Cardi B rose to musical fame with her single ‘Bodak Yellow’, a song centered on female
sexuality and power.
Its chorus is an ode to her ‘bloody shoes’ - these distinctive shiny red soled shoes
from the renowned designer, Christian Louboutin.
You can see red soled shoes adorning the feet of many celebrities on the red carpet, and
while a pair will set you back a pretty penny, the wearer is instantly granted an air of
exclusivity and sex appeal.
But red soled shoes as a symbol of status didn’t begin with Louboutin’s brand.
They actually began in the 1600s when King Louis XIV 14th debuted his own feet in a pair
of red heels.
Yes, you heard that right.
King Louis XIV wore the most fabulous pair of...well they’re not even heels, they’re
high heels.
The French monarch was short at 5ft 4 inches or 163 cm, so he added 4 inches - that’s
10 cms - to his own height with these monster heels.
These red soled high heels became so popular with the population that he even passed a
law saying only noblemen could wear red soled heels and only at court, and none of their
heels could be higher than his.
Talk about a diva!
And talking about nobleMEN - the history of heels actually starts with men - specifically
Persian men.
The first heels were created to help Persian horse-riders feet stay put in their riding
stirrups.
And if people saw you wearing these heels, it meant you rode or owned horses and so were
probably a noblemen or an elite horse-riding warrior.
In the late 1500’s when the Persian Shah or King Abbas 1 needed help from Europe to
beat his nemesis, the Ottoman empire, he sent a delegation across Western Europe - a delegation
that would have worn high heels.
Heels continued to be exclusively worn by men in the early 1600s until a second fashion
trend started around 1630 onwards - women started adopting “masuculine” trends.
For example they would smoke pipes, cut their hair short, wear hats and - of course - adopted
the very masculine trend of high heels.
By the end of the century what’s been called the Great Male Renunciation happened, when
men stopped wearing bright colours, jewels and were encouraged to choose practical footwear
while women’s fashions still favored the masculine high heel shoe.
Then, for a brief period in female fashion history, the heel fell in popularity.
This was largely because of the French Revolution - when people stopped wearing anything that
showed wealth and status in case they were arrested and beheaded like many of the aristocrats.
Napoleon even famously banned the high heel by law.
But fast forward a couple of hundred years to the 1950s and movies featuring pinup girls
and icons like Marilyn Monroe brought the high heel back into popularity with women.
An article of clothing that was created for practical purposes - horse riding - has now
been transformed into something entirely different.
Sure, nowadays - it’s easy to pass them off as frivolous or just a piece of women’s
fashion.
But women wear them for many reasons---for the appearance of longer legs, to feel more
confident, or as an accessory to complement the perfect outfit.
But high heel aficionados might want to listen to science.
Studies suggest wearing them too often can negatively impact your health.
We can’t help but wonder if the high heel shoe could also be regarded as an emblem of
sexism.
In some countries it’s completely normal to expect women to wear heels and only heels
at work, while men have more choices of comfortable footwear.
In Japan, a movement against the heel has been growing in popularity.
That’s because some dress codes in Japan make heels a mandatory condition of employment,
even in professions where women have to stand for hours and hours.
The frustration against sexist dress codes in Japan has grown into an official movement,
the #KuToo (koo too) movement, where women are demanding the right to choose sensible
shoes at work.
Though the KuToo movement has been met by resistance, the tide is turning with many
Japanese businesses adjusting their dress codes to allow for flat shoes.
If you remove its symbolism, heels are just objects that separate sensitive feet from
the harsh Earth.
But of course heels are so much more than that, they have always made a statement throughout
history - whether it was a woman, or a man, wearing one!