. The shoes were decorated with incredible patterns and ornaments made of gold, silver and silk threads, and were also strewn with precious and semi-precious stones.
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Girls began to wear high-heeled shoes only a few years later.
In the second half of the 16th century, the French queen Catherine de Medici became the legislator for wearing high-heeled shoes. Her incredibly beautiful shoes were a real work of art and marked the beginning of a new fashion for shoes not only in France, but also abroad.
The 17th century was distinguished by the period of wearing shoes on a very high platform. The most widespread fashion was in Italy and Venice. The height of the platforms of some ladies reached incredible sizes; visiting foreigners even joked that Italian husbands specially invented such uncomfortable shoes to prevent their wives from walking anywhere alone.
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It was mandatory for Chinese geishas and Turkish concubines to wear shoes with very high soles. Scientists are still wondering why the girls were forced to do this. Some argue that this gave grace and majesty to the silhouettes, while others are sure that the slaves simply could not escape in such uncomfortable shoes.
In France in the 18th century, the monarch Louis XIV legally ordered all court men to wear high-heeled shoes. King Sun's height was 165 cm, so he tried in every possible way to appear taller. Ladies' shoes of that era were made of satin, silk, velvet and high-quality leather.
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The last century has been phenomenal in the world of shoe fashion! In the first half of the twentieth century, shoes were worn with low, stable heels. Only after the end of World War II, in the 50s of the last century, the French fashion designer Roger Vivier invented a heel with a metal rod inside. This incredible pair of shoes was intended for Queen Elizabeth II and was studded with rubies.
The next stage in the “modernization” of shoes was the appearance of the legendary stiletto heels in 1960.For the first time, the charming American actress Marlene Dietrich appeared in such shoes, decorated with rhinestones.
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In 1974, with the help of Spanish designer Manolo Blahnik, high-heeled shoes became part of urban style around the world.
It is interesting to know that the sole of the first Louboutins was painted with red nail polish. Seeing a tube of scarlet polish in the hands of his assistant, the French designer decorated the black sole of one of the pairs of shoes with it. Since then, the red sole has been the hallmark of his shoes.
The most expensive pair of shoes are considered to be ruby slippers from Harry Winston, encrusted with 4,600 rubies and diamonds. The cost of this masterpiece is three million dollars.
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