Pre-18th century Starting in the 10th century, the
Persian cavalry wore
galesh, a kind of boot with heels, to ensure their feet stayed in the
stirrups. Heeled shoes also ensured the safety of Persian arrow-shooting riders, while standing up on galloping horses. This practical use of the heel set the standard for most horseback riding shoes throughout history and into the present day. After the
Great Schism in the 11th century, the
Pope notably began wearing red heeled shoes. reaching heights up to by 1430.
Venetian law later limited the height to three inches—but this regulation was widely ignored. At the end of the Elizabethan era,
cavalier boots were introduced for riding. These originally had relatively low heels, but by the time of the
English Civil War stacked heels for men of up to two inches were common. A 17th-century law in
Massachusetts announced that women would be subjected to the
same treatment as witches if they lured men into marriage via the use of high-heeled shoes. Under the
Manchu Qing dynasty, most wealthy
Han women had
bound feet with
lotus shoes but some women wore platform shoes elevatedlike many chopineat the center of the sole rather than at the heels.
18th century men's heeled shoes in
Safavid era|left|259x259px in high heels|233x233px Modern high heels were brought to Europe by
Persian emissaries of
Abbas the Great in the early 17th century. Men wore them to imply their upper-class status; only someone who did not have to work could afford, both financially and practically, to wear such extravagant shoes. Royalty such as King
Louis XIV wore heels, and his predecessor King
Louis XIII introduced the red heel to the court of French nobility. As women began to wear heeled shoes in the mid-to-late 17th century, societal trends moved to distinguish men's heels from women's heels. By the 18th century, men wore thick heels, while women wore thin ones. In Britain in 1770, an act was introduced into
parliament that would have applied the same penalties to the use of high heels and other cosmetic devices as would have been applied in the case of
witchcraft. During the
Regency era Hessian boots similar in appearance to modern
cowboy boots were popular among
dandies. After the
Battle of Waterloo, high-heeled boots declined in popularity and were replaced with the lower-heeled
Wellington Boots popularized by
the famous British general.
19th century Heels went out of fashion starting around 1810, and then in 1860, they surged in popularity, with an average height of about two and a half inches. The Pinetto heel and the Cromwell heel were both introduced during this time. Their production was also increased with the invention and eventual mass production of the
sewing machine around the 1850s. With sewing machines, yields increased as machines could quickly and cheaply "position the heel, stitch the upper, and attach the upper to the sole."
20th century During the 20th century,
World War I and
World War II led many countries to ration materials that were previously used to make shoes. Materials such as silk, rubber, and leather were prioritized for military use. Heels began to be replaced with cork and wooden-soled shoes. Due to the post-war increase in international communication, especially through photography and films, the Western fashion of women's high heels began to spread globally. In the early post-war period, brown and white pumps with cutouts or ankle straps combined with an open toe were some of the most fashionable women's heels. For many women in the West, high-heeled shoes began to symbolize professionalism, whereas leather and rubber thick-heeled boots for men came to be associated with militarism and masculinity. court shoes The era surrounding
World War II saw the popularization of
pin-up girl posters, the women in which were almost always pictured wearing high heels. In the minds of many men at war, and later, in American society at large, this led to an increase in the strength of the relationship between high heels and female sexuality. The tall, skinny
stiletto heel was invented in 1950, and quickly became an emblem of female sexuality. There was a weakening of the stiletto style during the late 1960s, early 1970s, and 1990s when block heels were more prominent, followed by a revival in the 2000s. For men, high heeled boots made a comeback in the
1950 as the
cowboy boot, associated with
Western movies. During the
1960 and
1970,
Beatle boots,
Chelsea boots and
Winkle-pickers with
Cuban heels became popular among
Teddy boys, the
mod subculture and the early
garage punk scene. File:Foot care and shoe fitting-Fig37 US marine corps shoe 1920 and Resco shoe-fitting device.png|1920
US Marine Corps shoe, with high heel, showing position of foot bones (vertical black marks on the x-ray are nails used to hold the sole and heel on) File:Foot care and shoe fitting-Fig47 Foot in a 1920 US marine corps last Sufficient length but insufficient breadth, hallux valgus.png|Same shoe from above, showing pointed
toe box too narrow for the toes, and
hallux valgus deformity. The high heel shifts weight forwards, putting additional pressure on the sides of the toes File:Betty Grable, 20th Century Fox.jpg|World War II poster of
pin-up girl (
Betty Grable) in high heels
21st century In the Western world, high-heeled shoes exist in two highly gendered and parallel tracks: highly fashionable and variable women's shoes with thin long heels, and practical, relatively uniform men's shoes in a riding boot style, with thick, relatively short heels. Heels are often described as a
sex symbol for women, and magazines like
Playboy, as well as other media sources that primarily portray women in a sexual way often do so using high heels. Despite the sexual connotations, heels are considered both fashionable and professional dress for women in most cases, the latter especially if accompanied by a
pants suit. Some researchers argue that high heels have become part of the female workplace uniform and operate in a much larger and complex set of display rules. == Visual effects on posture and appearance ==